Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Sam/Mara, Sam/Gene
Length: 16 513
Author on LJ: halotolerant
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

A couple month ago one of my cousins sent me an email that basically read: "OMG! OMG! TINTIN FIC KT! TINTIN FIC!!! Eeeeeeeeee!!11!!1!...... *Insert incoherent keyboard mashing here.*" In fact she sent me 14 875 words extolling the virtues of a 1 551 word long fic it was just that good.

This rec is not about the awesome Tintin fic she discovered. Instead it's about the awesome Life on Mars Fic by the same author.

Written as a 2011 Big Bang Plot Fixer, Till touchdown Brings Me Round Again, has managed to transport all the 1973 characters we know and love into 2006.  Annie's a nurse, Ray's hiding in the background, and Gene's a DS in traffic.

A DS in TRAFFIC.

It shouldn't work but oh god does it ever. 

There's even awesome art by fern_tree.

Excerpt:

"There are some questions for which there is never any bloody hope of an answer, but we ask them anyway, because believing an answer exists is maybe the closest we can get to finding it. Gene would have ample opportunity to interrogate himself afterwards, but the way things turned out, luck or fate or the god that was caffeine was with him – or maybe he really had been fine, maybe his blithe judgement of himself as fit to drive had been correct.

That day, in a few hours time, a man called DCI Sam Tyler was going to be run down by a car, left lying in the middle of the road. When Gene drove past, minutes later, he didn’t kill the man, didn’t hit his head with the nearside wheel of his Audi, didn’t end it once and for all, only almost, only nearly.

Only inches away."

Till Touchdown Brings Me Round Again by Halotolerant on AO3 or the Livejournal announcement page

Fandom: CABIN PRESSURE
Pairing: Martin/OMC, Carolyn/OMC, Douglas/OFC
Length: 9 704
Author on LJ: innie_darling
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

I'm going to start my Cabin Pressure recs for this month with one of my all time favourites. Actually, scratch that. What I mean to say is...  This is the best Cabin Pressure fic out there!

Every time I read it I get all gooey feeling from the pure amount of smoop contained within. You have been warned. This is such a sweetly happy fic. You may want to book a dentist appointment after reading it. Your teeth are going to be rotted right through.

Counter, Original, Spare, Strange, or Happy Boyfriends as its known in my bookmarks, is the final part of the Happy Martin Trilogy by innie_darling. If you're ever having a bad day read the whole trilogy. You'll be smiling for hours afterwards.

It's kind of a tradition in the Cabin Pressure fandom to give Martin happy endings. And I'm pleased to say that innie_darling has succeeded beyond anybody's wildest dreams.


Excerpt:

"I like that you can wear my socks," David said, stretching out his much longer legs.

"You like that I have big feet?" Martin asked disbelievingly. David persisted in seeing the good in everything about him, and he was curious to hear the rationale behind this one.

"Well, you know what they say about men with big feet," David said suggestively.

Martin was too full just then to respond to innuendo. "That they wear big shoes?"

"Yes, exactly; you're a genius," David said, giggling a little and trying to stifle the sound by hiding his face in Martin's neck. "Take me to bed, you loon."

Counter, Original, Spare, Strange by Innie_darling and on AO3

Fandom: A-TEAM MOVIE!VERSE
Pairing: Hannibal/Face
Length: 43K
Author on LJ: karenjd
Author Website: BlueLotus on AO3
Why this must be read:

One of the ideas that gets bandied about often, in regards to Face, is that he had to grow up pretty fast in order to survive his childhood. We take the canon from the show - Face is an orphan, abandoned to a Catholic church/orphanage as a little kid by a mother he can’t quite remember. This is a lot to play with, and often manifests in everything from child abuse in a foster home or in the orphanage, to sex slavery. This story is the best exploration I’ve seen yet of what Face’s early life could have been like.

karenjd imbues this with a sense of realism in both the characters and events of the plot that’s just heart-rending. Face is forced to face a past he thought he left behind when a client hires them to retrieve his son from the red-light district in New York. He’s never talked to the team about his life, and when the job gets rough, Hannibal becomes increasingly confused about what’s happening with his lover. The tension between them is as great as the story itself, which weaves in some of the classic characteristics of the tv!verse missions in a modern way. It’s really long, but utterly worth it.

This one does come with warnings, though. There’s violence, child sexual abuse and prostitution (mentioned, not described) and both physical and mental torture. That being said, it’s still a fantastic, engrossing read.

Fractured Memories

Hi, all. This is the fandom post for the A-Team movie!verse. The A-Team started as a television show in the 1980s and is largely remembered in pop culture consciousness as being the show that brought us Mr. T. A movie remake was released in the summer of 2010. The fandoms for the two aren't divided, per se, but there are some significant differences that do need to be highlighted in order to fully enjoy the movie!verse fics.

( The Breakdown )

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Donna Noble/Shaun Temple
Length: 4,952 words
Author on LJ: plutokitty
Author Website: pluto on Teaspoon, pluto on AO3
Why this must be read:
I have a thing for Donna fix-its. This one is sweet -- all the sweeter in that it is the brilliant man she marries that is the catalyst, her sweet handyman. We never really meet him in the show; all we get are glimpses from afar, but this author has made him a real character. He's Donna's chosen Companion. This story makes me smile. Really, go read it!

Handyman by pluto

Fandom: FRINGE
Pairing/Characters: Olivia-centric (with ensemble and Olivia/Peter)
Length: ~ 7100
Author on LJ: monroeslittle
Author Website: http://monroeslittle.livejournal.com/10536.html
Why this must be read:
I like this story best for its poignant portrayal of Olivia's childhood, and for the strong relationship between Olivia and Rachel. Though monroeslittle's resolution is happier than what we are likely to get from the series, I found her "life and times of Olivia Dunham" to be well-executed, sweet and satisfying.


Read Precious and Fragile Things

Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Length: 7259
Author on LJ: corilannam
Why this must be read: I love the premise that Merlin can stop time and really like the way the author writes the first and possibly last time Merlin uses this skill. Merlin and Arthur's relationship here is gorgeous; Morgana is pre-season 3 Morgana and not inherently evil and always trying to do the right thing.

This modern AU presents an interesting, if peripheral look at Uther and really tugs at the heartstrings when you think that Merlin's abandonment issues may have ruined his and Arthur's lives. The author manages an awesome twist in the tale to provide a lovely story.

Same as it ever was

Fandom: SHERLOCK
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 1500+ words
Author on LJ: lavvyan
Author Website: LJ fic index and AO3
Why this must be read:

What is it like to have relationship with someone who doesn't want sex, and you do? No matter which end of the spectrum you fall on, the stark contrast—and the frustrations it causes—are perfectly clear. This fic manages to deal with those differences quite realistically as the two find a balance that pleases them both.

Practical Angora Goat Raising on LJ.
On AO3.