Fandom: HARD CORE LOGO
Pairing: Billy/Joe
Length: about 3,000 words
Author on LJ: sionnain
Author Website: sionnain_fics
Why this must be read: because at the heart of every Hard Core Logo fic is another set of pairings that we don't see very often: Joe/drugs and Billy/alcohol. This story explores Joe's relationship with drugs: speed, coke and now, heroin. There's an ugly kind of beauty in this story, in Billy finding Joe on the floor of a filthy bathroom eyes wide open but vacant, the iris of his eyes a thin band of blue around black, in Joe sitting on a crappy couch, works spread out on the coffee table in front of him as he struggles to stay conscious.

sionnain explores a little of Joe's life on heroin, a bitter foreshadowing of the uncontrollable spiral his life will take years later, swirling around the drain.

I said nothing lasts forever (and I meant it)

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Gen
Length: 6516
Author on LJ: acidpenguin46
Author Website:  A list of the author's fic posted to lifein1973 note: This fic was not posted to the comm

Why this must be read:

When CID’s investigation into the disappearance of a young girl causes Sam to be haunted with increased frequency by the girl from the test card, it’s probably a hint that there’s not going to be a happy ending in sight.

Sam’s mental health and emotional well-being is put through its paces in this one; but even if the emotional torturing of main characters isn’t your thing; the plot, the characterisations and the dialogue make this story feel like it should have been an episode from the series.

This is one of my favourite fics in the fandom and one of the first I go to when I’m in the mood to read something dark, haunting and completely mesmerizing.

Note: the author warns for "Disturbing imagery, vague references to child pornography (in a criminal case), character death, ignores the existence of Frank Morgan and the MARS operation, gen (shock horror), mild blood-related gore, swearing and violence."


( Excerpt )

When The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Fandom: WILBY WONDERFUL
Pairing: Duck MacDonald/Dan Jarvis, Buddy French/Carol French
Length: 2600 words
Author on LJ: isiscolo or isis
Author Website: HieroglyFICS: fanfiction by Isis
Why this must be read: This is a fusion with the (also Canadian) apocalyptic movie Last Night, but you don't need to have seen that movie. The story shows us what the characters of Wilby are doing just before the world ends, and at the same time gives us little glimpses of their history. Considering that it's an apocalypse fic, it might sound strange that this is a comfort story for me. But there's such a sense of calmness in it, of the community drawing together, that I end up being comforted instead of saddened. Also available as a lovely podfic read by the author.

Call This World Home

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: 3,300
Author on LJ: sophia_helix
Author Website: entry tag for fic: xfiles on her journal
Why this must be read: One character is hurt and/or traumatized, the other character in their OTP is there to help them through it, their natural attraction surfaces, their mutual love is expressed, and ATTHS. Although I don't personally care for it as much as some people do, "hurt/comfort" is an oft-written, much beloved genre of fanfiction. I always wondered what might happen if Scully no longer wanted that kind of comforting from Mulder. What if she just wanted her old job back and her relationship with him to be what it was before? sophia_helix has given us an excellent, dark, but realistic answer to that question.

Night Touch

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: Alan Scott/Jay Garrick/Ted Grant, canonical pairings
Length: 3249 words
Author on LJ: bagheera_san
Author Website: Fic Master List
Why this must be read:
Hot and utterly unique. This fic is amazingly awesome old-person powers porn from the dc_kink meme. Bagheera does a wonderful job in presenting this threesome with plausible in-character responses. Their powers are put to good use in moving the action and the tight Wildcat point-of-view provides delicious humor along the way to getting the guys off. Delightful!


( Excerpt )

One For The Team

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Amanda/OFC
Length: Short story
Author on LJ: calime33Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read:

One of my favorite things about Highlander is the huge range of the universe and the extended lifetimes of most characters. For a fan of historicals, it's a peach orchard.

This story was written for me in the holiday gift exchange hlh_shortcuts. The setting is Rewal, in the duchy of Pomerania, opening in the year 1524. Amanda, dressed as a young man, encounters the curious and ambitious Ingel, who asks to be taken on as her apprentice. What follows is a lively, warm, and satisfying tale. This is a perfect Amanda story, with her puckish humor, thievish talent, humanity, and depth of experience all shining through. If you haven't read it, you're in for a treat.

( a little taste )

A Rewalian Winter or The Devil's Disciple (Note: This story was written for the holiday exchange hlh_shortcuts.)

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (new)
Pairing: Kara Thrace / Lee Adama
Length: 2000+ words
Author on LJ: lyssie
Author Website: Lyss' Insanity Lair

Why this must be read: After the finale, there were quite a few stories ruminating on or trying to "fix" some aspects of Daybreak. This one, however, really convinced me that the events unfolding in the last episodes could be considered a happy ending and that all those beloved characters did indeed get their bright shiny future.

lyssie paints a realistic picture of the more primitive and harder life that might await the colonists and their children on Earth while still preserving the optimism of this end-turned-beginning. And she also presents Lee and the rest of his life in a way that feels more in-character than the prospect of solitary mountain-climbing forever and ever, as someone who lives for a new family and a new community. Despite the generally optimistic tone, this is a very bittersweet story, though, even as it grants Lee and Kara some closure in the end: Tissue warning ahoy. :)

Water Under Bridge

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Length: One-Shot, 11k
Author on LJ: dhae_knight
Author Website: Dreamwidth fic journal, here.
Why this must be read:

I love fics that make me laugh - everything from chuckling, giggling, to out-right guffawing. I've scared my dog many times with random bursts of laughter, and most of it is from hilarious fic. This fic by dhae_knight is just one of those fics – and in addition to being hilarious, it's downright adorable. And utter crack, but a good crack, and not the kind of crack that makes you want to dunk your head in a toilet. And the best part: everyone is in character, amazingly.

Randomly, on the way back from a case, Gibbs and Tony turn into a dog and a cat, respectively. McGee and Kate are in the car when it happens, and as one can imagine, they start freaking out. They decide to take dog!Gibbs and cat!Tony to Abby – because of course Abby would take it all in stride. All in all, it's a cute shape-shifting fic, and one of the best parts has to be dog!Gibbs (a Jack Russell Terrier) and cat!Tony (an Abyssinian) interacting – they act so much like their human counterparts, and I start involuntarily squeeing whenever I read it. Full of hilarious and cute moments, this fic never fails to bring a smile to my face, and it always manages to make my day a little bit brighter.

Now, go and read and squee to your delight!

( Excerpt )

I'm More Jack Russell Terrier

Hi, this is Walmer92. Sorry for starting so late. Real life has been killing me lately, but I'm so happy to be doing this. Personally, I like long involved stories, so you'll be getting a lot of those, and I'm pretty much exclusively Jensen/Jared.  Look out for Mike and Tom, and Chris and Steve though, they should be around as well. Hope you enjoy.

Fandom: CW RPS  
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared  Padalecki 
Length: 120, 000 
Author on LJ: arabia764
Author Website: Author Fic List 
Why this fic must be read:

This fic is the reason I asked to rec for CW RPs and if it didn't  mean that we wouldn't have it anymore, I'd tell the author to write it as an original story. If you're looking  for a story connected to Supernatural, or with a familiar cast of characters, this isn't for you, but the author makes the unfamiliar setting setting and characters loveable and fascinating. She throws a lot of angst at the boys, but throughout everything is the fact that no matter what happens or how much they change, they will love each other. This story will take you from England to India, from hundreds of feet in the air to the depths of despair. If you've never read RPS or AUs or J2 before, and you  never do again, read this one. It's worth it.

With You Under A Cold, Bright Sky