I'm permitted by the crack van faeries a maximum of 12 rec's, and I'm gonna take 'em, by golly! So here's rec number 11!
Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Length: 6,912 words
Summary: Arthur's rich and sick of the life. He's seen and done it all and is completely unable to be touched by any of it until he spots Merlin on the dance floor. One experience with him in the bathroom stall changes things for him.
Why this must be read: frantic somehow makes this different. She combines a familiar trope with humor and feelings to bring us something new somehow. Example: After a moment of very intense sex (in the bathroom stall!), Merlin breaks down in tears, and an emotionally repressed Arthur isn't sure how to handle it.( behind the cut )

Link AO3

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: No pairing
Length: 758 words
Author on LJ: duluthgirl
Author Website: Duluthgirl on the Starsky Hutch Archive
Why this must be read:

As I consider fics outside my typical comfort zone, I could include very short fics, which rarely appeal to me, and heavy hurt/comfort fics, which I could happily avoid altogether. (Yes, I know I'm in the wrong fandom!) Duluthgirl's story, Going Home, reminds me why it's important to seek out fics outside my typical preferences. This is a diamond-bright gem of a story that packs a solid punch to the heart. When Hutch is shot while trying to collar a suspect, Starsky struggles to keep his partner conscious until help can arrive. On impulse, he asks Hutch to talk about his home town of Duluth. Hutch's brief pain-wracked responses reveal more than just his memories about home; it gives us a surprising insight into his feelings about Starsky. The last line seals the deal on a near-perfect story. Duluthgirl, new to SH fandom, shows a strong ability for short form fiction and has given us some terrific art as well. Going Home will stay with you a long longer than it takes to read it. A lot longer. Don't miss it.

Going Home by Duluthgirl

I've got a few days of January left, but I'm going to go ahead and post my last rec while the story is still fresh in my mind. I've had a blast driving the van for Merlin--there are zillions of great stories out there for this fandom!

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Length: 18,493 words
Summary:  Arthur is CEO of Pendragon Enterprises and so in love with his assistant, Merlin, but he thinks it's a lost cause. When Arthur draws Merlin's name for Secret Santa, he has no idea what to get him. 
Why this must be read: h, wow. I am a real sucker for lonely Arthur and the whole Merlin as his assistant trope. This fic is sweet and sexy and one that you'll want to read over and over again, I promise!
Link AO3

Sampling under the cut:

( Read more... )

Fandom: Terminator / Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: girl!John Connor/Cameron, girl!John Connor/Riley Dawson
Length: ~3k words
Author on LJ: mouthmount
Author Website: blueinkedwalls
Why this must be read: Always-a-girl!John Connor is an interesting concept. As the central character of TSCC--Sarah herself--is female, and the human resistance has plenty of room for women, we know this isn't a universe that's particularly or inherently misogynistic...but gender still has a role to play, and "lost forever in the desert" is a smart and deeply felt exploration of that. The details of "Jane Connor" and her relationship to machines and metal are particularly interesting to me, and it's curious how much and how little changes with a simple flip of a chromosome. 

( Light spit across her mother’s face, her open eyes and smoothed mouth, her mother staring down her own mortality and tucking it away into the crease of a one-day scar.  )
 
lost forever in the desert

Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Stiles/Derek
Length: 28714
Author on LJ: secondstar
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:Who doesn't love a good zombie apocalypse? Well, OK, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love a good apocalypse story and zombies are a particular favorite. (Go figure because zombie movies aren't really something I get excited about.) I can't be alone in my obsession because there are actually quite a few zombie stories out there in just about every fandom.

There are several particulars of this story that I appreciate. Watching Stiles slowly unravel from the pressure of assuming responsibility for their little band of survivors seems inevitable and is illuminating and painful to watch. I like that the relationship between Stiles and Derek pre-exists the apocalypse and doesn't come about as a result of pressure and despair. Derek becomes the voice of reason at times while often deferring 'alpha' status to Stiles. The fact that secondstar doesn't shirk away from killing off regulars (all happens before the beginning of the story) is painful but gutsy. Not everyone we love is going to make it through the apocalypse. All in all, this is definitely one of my favorites.

( Excerpt )

In This Twilight How Dare You Speak of Grace

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Length: 87,844 words
Author on LJ: smudley
Author Website: Kaye Austen Michaels on the Starsky Hutch Archive
Why this must be read:

In 2006, KimberlyFDR gave an excellent review of the first two parts of KAM's Affirmation series. The story links have since changed, but active links are posted below. KAM has recently posted part III of her excellent series. Since I've been rec'ing fics outside my comfort zone, I'll confess that stories giving the guys new careers in which they are no longer partners tops the list of my least-liked story scenarios. Kaye doesn't just give them new careers; she gives them careers as demanding as their old one, only without each other to fall back on. Oh, sure, they're lovers, as married as a same-sex couple in 1985 can be, but Hutch has graduated med school and focuses on a career in one of the most demanding medical fields – emergency medicine -- and Starsky is working at the Academy teaching rookie classes. So, they're not partners, and they're not cops. If this sounds like a recipe for the world's longest "lace-curtain slash" story, let me reassure you it most certainly is not. This wonderfully lengthy, meaty series gives us novel-length stories that develop a very real, totally believable life between two middle-aged men struggling to balance the demands of new careers with the love and passion they will not sacrifice, even when it jeopardizes those hard-won careers.

( Read more about Part III of KAM's Affirmation series )

Affirmation
Affirmation II: Life and Death
Affirmation III: In Life, In Love by Kaye Austen Michaels

Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Stiles/Derek
Length: 10055
Author on LJ: skoosiepants
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:I'm a sucker for fic that have werewolves who can transform into a full wolves. I was quite disappointed when Teen Wolf didn't go this way, but I can understand why. The cost of the special effects would probably jack up their budget considerable, but I still miss it.

This fic not only has the full wolf form natural to all werewolves, that's the form Derek has lived in since the fire that wiped out his family. Oh, and everyone knows about werewolves. Derek does the equivalent of following Stiles home one night and despite the Sheriff's warning of 'Don't get attached', Stiles finds himself falling for Derek's wolfy antics (and they are adorable) and the very awkward human he eventually reverts to.

( Excerpt )

You are the Moon