Fandom: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Pairing: Mark/Eduardo
Length: 7,700 words
Author on LJ: oflights
Author Website: Masterlist
Why this must be read: Absolutely wonderful fic. Hot and hilarious. It's established relationship fic (I tend towards first time fics generally) wherein Mark and Eduardo have so much sex Mark starts falling asleep at work. Chris worries (Chris worrying is something that happens a lot in TSN, you might have noticed. <3 Chris) and Eduardo tries to restrain himself. It's harder than you'd think. An enormously fun premise, that is sneakily used to demonstrate their relationship wonderfully.

“But—he likes it,” Eduardo says sort of weakly, but now that he’s looking, all he can see are the dark circles under Mark’s eyes, the circles that shouldn’t be there because with Eduardo around, Mark is being taken care of. That’s just how it goes. He feels slightly sick at the thought of anything else, and weirdly guilty, and ugh, okay, so maybe he also feels sort of. Awesome at sex. But only a little bit, really.

This is, tragically, my last musical theater rec for the month--I'm about to head out of town for the holidays, and Internet access will be sporadic (although I'll see what I can do for the Drive-In next Friday). It's been a pleasure sharing these new and old favorites with all of you this month. Happy holidays!

Fandom: Musical Theater / Chess
Pairing: Freddie/Florence, Anatoly/Florence
Length: 1500 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: At AO3

Why this must be read: "I Adjust" is a sharp-eyed character study of Florence, her flaws and successes, and the way she adapts to restarting her life over and over. Come for the rendering of her relationships with Anatoly and Freddie--each layered and distinct--and stay for the brutally honest look into Florence Vassy. Mardy has a clear understanding of these characters, and it shows.

( Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss, but between them, as often as not, it's a change of subject. )

I Adjust

Fandom: KUROSHITSUJI
Pairing: Claude/Ciel
Length: 870 words
Author on LJ: chicary
Author Website: Chicary at AO3
Why this must be read:

Of all Kuroshitsuji's supernatural characters, Claude Faustus is the furthest removed from anything recognizably human. He's a challenge for writers: it's hard to render his sheer strangeness in a way that's recognizable and convincing even from the outside, and I haven't seen much that succeeds. "Visit" does something even rarer: it's written from Claude's point of view, and it works.

Here Claude contemplates and tries to understand Ciel, and the meaning of his own obsession with him. It's never quite clear whether the visit of the title is real or an artifact of Claude's obsession and imagination, and perhaps that's part of the point: Claude does not see the world as we do. Beautiful, eerie, and disorienting, "Visit" is a remarkable piece of work; I know of nothing else remotely like it in the fandom.

Visit

Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: ~ 2600 words
Author on LJ: jibrailis
Author Website: Fic Masterlist; Full Fic Backlog on AO3
Why this must be read: Werewolves are so common place these days that fandom works hard to shake things up. I've read about were-yaks, were-goats, and even were-unicorns. This is the first story I've ever seen with were-fruit - there might be more out there somewhere, but this was my first time. (Popping the were-cherry, so to speak.)

In this tale, Arthur is cursed by witches, and once a month when the moon is ripe (hee-hee), he turns into a pineapple. This has both pros and cons:

There are certain benefits to turning into a pineapple every full moon.

- no laundry necessary
- lots of rest and relaxation
- he can avoid his mother's phone calls

On the whole though, Arthur would not say that it is an experience that he recommends.

The story is a series of short scenes as Eames learns Arthur's secret. This author, known for great comedic stories, never disappoints; there are laugh out loud moments and phrases you will forever want to find a way to work into conversation. Seriously. Like this:

"If you say you're going to cross-pollinate me one more time--" Arthur begins.

Eames smirks. "You get off on it, don't even lie. I only want to help you," he adds as Arthur prepares a retort. "Werewolves have the soul of a wolf, were-unicorns have the soul of a unicorn, and you have the soul of a fertile pineapple. There's no shame. Embrace your inner pineapple."

"Maybe," Cobb says, "maybe I should come back another time."

Come on, admit it. You want to have friends you can tell to embrace their inner pineapples and caution against eating pineapple tarts because it's cannibalism. This is the story you will want to force people to read. You will want to tie them to chairs and read it to them until someone forms an advocacy group for were-pineapples! Until they have a special section on eHarmony! Until you're not the only one who gets these references!!!

So, go pop your were-cherry ... and be prepared to laugh out loud. Embrace your inner pineapple - you know you want to.

On LJ: This doesn't even deserve a title, or The Were-Pineapple Story

It doesn't matter how old or new or (how popular) a story is, authors love feedback!