Fandom: due South
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Length: 2,559 words
Author on LJ: http://arrow00.livejournal.com/
Author website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/esteefee
Why this must be read:

Let me tell you a cautionary tale about Spic and Span.

You know that awkward moment when you're half idly reading some fanfic on your phone, half paying attention to a conversation with your mother in law about the economic crisis in Spain (I have small children, and if nothing else I can multi-task in two languages like a BOSS), when suddenly the fic you are reading turns out to be scorchingly, brain-meltingly hot?

These are the circumstances under which I discovered this fic. Possibly I should have read the description first, which is "It involves a giant, sparkly blue dildo. And Fraser's ass." But I didn't. I just jumped right in there, and once I'd started I could hardly stop reading and wait for a more appropriate moment, could I? Instead I had to take my jumper off and give thanks for being a girl that there was no outward physical sign of what I'd just read.

So. Read wisely. I make these mistakes so you don't have to.

Fandom: JUSTIFIED
Pairing: Boyd Crowder/Raylan Givens
Length: 7,680 words
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: It's one of my favorite Boyd/Raylan stories, but I recommend it with a grain of salt.  I was very unhappy with this fic for a) killing Ava off and b) not making much of it in the warnings.  However, I got over it because in the text Boyd's mourning is handled very well, and his developing relationship with Raylan is even more so.  I'm wary of fics for this pairing because they sometimes oversimplify their complex in-canon relationship to 'This?  It was always about sex.  Always.'  This story doesn't do that, and yet it also makes it seem like they were always headed this way.

Boyd moves in with Raylan (in a platonic way, despite there only being one bed) but things slowly change.  The appearances by Raylan's fellow marshals- as they assume that Boyd and Raylan are involved long before they are and try to tell him, in their weird way, that they are okay with it- are gold.  The author rated this general audiences, and admittedly it is not graphic- but I'd call it teen at least, if for nothing other than language.  Keep that in mind- and also know that there are sequels which I haven't read, and which have much higher ratings.  Personally, I was happy with the ending just as it was.

Living Arrangements  
  

Hi, I'm aka, and I'll be your Bandom driver this month. Our van's full of merch and smells like beer, pot and stale burritos, but it's what we've got.

It's been a tough year for Bandom in many ways, and a good year in others, but it hasn't stopped the flow of amazing fanworks in the fandom. Such is life in a RPF fandom.

Anyway, I'm pretty open to the various pairings in the fandom, but I do have a strong bias toward MCR, and rarer pairs, and I'm going to try to highlight some of the more recent stories in the fandom.

Fandom: BANDOM (MCR, with guest appearances from other bands)
Pairing: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Length: ~32k words
Author on DW: ktc
Author Website: ktc on AO3
Why this must be read: Because ktc created the most amazing world, filled with dragons and magic and bells, and because she built the city of Jersey in her head and made it come to life. Jersey is populated with characters and creatures that feel real and believable.

ktc takes us on a journey with Frank, bike courier extraordinaire, as he stops being a bystander to his own life. We watch as his relationship to Gerard and magic evolve and change and grows richer. Frank opens himself up to the possibilities and it's beautiful to see.

The story is sweet and satisfying in all the best ways. ktc did a wonderful job of writing this story, and I hope she continues to tell us stories of cute boys and dragons. <3

( Excerpt... )

and me here on the ground

Hello friends! I'm Kari aka meinterrupted aka Shinykari, and I'm piloting the Helicarrier this month. It's going to be a big one for the Avengers fandom: Thor 2 releases in the US on 8 November, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD on ABC is going strong (and might possibly tie into Thor 2? Maybe?!?!), and the Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer is still fresh in our minds (and broken, broken hearts).

As for me, I'm the captain of a veritable armada of ships, with a soft spot for Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Darcy Lewis, Clint Barton: Avenging Idiot, and teamfic. This month I'm planning on pointing out some of the amazing alternate universe and crossover fic in this fandom. With a cast as large and diverse as the MCU, AUs & crossovers come with the territory, and we've had some really, really great ones. So, without further adieu, I give you the first rec of many!

Fandom: MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE
Pairing: Gen
Length: Podfic: 30-45min / Fic: 6500 words
Author on LJ: super_tricie341 / sam_storyteller
Author Website: blackglass / sam_storyteller
Why this must be read: If you've been in pretty much any fandom for any length of time, you've probably heard of Sam Storyteller aka copperbadge. His fic is popular for a reason: it's well-written; he has a gift for getting characters' voices down, even in an AU setting; and he's funny. All of these traits are in full force in Feed the Body, Nourish the Soul, which is equal parts bantery teamfic and food porn. The in-jokes and meta nods to canon are brilliant (Bruce? He's a sweet man. Except when he's cooking. You wouldn't like him when he's cooking.) without being too overwhelming.

What I really want to highlight, though, is blackglass's podfic of the story. The way she reads really brings the story to life in a way the words on a screen can't. Though she doesn't "do" the voices like some podficcers (which can get a little annoying to me, depending on the fandom and story), it's very clear who's speaking at all times. Plus, her voice is very pretty and soothing, which is always nice in podfic!

Feed the Body, Nourish the Soul
Feed the Body, Nourish the Soul [podfic]

Fandom: WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE
Pairing: Cecil/Carlos
Length: wordcount 1,327
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: ZiGraves on tumblr; works on AO3
Why this must be read:

You can always recognise Cecil Baldwin. He’s one of those people, you know the sort, who happen to look just exactly the way they sound.

In this clever, charming/creepy story, ZiGraves has fun with the ambiguity over what the Voice of Night Vale looks like, alternating between various townfolks’ descriptions of Cecil (some of which will sound familiar to those who have been looking at fanart) and a series of journal entries made by Carlos.

Of everyone in town, Carlos the Scientist didn’t know what Cecil looked like. He’d spent years learning that nothing could be assumed until it was observed, and never really got a clear picture of what he expected from Cecil. The man’s voice ranged from velvet dark to chipperly girlish and his tone, presentation, everything varied just as much. Carlos made no assumptions of who or — given the lack of reliable physiology in Night Vale — what Cecil might be.

...

[Cecil] has never been particularly bothered by what he looks like, comfortable to simply be in the eyes and ears of others. But he knows that some perceptions of reality are more true than others. Carlos’ perception feels the truest of them all.

“Prosopagnosia” on AO3

Fandoms: FRINGE
Characters/Pairings: Alternate!Olivia Dunham/Alternate!Lincoln Lee
Length: 1501 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: on Fanfiction.net
Why this must be read:

The thing that stands out about this fic, apart from the novelty of Liv actually trying drinking, is how it treads a fine line post-Immortality of Liv's attraction to Lincoln and why she continues to do nothing about. The overarching theme of fire/fever also feels particularly fitting for her.

Lovely Way To Burn

Hi, I'm unbidden_truth and I'll be driving the van for the next month.  Hopefully timing works out on my end this time around unlike the previous month.  I'm hoping to rec as many rarepair/gen fics this month as I can as well as highlight fics from recent fests.  And of course, there will definitely be a couple of Merlin/Arthur fics rec'd as well.

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Nimueh/Uther Pendragon, Yvgraine de Bois/Uther Pendragon, implied past Nimueh/Yvgraine de Bois/Uther Pendragon
Length: 1673
Author on LJ: lady_ragnell
Author Website: AO3
Warnings: Dub-con, character death
Why this must be read:
( For it's take on canon )