Fandom: TRON
Pairing: Clu/Tron, Clu/Rinzler
Length: ~6,000 words
Author on LJ: camesawconquerd
Author Website:
Warnings: Per the author, “Dubcon like nobody's business. Abusing Asimov's laws of robotics. Some not-nice touching. Program abuse. Cherry popping. Circuit sexing. Maybe some Stockholm Syndrome.”
Why this must be read:

Where does free choice stop and compulsion begin? What would consent mean for entities whose thoughts and feelings can be input by others? These are some of the questions raised in this sad, unsettling story, which is constructed around a series of conversations between Clu and the Program he is remaking into Rinzler.

( Rinzler approached him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and drawing their bodies together. Clu grew stiff, anticipating a fight but instead it was Rinzler's mouth close to his ear and his hand tracing the circuit down his chest. “Like this, Clu. Did he touch you like this?” )

This is the only fic about Rinzler’s repurposing that has made me feel bad for Clu, too. He is an undeniably tragic figure here, though, as discovers that his pursuit of perfection has unexpected costs, and that refusing to follow Users’ orders doesn’t mean he’s free of them.

“Pretty When You’re Mine”

Fandom: DONALD STRACHEY MYSTERIES
Pairing: Donald Strachey/Timothy Callahan
Length: 2,650 words
Author on LJ: lil_1337
Author's website: None, but a list of fanfic tags can be found on the left column of Lil's journal.

Why this fic must be read: You need to read this because it's what good bookverse fic is all about. Donald and Timothy are in a mature, settled relationship but what they have together is anything but staid and boring — especially when little Erica comes for a visit. This story is fun, insightful and it reads like Richard Stevenson wrote it himself.

lil_1337 wrote this for the ninth edition of smallfandomfest.

( An excerpt and some spoiler information for Chain of Fools )

Child's Play

Fandom: TRON
Pairing: OFC/OFC, Rinzler/OMC, Sam/Tron
Length: ~5,300 words
Author on LJ: ekala_sy_eph
Author Website:
Warnings: Spoilers for Legacy. Violence, rough sex.
Why this must be read:

This is a sharp change of pace from the other fic I recced from this writer. During his visits to a post-Legacy Grid where the Games have been reinstated on a non-lethal basis, Sam is troubled by reports of lucrative, illicit bouts — and puzzled that, contrary to his fears, they are not death matches. But if the audiences aren’t paying to see deresolutions, then what is the appeal? Obviously, he has to go undercover to find out.

( Sam is almost ready to get up and leave when a disc is knocked out of the one program's hand, the crowd roaring. He expects a normal slam, perhaps a smash to overload her circuits, the normal overload procedure, but then she's flipping up again and-- and he gapes as she is suddenly all over the other program, half wrestling and half groping, the other disc forgotten easily. )

ekala_sy_eph mixes vivid action scenes, thrumming sexual tension, and comedy as User and Program come to terms with what the investigation reveals.

“Ready, Fight!”

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Rita Skeeter/Amelia Bones
Length: 11,000
Author on LJ: featherxquill
Author Website: featherxquill's master list of fics
Why this must be read:
This fic is a wonderfully unsentimental chronicle of an affair between two sharp, strong women committed to their work and more alike than you'd think at first glance. Both are shrewd, hard-headed, with a lavish sexuality that one exudes via stiletto heels and blonde curls and the other conceals under conservative tailoring. One came up through Slytherin and had a future Death Eater as a best friend; the other's House affiliation doesn't matter but her position as Deputy Head of Aurors does. That, and the heavy shadow of unsolved murders that lies across her family's past. Each is a crusader in her own way. But it's the delicate moral line concerning exactly where justice begins and ends, a line one crosses and the other can't, that eventually outweighs all desire, all possibility.

featherxquill creates two fascinating characters, one a moral relativist and the other an upholder of the law. Politics deeply informs the story and the tensions between the two women, a tension that heightens the spark. And yowza, what a spark -- this fic is scorching. I love it for its pitch-prefect prose, its complexity and nuance, the way it eroticizes intelligence and probity, the fact that it withholds authorial insistence and leaves the reader to decide whether Rita or Amelia or both or neither are right, wrong, and to what degree. It's not a heartbreaking tale, but it left me wishing they could have found a way to make it work. I also wish it could have been another 50,000 words long, because I could have continued reading featherxquill's smartly honed, sharp-eyed prose and her clear-eyed take on Rita and Amelia for the rest of the day.

( NSFW snippet )

Blindness and Stars

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Length: ~ 17850 words
Author on LJ: murron
Author Website: Fic Index on LJ
Why this must be read: If you had an angel, what would you do with him? (Okay, I realize that's a loaded question, and if you're Dean Winchester your answer might not be appropriate for all ages.) This story is an AU set after season 5 and takes advantage of Cas's angel transportation skills to embark on a globe-trotting vacation with Dean and Sam. However, it's not all fun, sun, and souvenirs. Sam's dealing with guilt over having pulled Dean away from Lisa and Ben, and ruining what Sam sees as Dean's chance out of the hunting life. Dean, on the other hand, can't quite get into the spirit of the trip; it seems as if there's nothing he wants for himself, but that turns out to not exactly be true. All three of the characters are in their own way without purpose, lost, but ultimately they discover that they're still better together than alone. It's a lovely, long, leisurely story with good banter and quiet character insights.


