Fandom: PERSON OF INTEREST
Pairing: Harold Finch/John Reese
Length: 16294 words
Author on LJ: tiranog
Author Website: http://tiranog.southroad.com/, AO3
Why this must be read:

If you're looking for a nice, long character driven first time story, this is it.

( Read more )
Walking in the Dark

Fandom: Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Disney Princesses/Heroines
Pairing/Characters: Cinderella/Prince Charming
Length:6K words
Author Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: In the movie "Cinderella" there's a song "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and in this story it's literally true. Cinderella has dreams that reflect her wishes to understand the world around her. Her dreams are a lot more than simple construction of her wishes, though; they are extrasensory.

The author is able to give meaning to a lot of what the movie throws in for the shiny but just expects you to accept on faith, such as how Cinderella can talk to animals and why she stays unfailingly cheerful in the face of adversity. Ah, if only this had been the movie version! Enjoy.

What You Wish For and What You Keep

If you like this, take a moment to tell the author. Feedback is precious and appreciated!

Fandom: SUITS
Pairing: Gen (Jessica, Harvey, Louis, Edward Darby)
Length: 2366
Author on LJ: not that I know of
Author Website: FF.net profile, AO3 profile

Why this must be read: This fic gives Jessica some backstory. Since we don't know much about Jessica's early years, this fic at least gives us a look at what she might've gone through when she was younger.



Her mother had drilled false realities into her head since she was five years old and home from her first day of kindergarten. "It's a man's world, honey," turned into "Be careful out there," in middle school, and "There will be white men everywhere trying to stray you from your path," in the last week of ninth grade when she realized she wanted to study law.

Studying law turned out to be too passive of a term for Jessica, who upgraded from that to "I want to go to law school" and then "I'm going to go to the law school" and finally, "One day I'll be a famous lawyer." That one day had came and went, and after years of sleepless nights and textbooks and sweat and building contacts and tears and cases she'd never forget, she was the rightful managing partner of the most successful law firm in New York City. There were still white men looking over her shoulder at every given opportunity, double–checking her strategies and offering her lame advice and methods that had crossed her mind four steps before she knew she would be saying Checkmate.

She doesn't ever miss the skeptical stares, which are directed her way more often than she cares to admit purely out of self–respect. A whisper here, a slight shake of the head there, and a constant question looming about the space around her every time she stands tall and casually arranges her shoulders into a shrug: "How did she get there?" And she thinks, Damn fucking right I got here. White men, she concludes early on, will never get used to realizing that the Pearson in Pearson–Hardman is not a surname of another white man who's made it big, and she'll never tire of the look on their faces when they realize it's a reality they'll have to accept.

In a way, her mother had been right. She reckons it's just too bad for the people who'd like to see her fall that she's far beyond the point of being strayed from her path.



just to say that you've won

Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing: Obi-Wan/Padmé
Length: 639 words
Author on LJ: nostalgia_lj
Author Website: Fic tags
Why this must be read:

Because today is Uri Geller's birthday, and a fic like this one brings to mind the value of illusion: hiding, revealing, and the reasons for hiding and revealing. While Obi-Wan and Padmé do not bend spoons with their minds here, Obi-Wan, at least, could. This author also writes Obi-Wan/Beru, posted as well on the Sepia Side of the Force, a place designed with one of the best senses of fun around, though it's on Angelfire, so watch out for those popups. If you can find a block for them, let me know.

Seems So Real

Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert
Length: 2,458 words
Author on LJ: sloanesomething
Author Website:
Why this must be read: Sometime in Season 2, Michael makes everyone go to a Disco Night, ostensibly as a team-building exercise. Pam and Jim turn out to be an excellent couples-dance team, and then there’s a bit of drinking, and some angst, and some hope. sloanesomething makes quick, light, fun work of a premise and execution that could have easily been canonical.

( Then Dwight shows up in a shiny short-sleeve turtleneck with little holograms on it, and it's hard to be upset when something so wordlessly awesome exists in the world. )

Disco Night

Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke/