Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: The Uses of Sorrow
Pairing: Arthur/Robert Fischer
Length: 6,000
Author on LJ: chibi_lurrel
Author Website: masterlist of fics on author's LJ
Why this must be read: There aren't a lot of fics that deal with Fischer during or after Inception, and Lurrel uses that to her advantage in a fabulous way in this fic, spinning a post-canon story that's as surprising as it is sexy. Arthur gets close to Fischer after Inception, and no one is innocent but everyone is unprepared. Fics where Arthur works for Saito always have an edge, but they also allow us to see Arthur effortlessly navigating a high-powered world, maybe a little too efficiently for our comfort. Watching him inhabit a persona is harrowing. When you add wide-eyed but cynical Robert into the mix, what you have is a house of cards that builds upon itself until - you guessed it.

Lurrel is excellent at giving you tons of substance between the lines of sparse, deftly drawn moments. I also love it when porn reflects something intrinsic about the relationship between the characters, and she does that so well in this fic. It's sleek and sleazy and sad and fabulous, and exactly what I wanted from this pairing.


( It’s so much easier to be Arthur Cohen, a warm thing to wrap around himself when he feels the isolation that comes with a mission like this. )

The Uses of Sorrow

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: None
Length: 20765 words
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: My Fandom Ledge

Why this must be read: While long Turnbull fic isn't as rare as it once was, this story is one of the earlier examples. A 20,000+ gen Turnbull casefic, this story takes the reader into art, computer forensics and a constable who finally gets to do some actual police work. It's a light, fairly fluffy read with a satisfying resolution; a great story to have a spot of tea and curl up with.

An Artistic Endeavor by Janice R. Sager

Fandom:  The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Solo/Kuryakin
Length: 6,000 words
Author on LJ: elmey
Author Website: Her stories are in various locations, including Archive of Their Own
Why this must be read:
A beautifully complex and angsty story. Illya has been in the Soviet Union for a number of years. Napoleon did not take their separation well; he had retired from the field and was being posted to Los Angeles, fully expecting his partner to follow. When Illya refused, Napoleon retreated into himself, furious. But now it is 1975 and Waverly is trying to bring Illya back to U.N.C.L.E.. Napoleon has been given a second chance, but how will Illya react?

( A sample of the text )

Fear of Flying

As I left the Regency exhibition I found a leaflet advertising a Roman museum just a short drive down the road so I’ve made that my next stop.

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 56,191 words
Author on LJ sineala
Author website/archives Sineala on AO3
Why this must be read: This is a long (novel-length) and fascinating AU with the lads translocated into pre-eruption Pompeii. (Don’t worry, they end up in a country villa, well out of danger.) Doyle’s alter ego is a rentboy, and Bodie’s is a Roman soldier so anyone who likes rentboy!Doyle will be more than happy. (The title means ‘the soldier and the whore’.) They initially meet by accident and then their backstories unfold, against the excitement of a Roman plot. There is a wealth of detail about Roman (and Celtic) society and the AO3 notes have a further link to extensive notes on the author’s LJ which will be of interest to most readers. Other characters from the show make cameo appearances but the story is centred on the main developing relationship. In a sense, there are questions of consent, which will always arise in slave!fic and fics about prostitution, but all is resolved satisfactorily. A really good read that will transport you into another world for a while.


Miles Scortillusque

Fandom: STARGATE SG1
Pairing: None
Length: 3,931
Author on LJ: alynt
Author Website: BrothersInArms
Warnings: None
Why this must be read: This is a well written and intriguing what if tag for Lifeboat. The author does a wonderful job with all the voices and characterisations. There's empathy for not just Daniel but for the OC in this as well, even though she's a little creepy. I mean, who wouldn't want to stay with Daniel? There's the bonus of a lovely vid that was made for this too by the talented Holdt.

Author's Summary: Tag for Lifeboat. What if someone stayed behind.

