Fandom: LORD OF THE RINGS
Pairing: Merry Brandybuck/Éowyn of Rohan, Éowyn/Faramir, Merry/Estella Bolger, Peregrin Took/Diamond of Long Cleeve, Sam Gamgee/Rosie Cotton, Pippin/OC, King Elessar (Aragon)/Arwen Undómiel, King Éomer of Rohan/Princess Lothíriel of Dol Amroth, various and sundry other pairings
Length: 215,000ish words
Author on LJ: aranel_took
Author Website: Aranel Took's Fanfiction: Stories from a Fancrone, on FF.net
Why this must be read:
I enjoy angsty, plotty stories full of blood and battles just as much as the next girl... but sometimes I also want stories about families and love and babies and LIFE. That's not to say that this is a simple story, because it isn't, truly. There is angst aplenty for Ivy, the accidental daughter of Merry and Éowyn. Growing up neither Hobbit nor Big Folk and feeling rejected by both peoples (but never by her family, which is large and caring) is tough on Ivy, but she is a Brandybuck AND a Shield-maiden of Rohan -- she can handle it.

I was pretty leery of this premise and I was actually pretty shocked at myself over how much I was drawn into the stories and relationships of the characters. Give this story a try, even if the premise seems as odd to you as it did to me. This author handles it all delicately and delightfully. Be sure to check out the side-stories in this universe, too.

The Roots of Ivy by Aranel Took

Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: A Shifting Sense of Self
Pairing: Cobb/Mal/Arthur, thwarted A/E
Length: 3,505
Author on LJ: immoral_crow
Author Website: masterlist of fics on author's journal
Why this must be read:

In Inception canon, the character of Eames is a "forger," someone who can literally "forge" the shape of another person, of any sex, in the dreamscape. As a result, there are many fics that play around with genderqueer experimentation in the dream, swapping genders, physical identities, and more.

In this pre-canon fic, Mal uses the excuse of teaching Arthur to forge another person--specifically herself--to lead Cobb and Arthur gradually into a three-way relationship. This is totally hot and also interesting in its take on what it takes to 'build' the image of another person. It's told from Cobb's POV, which is another thing that makes this different from most of the genderqueer stories I've read, which tend to be from the POV of the person actually doing the experimentation. It's also a good take on the motivations Cobb uses to justify asking Arthur to leave his whole life behind and flee the country with him--selfishness, grief, and the desire to keep Arthur, who's worn his wife's skin, close to him.


( Cobb let his head fall back, and realised with a shock that Arthur had put his arm around him. )

A Shifting Sense of Self

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 30,700 words
Author on LJ margaret_r
Author website/archives Fictionwriter
Why this must be read: This is another undercover-as-gay story, and it captures the London of the 70s perfectly. Bodie and Doyle are in an established relationship when the story starts, but very much in the closet from the point of view of their job. Gay relationships had recently become ‘legal’ in UK but only in certain circumstances so the lads are faced with problems in their temporary undercover employment. The paddle steamer of the title, now a nightclub, is in some ways the heroine of the story although Battersea power station comes a close second. There are beautifully developed OCs and the reader is encouraged to care about their problems, their history and the outcome; this writer makes the background to any op truly three dimensional and not just a sketchy excuse for a shoot-out. She also provides lovingly detailed descriptions of locations and the banks of the Thames come alive in her writing. The fic is exciting and heartwarming. It was written for the 2011 Big Bang and has some wonderful accompanying art by milomaus which is incorporated in the AO3 text. (Remember artists also like feedback.) I confess to doing the beta so if you find any typos, blame me!

Riverboat Queen

Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: Two Steps Towards Make Believe
Pairing: Arthur/Eames, Arthur/Sleep
Length: 3,525
Author on LJ: suchdisguise
Author Website: author's fic tag on their LJ

AND

Title: Sort of Revolution
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: 1,300
Author on LJ: pyrimidine
Author Website: author's fic tags on their LJ

Why these must be read: These are two very different, if equally fabulous writers, but in my head these fics are siblings. Read together, both fics read like a Before and After of the same trope, wherein Arthur/Sleep is a very delicate and charming thing.

Because Inception canon deals with dreaming, the fandom is mildly obsessed with the potential for insomnia, and how dreaming on the job affects natural sleep. Fandom often paints Arthur as uptight and sleep-deprived, running on coffee and spreadsheets. suchdisguise takes Arthur's probable insomnia and pairs it with the idea that Eames makes an irresistible body pillow. Sleep-deprived Arthur's attempts to stealth!sleep on top of Eames are charming and somehow believable, as is Eames' reaction when he figures out what Arthur is doing. Pyrimidine tackles the other side of the picture--how a fully-rested and sleep-infused Arthur behaves during all his morning-afters with Eames, who has to adjust to the new concept of Arthur bumping groggily around his flat in the mornings. Each of these fics is sublimely warm-fuzzy and happy by themselves. Together they are everything that I love about the trope of accidentally-domestic Arthur/Eames in this fandom. ♥


( He had never had that thought before in his life. 'I just want to keep sleeping.' It was brand new territory. )

Two Steps Towards Make Believe by Suchdisguise and Sort of Revolution by Pyrimidine

Fandom: STARGATE SG:1
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Author on LJ: [info]mz_bstone
Author Website: Brighid (I got a 404 error for her old website addy so I'm using her Alphagate page instead.)
Why this must be read:

For the longest time I had no idea that Brighid wrote in SG:1 as well as Sentinel. As she's always been a favorite TS author of mine, I was thrilled to stumble across her SG fic. This one is a particular favorite of mine. The emotion in it is so stark and honest and wonderfully conveyed.

( Excerpt )

Close Only Counts

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: none / gen
Length: 2,872 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author website/archives: FFN
Why this must be read: Yesterday I recced something that always makes me smile. Today, I'm reccing something that always makes me cry. Yes, without fail. Even though I know what's coming.

Please heed the warning (major character death). But even if you normally don't read this kind of story, I urge you to give "Eight Minutes and Thirty Seven Seconds" a try for the simple fact that it's a brilliant written fic. It conveys so much in only a few paragraphs, and the hurt and anguish and helplessness everyone feels is palpable.

(Eight Minutes and Thirty Seven Seconds)

Fandom: HOMESTUCK
Pairing: Feferi Peixes<>Eridan Ampora
Length: 7.5k
Author on LJ: urban_anchorite
Author Website: On Tumblr / On A03
Why this must be read: If you read just one story about Feferi, Heiress of the Alternian Empire -- if you read just one story about Alternia -- it should be this one. It opens up the character a rather strange, funny girl on a goofy planet of murderous bugkids and then it rips out your heart, and then it eats it. uA is half fandom granny and half cthul’hu priestess, and she never writes to take prisoners.

But how to hold up the universe when you couldn't even get C for culling right? You decided on the spot that you had to research. And you had to learn, or at least what you thought of was learning at the time. You decided to get yourself an education. Poor ignorant seadweller girl: sometimes you wonder what would have happened, if you hadn’t?

A Hymn of Empire

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Length: 1,881 words
Author on LJ: riventhorn
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: The runes and symbols seeped into his skin...

My favorite aspects of this fic are the imagery, the symbolism, and the intensity of the whole thing. Each tattoo and scar have a special meaning in our boy's lives as they meet their destiny and each other. I loved how riven describes each tattoo session with an intense atmosphere that literally makes me smell the incense and feel the needle. The A/M dynamic feels even heavier with the power and symbolism of their tattoos and scars; each scene between them feels weighty and powerful. Definitely a fic to savor in its rich atmosphere and emotions.

Gyfu