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Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 4392 words
Author on LJ: sineala

Why this must be read:

There’s a long tradition of Christmas time stories in Pros and this is one of my favourites as it also fills in a part of some our lads’ rather mysterious backgrounds. Here, Sineala skilfully uses “cold” in all of its meanings to chart Bodie’s progress through a harsh and unforgiving life towards warmth and safe haven.

Tonight he dreams he's sixteen. He's almost forgotten being sixteen. He's sixteen and cold. Freighter in the North Atlantic. It's nighttime. He's on watch. The sea is choppy and rough, and he's been here for hours. Even with the gloves, he can't feel anything in his fingers. Binoculars hang heavily around his neck, and as the minutes pass they grow heavier still. He'll never be able to move his neck again, he thinks. The guillotine, only slower. The spray falls on his face, works its clever way through his coat to his skin. He can no longer tell if it's cold. It could be warm. He doesn't remember what warmth feels like. He's never warm, not even off-duty. When his watch is over, he'll crawl into his narrow bunk, practically the size of a cupboard. He'll curl up against bare-metal walls and shiver until the numbness turns into sleep. Sometimes he has company, but he's still alone. The first mate's body is a sheet of ice against his back. The man never stays the night.

Laeti Triumphantes

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Fandom:  RUROUNI KENSHIN
Paring:  Saitoh/Kenshin
Length:  15K
Author on LJ:  n/a
Author Website:  AdultFanFiction.net
Why this is a must read:

Although Kenshin is my favorite character in this fandom, I love Saitoh when he's being a sexy, sadistic bastard.  FlightofDarkness delivers quite nicely on all counts in this fic.  Basically, Saitoh has decided on a different way to settle their final battle and the result is this hot, hot almost PWP story.  I say almost because Saitoh is oh so set on that final encounter, so, yeah, plot-ish.  The fic also has quite a bit of humor thrown in to keep the tone on the lighter side.

I will warn for a few things here.  Kenshin isn't so willing at first, so those who don't like that type of element in their fic might want to pass it by.  The whole thing is Saitoh's dominance over Kenshin including the some light bondage.  And a wee bit of beastiality, but just a quick pass at it, nothing too squicky and if you blink, it's all gone.  Also, this story survived the great AFF crash of, whatever that year was, so there might be some wording/coding jumble mixed in. 

To Defeat A Hitokiri

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: none
Length: 170k
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: http://www.brothersinarmsfiction.com/ismaro/index.html
Why this must be read: This is another story I read very early on in my fandom life. I enjoy the way Jim goes about finding out more about this guy, Sandburg, who's inserted himself into Jim's life and home. As he delves deeper into Blair's relationships with others, Jim finds himself getting inextricably drawn into the results of Blair's acts of kindness and eventually into doing a little philanthropy of his own.





Detecting Sandburg

Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing: Obi-Wan/Satine
Length: 3642 words
Author on LJ: I don't think she has one.
Author Website: Master Ficlist
Why this must be read:

Tonight's the night that Lucas' latest effort in his Star Wars creation comes back from hiatus: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the animated series that has garnered a great deal of praise for its startling animation and widespread take on the Galaxy's characters and situations. This fic offering by eukaryote uses one of the characters written for the show. Duchess Satine Kryze is a pacifist whose noble efforts have led her world, Mandalore, away from a militaristic past and towards a bright and shiny prosperity. In so doing she has devoted herself to her people at the expense of her personal life, and the boy she knew as Padawan Kenobi has returned to his life as a Jedi, all in the cause of duty. As this story opens, Yoda sets in motion the nostalgic memories that Satine has regarding her year-long association with Padawan Kenobi and Master Jinn. She is just about to see Kenobi again, a Master now with his own ex-Padawan, and make new memories with him. She is ready. Even if you haven't watched the show, the sense of a strongly principled leader comes through here, along with an aching sense of loss.

It's All In The Past

EAD 092113: The author is rewriting this story here.