Fandom: QUANTUM LEAP
Pairing: Sam/Al, Al/OMC
Length: 11,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Author's AO3 Page
Why this must be read:
On a scale where 1 is like reading an economics text and 10 is watching the Starsky & Hutch episode "The Fix," this fic is an 11, and I love it so. It's in the fine tradition of Sam leaping into one of Al's lovers, and while it could use more porn, and totally ignores Al's canonical homophobia (another fine tradition), it's really very sweet. It's also angsty, OMG! Sam's bent for self-sacrifice comes to the fore, along with the canonical bleed over from leapees, all blending into the perfect blend of h and c in,

The Gift

Fandom: WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE
Pairing: Carlos/Cecil overall; Cecil/Earl Harlan in this section
Length: 8 chapters, 31,160 words (part of a series)
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: djclawson on Tumblr; works on AO3
Warnings: unpaid internships, police brutality, terminal illness, torture, trepanation, murder, ritual sacrifice; rape and substance abuse in other sections of the series
Notes: rendered non-canon by “Cassette”
Why this must be read:

This story is part of the Child of the Cosmos series, in which Cecil is the son of a woman from the outside world and a Night Vale inhabitant, and grew up under the guidance of the previous Voice of Night Vale, a fanged, pink-furred man named Algonquin. In the first two sections, Cecil, with the help of Carlos, learns about the family he never knew; the third, “Through the Gates of the Silver Mic,” is set during Cecil’s internship at Night Vale Community Radio; and a fourth connects a dark period in Cecil’s life to the house that doesn’t exist. The series is currently listed as incomplete in the Archive of Our Own.

I’m singling out “Through the Gates...” to recommend because it’s my favorite part of the series, and can be read as a standalone work. DJClawson has extrapolated from canon and borrowed elements from the works of H.P. Lovecraft (particularly the Cthulhu mythos and the Dream Cycle) to create an elaborate, internally consistent version of Night Vale. She writes familiar folks like Pamela Winchell and John Peters in ways that make them surprising while still feeling true to her source material, and creates some interesting original characters. I’m especially fond of Cecil’s mentor, Algonquin, who manages the tricky feat of caring for his interns while fulfilling his responsibilities as Voice of Night Vale and following the dictates of Station Management — even when it means watching Cecil report for his first time in the Dark Box ...

( ‘No one’s really “all right” after these sessions,’ Al replied in a soothing tone. ‘But they’re survivable. They get easier with practice.’ )

“Through the Gates of the Silver Mic” on AO3 (link to first chapter)

Fandom: due South
Characters: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Length: Medium (no wordcount given)
Author on LJ: http://kaneko.livejournal.com/
Author on AO3:http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaneko
Why this must be read:

Because it's so subtle and low-key and yet you know all along what Fraser's feeling, why he doesn't go to that store, why he wants a car, why he has a drink. I hope it doesn't sound like faint praise to say it's a beautiful example of show, don't tell - we see what Fraser does, and it's so well observed we don't need to be told why he's doing it. There's a background hum of lonely longing to this fic that fits exactly with the way we see Fraser gazing at Ray, and it gets perfectly resolved in a way we regrettably don't (quite) see in canon.

Plus, immaculately in-character drunk!Fraser! I've really got a terrible weakness for Fraser with his defences down. Of course there are plenty of traumatic life events that can deliver, but what I like best is the mundane, everyday things that might get him to drop his guard and that this fic does so well.

Fall