Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura
Length: 24,883 words - 23 Chapters
Author on LJ: Ohwhatsherface as Fourforyou@LJ
Author Website: ohwhatsherface@FF.net
Why this must be read:

And now for something to make you smile, try the cracktastic Indecent Proposals from Ohwhatsherface. Picking just one fiction from Ohwhatsherface is extremely hard as she has so many wonderful Sakura/Sasuke stories. Not my usual favorite pairing, she makes me love them by letting Sakura be strong and Sasuke be a right bastard. In this fic, she gives us 23 different proposals - each chapter a standalone - but every cliche is there to make you grin.

I hope you enjoy Indecent Proposals and afterwards, spend some time with her at ohwhatsherface@FF.net. Even her Bleach & Gundam Seed fic will make you chuckle. And .. don't forget to feed the author.

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Musical artist:
Pairing: Duncan/Methos
Vidder on LJ: sherrold
Vidder Website: Vids by Clucking Belles

Why this vid must be seen:

Vidding recently lost one a generous soul and groundbreaking vidder when Sandy passed away. Originally created on VHS around 1997/1998, Us is reminder that you don’t need tons of effects and digital tweaking to produce a fantastic vid. Sandy and her vidding partners showed us that a strong story and flawless editing can easily stand the test of time and every Highlander vidder who followed owes them a debt of gratitude.

Thank you, Sandy

to the download link for Us

Now, we direct your attention to the screen in front of you for an audio-visual presentation...

Vidder: Ancasta
Musical artist: Copper Loc
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Vidder on LJ: ancastar
Vidder’s Website: Ancasta’s Corner
Why this vid kicks ass:

Classic is a fantabulous pimp vid, that’s why. :) There is banter! There is touching! Even shirtlessness! It answers the question, "What’s the secret to S&H’s lasting appeal?" in the most entertaining way. Ancasta intersperses quotes from critics to emphasize the point, but really, the clips she uses speak for themselves—our boys may bicker like an old married couple and play the occasional stupid prank, but when the chips are down, they’ve got each other’s back. Through good times and bad, this vid captures "me and thee" at its best. It’ll make you grin, I promise. :)

Classic (ancastar’s LJ announcement post with link to website)

Fandom: STAR WARS
Musical Artist: Eddi Reader
Vidder: suechosethis
Vidder website: YouTube Profile
Why this must be viewed:

A lovely, trilling sort of singer is Reader and the arrangement couldn't be more interesting -- layers of sounds matched perfectly in theme to numerous clips. Yes, I realize that's the aim of all vidders, but suechosethis has crafted numerous vids and you can't go wrong with any of them. The lyrics from this particular song are a standout:

Between those who run to glory
And those who cannot run
Tell me which ones are the cripples
And which ones touch the sun?

The theme of ability and potentials reached and grasped at are evident and I liked this vid a lot.

What You Do With What You've Got - Anakin

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Gerard/Frank
Length: 14m 39s
Podfic Author on LJ: shiningartifact
Podfic Author Website: author's masterlist of podfic
Why this must be listened to: This is an absolutely flawless example of how fantastic podfic can be, with the right story and the right author. New Rule is a very atmospheric, dialogue-heavy story - taking place in a basement in the dark - so it works perfectly for the way shiningartifact reads: soft and familiar and just like you'd imagine, for two friends whispering back and forth in the middle of the night.

The moment that things shift from joking around to something more is done so well in the podfic - the tone of voice, the hesitation, the nervous excitement... in every way, this recording shows exactly what can be so great about podfic: it not only tells a story just how you'd imagine it, but it adds another dimension you never could have gotten from the written word, like filling a painting in with big strokes of colour. If you're not sure about whether you'll like podfic or not, shiningartifact is the person to try: she puts so much care and attention into her work, into making it true to the characters and the story, that it's hard not to fall in love with the way she reads.

