To wrap up my month driving the crack van, I'd like to recommend a story I like to read over and over again.

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Length: 148k
Author on LJ: http://charlotte-frost.livejournal.com/
Author's Website: Charlotte's stories
Why This Must Be Read: Something that Charlotte Frost does really well is taking care of the little details and bringing the boys to life by use of the mundane. In this story, Starsky gets a scare when he learns his girlfriend is pregnant. The best part of this story is the gradual way he and Hutch come together. The reader feels each and every little nuance as their relationship takes a turn into intimacy.

Just Enough

Fandom: FOOTBALL RPF
Pairing: Edin Dzeko/ Aleksandar Kolarov
Length: 3378
Author on LJ:wh_mermaid
Author Website: wh_mermaid
Why this must be read: This piece is again from slyreflection. This is a piece that's different from a lot of what's written in football fandom. It's confronts, head on, the difficulties found in the Balkan region and how they affect players in their professional lives. It's a well written piece that doesn't flinch or dance around the issues that it's raised. The author's love and knowledge of her team (Manchester City) also shines through. This is a great read for someone looking for something a little different and fresh.

When he finally stops, he is across from what remains of the National Library. It was once a haven of priceless knowledge, now only the outer façade remains. The windows are boarded up and a fence keeps intruders out. The rest of Sarajevo burned, why would a library be exempt?
When he is fearful of the future, this is his stark reminder. He survived a war, genocide, a four year siege of his city. For all his uncertainties, he will always know he is a survivor.

If you should ever need my life, come and
take it

Fandom: GENERATION KILL
Pairing: Brad Colbert/Nate Fick
Length: 6290
Author on LJ: sparky77
Author Website: Q's Fic
Why this must be read:

A fairytale in which Nate's a prince who's been cast aside, raised by Ray on stories of the Fairy King (aka Brad). Creepy in the vein of classic fairytales, with great cameos by many of the guys and a priceless Ray-Ray. Magical and delightful and so much fun.

According to Ray, the Fairy King was 8 feet tall. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and he could turn water to ice just by looking at it. His wings were blue too and everywhere they touched, they left a trail of frost. He was in charge of the first frost and of icing over all the ponds.

"I want to meet him," Screwby demanded one day after hearing the story.

Screwby: A Fairytale

Fandom: DEATH NOTE
Pairing: mainly Light/L rape, plus some implied Light/Misa on the side
Length: ~15000
Author on LJ: amy_elysian
Author Website: Death Note kink meme fic index for amy_elysian | Hetalia kink meme fic index for amy_elysian | LJ "fic" tag | LJ "fic link" tag

Originally written anonymously, the author outed themselves here and here, so I figured it was fine to attach their name to the series in this rec.

These three fanfics tell a brutal and deeply characterized story of captivity and rape. Light's obsession combines along with Rem's stubbornness and ingenuity to lead to a situation of captivity for L. Nobody on the task force has any idea of where L is, while Light plays with L in various depraved ways.

Fanfics involving rape and captivity are common in the Death Note fandom, but this one stands out as very different from the vast majority of them.

Death Note rape-fics tend to go in one of two directions. Either they tend to be "fantasy rape" where the rape is unrealistic, clearly written for viewer titillation, and leads to the victim falling in love with the rapist, or they go the opposite direction and focus on rape as torture, with not much else in the story other than torture, torture and more torture, largely neglecting a plot and characterization.

This series manages to avoid both of those typical paths. L psychologically unravels under the strain of what he needs to do to survive, but he keeps a core of his real self alive, subversively hoping for a way out. A plot is here, in abundance, and so is lots of characterization, for L, Light, Misa and Rem.

"Warmer in the Basement Part I", "Warmer in the Basement Part II" & "The Basement Files" (scroll down to read all three fanfics)

Fandom: FOOTBALL RPF
Pairing: None; Zaida Villa
Length: 5476
Author on LJ:acchikocchi
Author Website: acchikocchi
Why this must be read: This rec is different from all the others I've done this month. First of all, it's future fic, and secondly it's about women's football. It really does an excellent job to highlight the differences between men's and women's football in perception, funding, and how the game is treated. Zaida is alive, and she's so much like her father is on the pitch now, that it's something that it's almost as if the future is unfolding before your eyes. The style is beautiful. It's not exactly lyrical, but it's still beautiful, and it does a masterful job of dragging you into the piece. Thanks to slyreflection for introducing me to this!

She holds her breath, waiting.

"We should talk about this later," he says. "Not after a defeat."

Suddenly she's so furious she can barely see straight.

"Sorry we're not the men's team," she bites out, voice nearly shaking. "Sorry we don't win everything."

Her father looks at her blankly, like he has no idea what she's talking about, which only makes her angrier. His brows go down. "You should never make big decisions after a loss," he says. "Listen, I know what--"

She cuts in. "Since when?"

She sees him start to answer and then clamp down on his own reply. "We'll talk about this later," he repeats. "If this is really what you need to -- we'll talk about it."

She can't even explain why she's so angry, so frustrated, only that it's stinging, choking her throat, bringing tears to her eyes. She can't hit anything, she can't yell, she can't speak. "Stop -- stop -- " He reaches out, and she jerks away. "Stop coddling me!"

"No one's coddling you," her father says harshly, his voice rising at last. "Like it or not, you're my daughter and there is no f -- no way I'm -- "

She hears her own voice snap, "I never asked to be!"

Her father recoils and for a desperate second she thinks no, no, I take it back. Then his face hardens and so does her resentment.

"You can't always get what you want," he says. "Better get used to it."

origin stories

This is my last rec for the month, folks. Hope you haven't minded the scenic route!

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Dallon Weekes/Ian Crawford
Length: 13,182
Author on LJ: inlovewithnight
Author Website: by tags on inlovewithnight's journal
Why this must be read:
So you may have noticed this month has had a sorta-theme of less-usual pairings. This one's wrapping it up, with the other two guys who play with Panic! at the Disco -- the adorable muppet, and the ridiculously tall-looking guy. (And yes, it's another one by inlovewithnight, because I had already decided to rec the previous one, and then this appeared and I couldn't not. Hope that's okay.)

So this! This is a story where Ian and Dallon have a fling, and then it's kind of a thing, and it's a bad idea, but at the same time, it's the only good idea. Dallon's busy not thinking about things, and then there's Ian Crawford all up in his life. It's not such a big deal, except it is.

This story sneaks up on you; you don't quite realise what's happening until it's done, and then it hits you hard. It's a great balance between quasi-domestic solidity and sudden instability when it could all fall apart. Dallon is so busy not thinking about things that he isn't even in denial -- he genuinely doesn't notice what he's doing, and that is a level of obliviousness I have to admire. *g*

The other thing that makes this story, for me, is the other people -- Brendon, Spencer, Breezy, Dallon's kids. Even in short appearances they're vivid and distinct, with great interactions and dialogue.

( Excerpt )


the parentheses all clicking shut behind you @AO3