Fandom: GENERATION KILL
Pairing: Brad Colbert/OFC, ensemble
Length: 3522
Author on LJ: lila82
Author Website: lila82
Why this must be read:

This fic explores Brad's relationship with his former girlfriend - the heartbreak there - and the way his brother Marines help him come to terms and put his heart back together. I has a certain essentialism; where home is, what loyalty is, what love is. It's set in-theatre, with the violence of war making the personal reflections and memories all that more intense.

It's vivid and sparse and beautiful, and it has a constant, quiet understanding of Brad. It's an absolute gem.

I had real trouble deciding which excerpt I wanted - because it's all so excellent - but here is one:

( Excerpt... )


Demon Days (Or Five Times 2nd Platoon Tried to Mend Brad Colbert’s Broken Heart)

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg
Length:14381 words.
Author on LJ:alyburns
Author's Websites alysbasement and Alyjude's page at ASR3.

Why this must be read:

Ever decide to say or do something only to find that the response you thought would happen, didn't?

For me, when I was seven, it was deciding to give the illicit ice cream cone I'd bought from the Mr. Softie truck to my dad, thus thwarting my brothers and sisters plan to tell on me. After all, if I said I'd bought the ice cream for Dad, with my very own dime, then I wouldn't be in trouble for breaking the no-buying-ice-cream-without-permission rule.

I fully expected my dad to appreciate my gesture and as a reward, tell me that he was letting me eat his my ice cream cone. So I watched in disbelief when my plans were crushed when he just said, “Thanks” and ate it in front of me.

In Moving On, Blair decides that he's going to panic Jim into making a play for Blair by telling him he's thinking of moving out into his own place. He gives Jim some very reasonable reasons why it's time. What he expects is for Jim to tell him not to move out, and sexy times will commence.

That's not what happens.

This is an enjoyable story with plenty of funny moments (I got a kick out of Blair talking to himself, and his interactions with his new friend, a hooker with a heart-of-gold) but will also tug at your heartstrings. (Note, there is an animal death in the story). Plus there's great banter with the Major Crimes guys, some wonderful insight by Simon Banks, and kittens.


( Click for the story summary and excerpt )

Moving On by Alyjude at ASR3

Fandom: Sherlock
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 28 K+
Author on LJ: lanning
Author Website: Lanning's fic on AO3
Why this must be read:

I thought it would be nice to give you something chewy with BAMF!John over the weekend.
( This fic hits a lot of nice marks. )


26 Pieces by Lanning

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Sam/Annie
Length: 405 words
Author on LJ:talkingtothesky
Author Website: Link goes to memories on the lifein1973 comm.
Why this must be read:
This is the fic I *needed* to read after the last episode of Life on Mars (contains spoilers for the last ep). It's got that wonderful combination of incredulity mixed with understanding, love, and daring humor that characterizes Sam and Annie's relationship and provides excellent insight into Sam's mind, showing us what he's consciously thinking about and the sights he's taking in as well as his sense-memories. It's also lyrical and understated and accomplishes so much in a short space. When you're done with this piece, I highly recommend reading her other work--she's written marvelous Sam/Gene and Sam/Gene/Annie as well.
( Excerpt with series-ending spoilers )

Pause Before You Take a Bow

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairings: Mostly gen with brief Albus Severus/Scorpius and a background couple (don't want to spoil it)
Length: About 3k
Author on LJ: snegurochka_lee
Author's Website: Her AO3
Why this must be read: Let me preface this by saying that Lee converted me from reading simple gen and Ron/Hermione fic to reading rarepairs and deep, convoluted stories that have twists and turns and smut and darkfic. And I couldn't be happier.

My jaw nearly fell off once I read and understood this fic. You will need to read it more than once to completely understand it. Lee has made this fic an adventure in artistic prose and well-written twists. She has made it horrifying and lovely and hopeful and gut-wrenching. This is a story not to be missed because of the sheer talent it took to come up with the concept and follow through effectively. You'll stare at the screen for a while and go, that just blew my mind.



Mr Potter Lives for a Day

Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Pairing: None
Length: 237,831
Author on LJ:
Author Website: BMP's fic on AO3 and DNF.
Why this must be read: BMP has been recommended before but this ATF AU story is arguably her most dense, reading less like fan fiction and more like something you would pick up at a bookstore. JD shoots two minors in a convenience store and what starts as a seemingly open-and-shut case devolves into several plot threads involving family bonds: Blood family, lost family, found family. Chris is caught between doing his job and doing the right thing, Buck is caught between his job and protecting JD from everyone and everything, and JD is caught between the two of them while dealing with his conflicted emotions, a courtroom drama, and the outraged public. The rest of the team try, and fail, to keep out of the widening fault line within their ranks and things will get much worse before they get better.

( Buck really wants to find the gun that will prove JD was acting in self-defense. )

Fault Lines on AO3

Fandom: GENERATION KILL
Pairing: Nate Fick/Brad Colbert
Length: 13529
Author on LJ: lunasky
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read:

Yuletide Treasures (site, AO3) brings some amazing fic into all fandoms, but especially those smaller fandoms that typically don't get as much love - and it's produced some stunningly good GenKill fic across the years.

This in-theatre fic simmers with tension and the slow build of the relationship - and when it finally gets there, it's fantastically hot. The pacing is snappy, and hits all the right notes. The guys are very subtly portrayed and fantastically three-dimensional. It also features Brad being a complete smartass, Nate just being smart, and moments of honesty and humour that round this out into one of the best in-theatre relationship stories I've read.

( Excerpt... )

Free Falling Through The Nighttime Sky