( Excerpt )

New Rule podfic

Fandom: BONES
Song: “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the Wardrums” by A Perfect Circle
Vidder on LJ: parlai
Vidder Website: parlai on YouTube
Why this must be watched:

I didn’t think Howard Epps could get any creepier, but then I found this vid and was proven wrong. Using the perfect song and some of the best editing I’ve ever seen, parlai creates a chilling and unforgettable ode to everyone’s favorite serial killer. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched this, and it just gets better every time.

counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the wardrums

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: (10k, 20k, drabble, one-shot, novel-length; any indication of approximate length is great)
Author on LJ: Not on lj as far as I know
Author Website: No known website, but many of Lainie's stories are on the ProsLib CD, and here is a list of her stories at Palelyloitering
Why this must be read:Because it's a wonderful Pros AU story, written by an author who is not well enough known by lj-only Pros fen! Lainie Stone wrote, I believe, back in the 1980s, and so her fic is mostly either in zines, old paper circuit copies, or (thank goodness) on the ProsLib CD. She's written some great stories, and Heat is one of my favourites.

It's set in the future, a future where the world has been decimated first by an energy crisis of its own making, and then the ravages of ensuing disease. Doyle has been working for CI5, albeit a very different CI5 which is fighting the war against the cold, waiting for the time when the country has geared itself up once more to deal with crime rather than survival. Bodie, he was told, died of the "flu" like so many others - except that Doyle never had seen his body, and it turns out that of course he's still alive - of course he is...

This is one of those stories I always think has heart - you can feel the cold not just of the country, but Doyle's cold, and Bodie's too when he's found, and you're right there with them as things start warming up again, and their world slowly rights itself. It's a great story, and it doesn't deserve to be lost in the mists of non-internet fic, so do find the ProsLib CD, or the zines, and read it!

( Excerpt... )

Heat
(And via Yahoo Group Proslib (membership required): Heat)

Fandom: STAR WARS
Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Length: ~4000 words
Author on LJ: jedinic
Author Website: J Index On Master-Apprentice Site
Why this must be read:

For a conclusion to July Star Wars recs and because LJers need a bit of a lift, here is a fun story about Jedi Therapy and Master's Anonymous, where troubled Masters go to be counseled into achieving fulfilling relationships with their apprentices. Qui-Gon is shocked, shocked to be coerced into attending a session. He is certain his apprentice has a trouble-free synergy with his Master. He is wrong.

My Name Is Master Qui-Gon Jinn And I Treat My Padawan Like A Rock

Therapy Session

And so, we drift back to the Galaxy Not-So-Far-Away and maybe a quote from another fandom will be appropriate for beleaguered LJ: "May All Your Tribbles Be Little Ones." Sayonara!

Fandom: Star Trek: Reboot
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy
Length: 9088
Author on LJ: blcwriter
Why this must be read:

The story is by blcwriter and I would read anything she posts!

"You're going to hate me sometimes, the things I'm going to do to keep the crew and the ship safe. You need to accept that."

Jim tells Bones this before they board the Enterprise and the Doctor thinks he understands it. But he doesn't really and his inability to cope with the fact that his friend and lover sometimes has to kill people is the core of this story.

The author tells the story in second person from Bones' POV and provides an unflinching look at what the Captain must do to ensure his own and the crew's survival. How Bones comes to really understand this makes wonderful and fascinating reading that tugs at your heart strings for both Jim and Bones.

If you want an angsty, thoughtful and well written read, check out...

Love and hate

Vidder: SilviaKundera
Musical artist: Kanye West
Pairing: Arthur Pendragon/Merlin Emrys (but only as much as canon is their story, not a romantic pairing)
Vidder on LJ: silviakundera
Vidder's Website: LJ vid tag or SilviaKundera's YouTube Channel
Why this vid kicks ass
Visually powerful, but also emotionally wrenching, "Man on Lockdown" is an intense vid, not in any sense a happy, shippy ArthurxMerlin eye candy vid. But I love it even though it's painful to see Arthur fail to protect his people.

