Fandom: THE OFFICE (US)
Pairing: Jim/Pam, Jim/Karen, Pam/Roy
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: sherlockelly
Author Website: At MTT
Why this must be read:

This is about as far away from what I normally enjoy as is possible, but this story is so compellingly heart-breaking that I couldn't stop reading. It stays with you. Don't read this right now if you want something fluffy to cheer you up, but don't let it go unread.

it's times like these

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: None
Length: about 16,700 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2208768/Celandine_Sandyman
Why this must be read:

Continuing this week's exploration of fanfic takes/aftertakes on THE GURNIUS AFFAIR, this piece approaches the aftermath from a different angle. In this story the two agents have no time to really consider what happened, but more just react spontanteously as they are thrown immediately "back into the fire" of a mission. Thrush is out to clean up the mess from what happened with Gurnius, and Terry Cook winds up being used as bait to get to Napoleon and Illya.

What stands out for me in this piece is that both men are shown working through the immediacy of their feelings after what happened during the Gurnius mission. Napoleon is uncharacteristically grumpy and physically hurting; Illya is frustrated with Napoleon's mood and battling guilt as well for being the cause of his partner's physical hurt.

( An excerpt... )

Despite all this, the two have to work together against Thrush again and in the process learn something about the true depth of their friendship.

The San Rico Affair

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Cowley
Length: Novel-length
Author on LJ: Not on LJ
Author Website: Carnall Enterprises, UnLtd
Warnings: Death of a major character, rape, torture
Why this must be read:

With this novel, I am glad to present a quite famous part of the "Pros" fanfiction heritage, to which access has been for a long time limited to the paper circuit domain and is now available in "Proslib" (the "Pros" library) with an easy to get membership. I think I can't do better than re-post here the introduction I was invited to write for Proslib at the time.

"Look Through My Eyes" by Jane Carnall is a very original, powerful and moving story that stirred a lot of discussion back then in 1991 and generated a whole variety of sequels (some of them Bodie/Doyle) gathered in a second zine, "A Simple Game".

It's a story centered on the Bodie/Cowley pairing but it doesn't belong to the "Fox and Wolf" universe. Based on perfectly plausible premises, developed to their extreme consequences, it's darker, harsher, grittier. And yet, there is also love, tenderness and passion, expressed with the dry, understated and efficient style that's peculiar to the author, and a deep, haunting sense of tragedy.

I can't honestly say you'll read it with bliss and feel like curling up with it on your couch with a box of chocolates. It's a difficult reading, hardly bearable at times. Even for the author; she said so in the afterwords, joking that the first proof-reader gave it up and "ran away, screaming in the night"! LTME is not for the meek and weak of heart....

I sincerely hope I'm not dissuading you from reading this novel! Sure, you won't find heart and flowers in it, but an authentic piece of good literature and keen psychology, well worth the necessary effort. There is a real suspense to the last page. The story's outcome doesn't solve everything but the sequels, including the author's, will answer the still pending questions (though in many different ways ) and in some cases even provide a happy ending.

In order to reassure those who could have been frightened by the warnings above, I must insist on the point that reading the author's sequel, "Turn Around", is necessary to a good understanding of the events exposed in the main text and should bring some, much needed, comfort to the excessive hurt of the first story. This sequel, with two others, is to be found in the same folder you'll have access to through the following link:

Look Through My Eyes

While you are at it, don't omit to read Karla Simon's sequel, "Look At Me Now", which - I think - provides the best outcome and the most satisfying explanation of the first story's mysterious ending.

Fandom: TORCHWOOD
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Owen, Ianto, Ianto/Lisa, past Owen/Katie
Length: ~6000 words.
Author on LJ: catslash
Author Website: fic tag
Why this must be read:

The Rift dumps late-S2 Owen into the recent past and gives him a second look on the events surrounding 'Cyberwoman'.

An excellent character-study of Owen and the changes he's gone through between early S1 and late S2, and of Ianto as seen through Owen's eyes.

Excerpt: 'Stupid fucking kid', he thinks, though whether it's because Ianto doesn't seem to have made any plans for his girlfriend's discovery other than grovelling, or because he brought her down here in the first place, Owen isn't sure.

"All right, Ianto," he says, in the clear and deliberate tones of addressing the slightly impaired, "let's just get this clear right off. I don't give a shit about your metal girlfriend, all right? I have much bigger problems. Do you understand?"

". . . all right. Yes," Ianto says carefully. His panicked expression smooths out, though he doesn't relax.

"Good. Now tell me, what is the date?"

"The - ?" Ianto looks at him blankly for a moment. Then his gaze sharpens and he starts really looking at Owen. Owen watches him take things in - the bandaged hand, the clothes that don't match whatever he saw Owen wearing earlier - and recants his previous exasperated assessment of Ianto's intelligence. He can actually see it all click into place behind Ianto's eyes.

Second Look

Fandom: THE OFFICE (US)
Pairing: Jim/Pam
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ:
Author Website: At MTT
Why this must be read:

My last rec was rather intense, so today's is the sweet, spare and lyrical antidote. I love the deft use of language and the warming feeling it evokes.

Ontario