Fandom: SUITS
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Length: 65,613 words
Author on LJ: none
Author Website: AO3 profile
( Why this must be read )

Pizza and a Movie 'verse

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: none
Length: ~72,000
Author on LJ: tigs
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

A future fic where the bands are broken up and everyone has moved on to other things. But that doesn’t mean they are over music, quite the opposite. This a great story where the love of music is everything and while the bands that made them famous might be broken up doesn’t mean that they can’t start over. It's not FOB, MCR or Panic! it's something else, something new.

In which it begins at a party, ends at a beginning, there are new bands, old bands, Celine Dion covers, bands playing cowbells, late night phone calls, cabarets, pool parties, grand openings, trips down memory lane, feather boas, and an oblivious Patrick Stump

Snapshots From a Possible Future

Hello, back to keep our lovely Mag7 wagon rolling on down the trail!  No theme this time round - a mix of old and new, OW and AU, gen and slash recs coming up.

Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing:   none
Length: 60K
Author on LJ: mrwubbles aka Yum@
Author website: Master Fic List on LJ; stargatefan.com

Why this must be read: 
Because it's a sweet but very solid, long story and a nicely satisfying read.  It was an entry in the 2011 Mag7 Big Bang and although only the first part of a planned AU trilogy (set after World War Two and with much information still to be revealed), is very complete in itself.  It's beautifully-paced;  cosy yet with an intriguing undertow.

( Excerpt )

This tale of found family features a fatherless pretending-to-be-18 year-old Vin and his mute 3 year-old 'brother' Ezra.  Vin is as capable, humorous and spirited as he is in the show and Ezra, who communicates only through his plushy sidekick, is cute yet satisfyingly cunning.  Shadowy in the background are Maude and the menacing figure of 'Mister'.  The rest of the Seven's canon adult selves are here, too.  They all ring true, have strong parts to play and are just marvelously readable throughout - the Buck-Chris friendship is wonderfully realized, and bereaved Chris will make your heart squeeze.  Overall the style is crisp but soft, the post-war world Yum@ has built draws you in and snuggles you tight, and it is full of subtly-added detail, both familiar and original.  Even if you tend not to read widely in the pint-sized!Seven AUs, the lovely writing here and the belief the author has in her characters may well win you over.  Hopefully it won't be too long before the next part of the story appears.

The Soldier's Homecoming

Hi, I'm empty_mirrors and I'll be driving the small fandom van this month on behalf of Naruto. Since this 'verse is all about the ninjas, please keep your eyes open for things lurking in the shadows, don't sit with your back to the entrance and for goodness sake don't unlock the van doors at intersections. That thump on the roof could well be something much worse than a mad axe murderer.

Just a couple of JFYIs.

My passion is for long plotty fics, so expect to see a disproportionate number of those this month, though I do have a few excellent short ones for you. There will also be more slash and gen than het or femmeslash, again reflecting my reading preferences. I'm also going to throw in some AU along with canon pieces, since good characters are good characters wherever you find them.

As the source material is Japanese, I'll be using the naming convention of family name followed by personal name in the pairings. Please note that not all the stories I rec will follow this convention. I'll also be adding the genre and het, gen, m/m slash, femmeslash, since I can't be the only one who scans anime/manga fandoms squinting at the names to try and work out which the less obvious ones might be.

I also will not be following the yaoi convention of name order reflecting seme/uke etc etc, basically because I personally loath the entire conceit and since most fandoms manage without it, I think we can too. Therefore please don't complain if the order of the names doesn't 'accurately reflect the sexual behaviour in the story'. You never know, you might find yourself reading something you'd have skipped over otherwise and actually enjoying it.

Finally, a lot of these stories will be distinctly adult in nature so please take note of the warnings, don't break any laws and don't flame the authors. Instead give them loads of nummy nummy feedback. They all deserve it and love it and call it George.

Okay, warnings over, let's get started.

I came to the Naruto fandom through fanfiction, devouring it avidly for months before I was able to read/watch the original source material. In fact it was the quality of the fic that demanded I hunt down the manga and anime so I could understand better who exactly all these wonderful characters were. My first rec is one of the stories that made me do that, so hopefully it will do the same for you. And I really can't believe that it's not been recced here before.