Vidder's summary: "The only necessity for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." There are battles for which Arthur will risk everything. These are not those battles.

Manon Lockdown (Vid post with DL info and notes)
Man on Lockdown (streaming on YouTube)

Fandom: HAWAII FIVE-0 (NEW)
Paring: Steve/Danny
Length: 39,606
Author on LJ: jaguarcaine (Joe Lawson)
Author Website: Joe Lawson's fic on A03

Why this must be read:

I'm not a big fan of crack fic so when I saw this one pop up today, I gave it a pass at first. I mean, Danny as a merman? Oh, please. But then I saw a couple of people whose taste in fic seems to be similar to mine reccing it so I decided to give it a try. I literally just finished reading it, left feedback for the author, and ran over here to rec it.

This story follows canon from the first episode on pretty closely, but with one difference: Merfolk are commonplace and Danny is a merman. The author obviously spent a lot of time thinking about the mer universe and it's fascinating. Mer have different characteristics and looks depending on what stock they're from. For instance, Hawaiian mer evolved from dolphins and Scandinavian mer (Danny's tribe) evolved from sharks. This makes it difficult for Danny to fit in among the ali'i kai and he has a rough time adjusting to the islands where he has moved to follow his human ex-wife and their half-mer daughter. All that changes when Steve bulldozes his way into Danny's life and Danny finds himself bonding with Steve, a thought that scares him because it didn't work out well with Rachel, who was unable to handle the intensity of a mer-human relationship.

This is a well-realized AU that is fascinating from start to finish.

Excerpt:

And just like that, they were four; the weirdest task force to ever task. A SEAL crusader, a mer detective, a half-breed rookie, and a discredited ex-cop. This was either going to go spectacularly wrong, or... Danny smirked. Nah. It was going to work, he could feel it. There was an energy about them when they were together that made him think there was little they wouldn't be able to do if they got a chance to get off the ground.

He was right about that. They clicked into place so easily Danny lost himself in it, let himself engage without the usual filter, and it wasn't until they took a break to collect the things they'd need that Danny realized how much Chin had thawed out and that Kono really wasn't scared of him and, worst of all, that he'd started to touch Steve. Nothing much; small nudges to get the man's attention mostly, little pokes to underline a point, the occasional bump of knee against knee to distract Steve when Steve got too intense, but Danny knew himself and he knew the signs.

He was starting to imprint on the crazy-ass SEAL, daddy issues, lack of common sense, and all. Steve was at least as much of a mess as his father's case was – a violent mess, pieces all over the place, with somebody's bloody handprints all over it – but Danny loved puzzles and wasn't scared by blood and violence, and Steve McGarrett made him feel alive in all the right ways. Danny wanted to pull down those stupid cargo pants and nuzzle between Steve's legs to learn his secrets, maybe lick him a little, see if he tasted as good as he smelled. He wanted to strip down and offer himself, feel Steve's skin against his, make Steve hold on to him and take him Below, down where the cool currents would soothe their heat and carry their mingled scents into the open ocean.

Damn it.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

For a look at the amazing artwork that accompanies this story, go here.

Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Naruto/Susake, Kakashi/Iruka, Jiraiya/Tsunade
Length: Long
Author on LJ: Thursday_Kat@LJ
Author Website: Kat Fic Master List
Why this must be read:

Correspondence is one of my favorites stories generated at the SN-Exchange Winter 2009. An adorable modern AU, the entire story is done through emails, letters, & texts from a more than slightly oblivious Naruto's POV. And while I love the Naruto/Sasuke, the Kakashi/Iruka and Jiraiya/Tsunade romance playing out while Naruto isn't paying attention - even though he's the one writing about it - is LOL hilarious.

Enjoy Correspondence and don't forget to give Thursday_Kat some love.