( 'Wait a minute,' Dean said. 'Are you telling us you’ve been hanging out on some Greek island for a holiday?' )

Read the story and feedback the author: The Distance of the Setting Sun

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: short story
Author on LJ: scullyseviltwin
Author Website: Fic Master List
Why this must be read: I love stories about missed opportunities. In "The Moon is High," I like how the emotional landscape between them shifts in the course of one long-distance phone call from drunken denial to plainspoken need.

The Moon is High

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Length: 3626 words
Author on LJ: cousinshelley
Author Website: More fic by this author can be found under her name at AO3 and on her LJ.
Why this must be read: As far as I can determine, this is the only S&H fic on the web by Cousin Shelley. Which is a shame, because she has a real way with the characters, their voices, and their relationship. Starsky's superstitious streak is showcased here, together with Hutch's patented "You don't really believe that, do you?" pragmatism. We also get some delightful dialogue and sweet, fade-to-black sex. Though they may not see eye to eye on the subject of luck, the guys don't let that come between them!

( Brief sample )

Luck

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Dean/Castiel (pre-slash; non-explicit)
Length: ~ 6596 words
Author on LJ: misachan
Author Website: Master Fic Index on LJ
Why this must be read: Supernatural fandom (myself included) seems to have a weakness for stories where witches kick Dean's ass. The show's canon has given us ample proof that Dean has reason to despise witches, and in this story, the witches have thrown in their lot with a group of demons to take Dean's soul. Well, Castiel fought hard for that soul in Hell; he's not giving it, or Dean, up without a fight.

But with the sigils on Dean's ribs to hide him from angels (including Cas) and the witches' warding to hide the location, Castiel can do little more than listen to Dean's suffering and wait for some clue to his whereabouts. Needless to say, he's not very fond of listening to Dean being tortured, and when the time comes to act, Castiel is the avenging angel we all know he can be.

It's good old-fashioned hurt/comfort, but for those of you with romantic notions about these boys, there's a lovely hint at the end of the story that will leave you grinning unabashedly.

( 'Witches,' he hissed, so much venom in the word Bobby could almost taste it. )

Read the story and feedback the author: Who If I Cried Out Would Hear Me?

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Hestia Jones/Petunia Dursley
Length: 13,848
Author on LJ: slytherite
Author Website: slytherite on fanfiction.net
Why this must be read:
This is one of the more charming fics I've read this year. The authorial voice – or rather, the POV of Hestia Jones, Sapphist, witch, member of the Order, and Dursley bodyguard in a cottage by the sea – is quirky, humorous, self-deprecating, and full of marvelous, off-kilter internal commentary. Hestia's an eccentric even by wizarding standards, and throwing her together with the Dursleys could have created a matter/anti-matter reaction. But in fact this fic maintains its puckish good humor even as Hestia falls for Petunia in spite of herself – in spite of Petunia, for that matter. The fic demonstrates that Petunia is smarter than her husband, sexually frustrated, and ready for a change, although part of the reason Petunia changes is because she doesn't have to; Hestia cheerfully accepts that this interesting Muggle with the lacquered hair will always be snippy, duty-bound, uncharitable, and narrow-minded. Somewhat mischievously, she plies Petunia with picnics at the beach and illegal flights on a magic carpet, and the hopeful, even hedonist side of the suburban matron peers out, suspicious, starved for fun, and not entirely unwilling to be seduced.

The story rambles in fits and starts through their blossoming relationship, but the unpredictable ponderings and second thoughts and chessboard conversations and doleful consequences are all part of its charm. You never know what Hestia, with her rather flexible attitude toward spiking the tea and sleeping with married ladies, will think of next. The prose is inventive, amused, delightful in its details, sunny and tart and sweet-tempered all at once. The war is far away, and Petunia's mid-life crisis has found an outlet in a witch twenty years her senior, one able to see the beauty in starchy, repressed, late-blooming divorcées who can finally make their peace with magic.

( Vernon has something he'd like to say )

Fostering Witch-Muggle Understanding

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Dean/Castiel (pre-slash; non-explicit)
Length: ~ 6596 words
Author on LJ: vichan
Author Website: Master Fic, Vid and Other Fandom Stuff Index on LJ
Why this must be read: Sam, Dean, and Cas are so used to fighting against the apocalypse that they're at a complete loss when faced with a world where their biggest concern is how they're going to get back to the motel after drinking themselves stupid. Naturally, Castiel insists on driving ... much to Dean's horror and to the surprise of a local officer who can't quite figure out how Castiel seems to be sober.

This story works so well because while it's funny, it also has an underlying core of emotion grounding it as Dean considers if Castiel will be sticking around now that the apocalypse has been averted. (Of course, someone has to keep Dean alive and out of trouble ...)


( The Dead Dean Clause only comes into effect when Sam convinces Castiel - or Castiel convinces himself - that the course of action they're discussing would likely result in Dean being dead. )

Read the story and feedback the author: The Dead Dean Clause

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Bob/Brian
Length: 3134
Author on LJ: soundslikej
Author Website: AO3 Archive Here
Why this must be read: This is an awesome fic! It takes a glimpse into the past to when Matt hadn't left the group yet. It's wacky shenanigans and deaged guys into preschoolers!

How can you not want to read Bob and Brian going out of their minds with tiny My Chemical Romance? You can't!

( Excerpt )


Five Tired Boys and a Broken Down Manager