May 13th, 2012 
01:20 am Character Study, by Damalur (PG-13)
Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: Character Study
Pairing: Arthur/Ariadne
Length: 1,230
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] damalur
Author Website: fic memories on author's journal
Why this must be read: What I most love about Ariadne in canon is her irreverance--her smirking sense of the ridiculousness of what they're doing, as well as her genuine enchantment with dreaming and her natural talent for it. She and Arthur make such an interesting ship both for these reasons and because Arthur is so gentlemanly and reserved around her. This fic is short, but it's a fabulously written, wonderful window into Ariadne's mind when she's around Arthur--her frustration with Arthur's staid persona, her desire to tease him, and her love of dreamshare. I love how motivated and professional she is while still wanting to have adventures and smear guacamole in Arthur's hair. Her POV is so delightful and Arthur's courtship so endearing that they transform this fic into much more than just a character study.

Ariadne stifles a smirk when she catches Arthur inspecting the dubious cleanliness of his silverware. )

Character Study
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12:18 pm Retribution by Lola Feist (PG13)
Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Length: 3/133 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] lolafeist
Author Website: AO3 and LJ Masterlist
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: A young girl comes to Camelot with one purpose: to kill the traitor, Merlin.

Lola, you get me every time! XD In this recent offering by an author who oozes talent, we get another powerful examination of guilt, revenge, love, healing, and destiny. Our OC is vividly portrayed, and her pain and mission makes your heart clench. In fact, every character and emotion is vibrant and goes down to your gut in its depth. The cycle of revenge and healing takes you on a rollercoaster of feeling that brings you to the end of the fic emotionally wrung out but feeling the satisfaction of a fantastic read.

Retribution
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12:55 pm And Try to Keep It All the Year, by and_backagain, PG
Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: And Try to Keep It All the Year
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: 21,000
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] and_backagain
Author Website: fic tags on author's journal
Why this must be read: Yesterday I recced a fic wherein Eames converts to Judaism for Arthur. Since JGL is Jewish, Inception fandom often tends to make Arthur Jewish as well. This fic was written for a kink meme prompt that asked for a subversion of this trope, and a real one: fic wherein Arthur is the son of Santa Claus.

The brilliant [livejournal.com profile] and_backagain takes what could have been a silly crackfic and handles it seriously, and the results are amazing. Not only do Arthur and Eames have perfect chemistry here (with easy, elegant banter straight out of vintage comedy), but you believe in their love as much as you believe in the obstacles that stand in their way. Arthur's conflicted attitude towards the Christmas tradition is heartbreakingly real in a way that will hit home for a lot of people, and you feel so deeply for him that it makes this fic about much more than just Christmas. One of my favorite AUs ever, one of my favorite Arthur/Eames fics, and a superlative example of why I love Inception fandom.

'Come get a drink with me and tell me why you are shriveled and dead inside.' )

And Try to Keep It All the Year
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07:23 pm The Case of the Disappearing Mushrooms by elanor (G)
Fandom: THE LORD OF THE RINGS
Pairing: none
Length: 1,000 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] elanorfairbairn
Author Website: on her LJ (author doesn't seem to have an organized web presence)
Why this must be read:
Based on my recommendations to date, it is fairly obvious that I prefer long, epic pieces of fanfic in this fandom. But sometimes you just want a break from it all and this little gem of a story is just that sort of break from the high tragedy that comprises much of Middle-Earth. Appropriately enough, this is a story of the Shire. It's actually a story that we know already, both from the books and from the movies... a gentle, throw-away, character-building story. But in this little gem, it is told from another perspective.

A Brandybuck and a Took steal some mushrooms from Bamfurlong, and a Shirriff tells the story. This is just so quintessentially hobbitish!

The Case of the Disappearing Mushrooms by elanor
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08:01 pm Operation: Wedding in Vermont by lisgreomg (PG-13)
Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Gibbs/Tony and very slight McGee/Abby (blink and you miss it)
Length: about 4,700
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] lisgreomg
Author website/archives: unknown
Why this must be read: I needed a good laugh after the day I had, so I went to read this gem again, and now I'm chuckling and giggling and wiping tears of laughter away. Some would call it cracky, others might just consider it brilliant humor--either way, this story will make you laugh out loud.

The basic premise? Gibbs is a Stupidhead who shot down Tony (aka Loverboy) because of Rule 12. And so Tony decides to follow all the rules to a T, just to show Gibbs how stupid his rules are. And the rest of the team is very excited to help make Stupidhead see the light during "Operation: Wedding in Vermont". And they are so wonderfully devious about it. You'll almost feel sorry for Gibbs. Almost. *g*

(Operation: Wedding in Vermont)

(There's also a sequel: Just another Wednesday!)
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08:51 pm Hurricane, by JumpingJackFlash (M)
Fandom: HOMESTUCK
Pairing: John / Karkat, Tavros / Dave.
Length: 11k
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: On AO3 / On Tumblr
Why this must be read: This combines great lyrics with a cute, plausible all-humans AU with two intersecting fluffy-hot gay love stories. The sex is scorching, the characters ring true, and the narration swoops from one gorgeous moment to the next without giving you a moment’s rest. It’s a really great ride.

When Nitram started in, his tone was so casual, so conversational, that Karkat didn't realize he was rapping until the rhymes started to line up. "Wow, Lil' Cal's a really fast talker. I'm intimidated, he intimated he might pull out a glock or just murder me barehanded, man this is awkward. I'm just gonna... take a couple slow steps backward." He did so. "Jesus, what do you say to that kind of ego trip? Uh, I went to disneyland once, uh, I like potato chips, I tip well, I don't rip my rhymes, hell half the time I'm just a big dip but it's all mine. So when I quip at a quick clip there's no need to bring up nines. Let's just go with audio ammo, if that's okay by you, bro."

Hurricane
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