( Excerpt )

In Hiding

Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: Lay Them Down; Take Them Up
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: 10,000
Author on LJ: dybji
Author Website: author's AO3 profile
Why this must be read: I love this fic because it's so surprising, sharp, and atypical. It's so common to write Arthur and Eames as having some sort of fluid and symbiotic mutual understanding, but this fantastic fic series shows you a totally different version of them--one in which they're still drawn to each other, but constantly clashing on each other's edges, and around their complete lack of mutual understanding--or, rather, their total inability to communicate how they understand each other. The first story of the two was written for the prompt, "Five times Eames saw through Arthur, and one time Arthur let him look," but instead of unrelated shippy vignettes, dybji gives us a story that plays out through glances into team dynamics (Nash is the best), and Arthur's relationship with himself. Every time I re-read, I fill in more of its various layers, and I fall in love with them a little more. I love how totally believable it is that Arthur's abrasiveness to Eames happens because of Eames' unwitting ability to see through him so clearly, and how that, in turn, feeds Eames' own insecurity and self-consciousness. It's just all 100% so believable to me, and it works so well because through it all, they still can't stop liking each other, wanting to be around and protect one another. Ship of my heart, oh my god.


( 'What, you're too damn special for anyone to read you? Seriously, Arthur.' )

Lay Them Down; Take Them Up

Hello, all!

This one is dark. Very, very dark. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it. Instead, I’ll give you the author’s summary:

Princess awakens, secured in an ISO holding cell, unable to remember what happened, other than she's sure she realized Keyop is Spectran.

Fandom: Battle of The Planets
Characters: G-Force, various Spectrans, Chief Anderson, various other characters
Pairing: None
Length: 11701 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Jane Lebak on the Gatchaman Fanfic Archive
Why this must be read: This one’s dark and twisty and it keeps you guessing right up to the very end and the devastating conclusion.

(  I don't remember a thing about the way it turned out, and maybe I'm glad. I think that's the way I would have wanted it. )

Interruptions

Enjoy! :D

Fandom: WB/CW RPF
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Length: 6500 words
Author on LJ: morrezela
Author Website: Master List
Why this must be read:

Here’s an entirely different type of fairy tale AU, with Jared as a Mage (not a witch, thank you very much!), and Jensen as the hunter sworn to kill him for his evil ways. Which turn out to be not at all evil, which throws Jensen off completely. I love how the author wove bits of fairy tales we know into this world.

Author Warnings: Features kind of angry sex, mentions of attempted child abuse, attempted murder of a Padalecki, talk of switching boys, but graphic top!Jensen. Also – tones of crack!fic. I mean it.

Man in a Candy Store

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Gibbs/Tony
Length: almost 500 words
Author on LJ: gibbsgirlabby
Author website/archives: FFN
Why this must be read: This ficlet makes me flail with happiness whenever I read it. To be perfectly honest, there's a bittersweet moment once we learn what happened to Gibbs, but the overall sweetness of the story makes more than up for it. This is one of the most endearing, adorable future fics I've ever read, and I'd personally love this to be the very last scene we'll see in the show's final episode.

(Tony's To-Do List)

Fandom: COMMUNITY
Pairing: Troy/Abed
Length: 595 words
Author's Website: At AO3
Why this must be read: This story ties in so perfectly with the tag from "Digital Estate Planning" that it's almost hard to believe it was written a couple years ago. As the summary succinctly explains: "Abed finds a little bundle of joy on his doorstep. A montage happens." This short story is adorable, funny, and very Troy and Abed.

"Did you call the police and tell them that you found a baby?" Troy asks as soon as Abed stops singing to the baby in Polish.

"Yes, and they'll be here soon." Abed hands the baby off to Troy. "So do you want to have a three men and a baby montage with one less man while we wait? Or we can call Jeff, your choice."

The idea of Jeff and a baby is even more ridiculous than Abed with one. "Let's do this alone."

"Awesome. I'd high five you, but my hands are kind of full."

Three Men and a Baby Minus a Man

Fandom: INCEPTION
Title: In Between The Day And The Night - PG
Pairing: Yusuf/Robert Fischer
Length: 3,780
Author on LJ: parka_girl
Author Website: tags on author's fic journal
Why this must be read: This is Yusuf/Robert, and it's fantastic: two woefully underused characters written with nuance and care. It's a post-canon fic wherein Yusuf treats Robert's post-incepted insomnia, while dealing with his own issues of guilt. Written haltingly, in fragments, this fic could be a fever-dream itself. Yusuf is more compassionate and deeply moralistic here than he's usually written, and his struggle with guilt is compelling, as is Fischer's genuine innocence. Plus: we finally get to meet Yusuf's cat! :D


( Night falls and he still hasn't started on the drug for Fischer. )

In Between The Day And The Night