The Kakashi Mission (NC17) by JBMcDragon

Fandom:Naruto
Pairing:Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Genre: M/M slash, romance-ish.
Length: About 70,000 words
Author on LJ: jbmcdragon
Warnings: Graphic imagery, canon character death, consent issues.
Author Website:McDragon's Lair
Why this must be read: This a long story and, since it dots back and forth in time, it takes a little concentrated reading, but oh the tale it weaves. Umino Iruka, ninja academy teacher and all round good guy, is given a top secret and dangerous mission, and all within his own home village of Konoha. He is ordered to make friends with Konoha's most feared shinobi, Hatake Kakashi, who it is suggested might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

At first glance, this could be a simple guy meets guy tale, and if it wasn't for the particular guys involved, it probably would have been. Of course that reckons without Iruka's resistance to having a relationship with another man, and Kakashi's decidedly complex mental health issues. As the story progresses, the author moves back and forth in time unpacking Kakashi's life experiences explaining how he comes to be the way he is and in the process allowing us to fall a little in love with him along with Iruka. The result is a complex relationship packed with issues and problems but based on pretty solid foundations. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Kakashi Mission.

Pros is back in the crack_van... *g*

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: Short story
Author on LJ: foxcat74
Author Website: Story list at Palelyloitering
Why this must be read: Because Foxcat writes wonderful Pros, with vivid little touches that bring not just the characters but the whole story to life. In this case the lads have just finished chasing terrorists through a seaside town, and Doyle is waiting for Bodie to turn up. You can not only see him waiting, you can feel his day and the world around him, tinged with slight melancholy because... well, you'll see. *g*

Excerpt: He sat down on the low sandstone wall outside a faded booth advertising fishing trips around the bay, looking at his watch one more time. Quarter past ten now. He sat still, watching the children enjoying donkey rides over the green and families playing cricket or rounders, resolutely ignoring the grey clouds looming above. He didn’t move or turn his head when Bodie lowered himself down next to him, nudging him with his foot as he nodded towards a stall a few yards down the road.

“I don’t know about you mate, but I fancy an ice cream before we head off.” Bodie rubbed his hands together appreciatively. “Clotted cream vanilla with a flake stuck in the side and more clotted cream on top. My favourite.”

Doyle looked at the spots of rain that were beginning to darken the concrete pathway in front of them. “It’s freezing.”

Bodie shrugged. “It’s summer in England. Ice cream on the beach, what more can you ask for? It’s like being on holiday.”


Not On Holiday

Well, here I am again. I found more stories I wanted to share than could be rec'd in one month so I signed up again.

Driving the Van is a privilege and a pleasure. It's also a fair amount of effort. Maybe I helped you find a great story you would have otherwise missed. If you have been reading any of the stories I rec I would love it if you came back to tell me what you think - and maybe encourage others to read them too.

Now let's hit the road.

Fandom: SHERLOCK BBC
Pairing: John Watson, Greg Lestrade, and others
Length: 2631 words
Author on LJ: wreathsandbells
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

When John finally ventures out of 221b Baker after Sherlock's fall, he chances across Lestrade. It becomes a regular thing. Mrs Hudson starts to join them. Then Henry Knight. One by one the group grows as people who knew Sherlock or were helped by him get together to tell stories, and remember their lost friend. This is a sweet, honest story of people coming together to support each other and discovering a community. It makes me feel good.

( Try a sample... )

In love, in faith unbroken dwell

Gassed up the tank, fastened seatbelt, adjusted the mirrors... no GPS, but I know this road. Here we go!

Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Length: 9,762 words
Author on LJ: xparrot
Author Website: Xparrot on AO3
Why this must be read:

Judging by the numbers, this is already a popular story, but it's never been recc'd here and I have a duty to posterity after all :)

A Vienna nightclub and Illya is watching Napoleon and a red-head dance; another mission of course, but it goes badly wrong and Napoleon is shot. It's a gripping set piece, but it's as Illya waits for Napoleon to recover, that the real story takes place. How well these two know each other; but when it comes to the most important thing in their lives, how afraid they are that they don't know each other at all.

Save This Dance is told from Illya's point of view, in a restrained, fluid style that perfectly conveys the depth of feeling hiding underneath that stoic reserve.

The distance between them didn't matter, however chaste it might appear. Napoleon could seduce without the touch of so much as a finger; this much contact was practically cheating. A couple of jokes, a few sincere compliments, an innocent (or not so innocent, depending) suggestion, and this woman would be thoroughly and inescapably charmed. As they always were.

As you were, Illya reminded himself, with a self-deprecating shake of his head. Even if it wasn't really like that, as Napoleon told him, more than once and quite insistently. "This is different," Napoleon kept saying.

Save This Dance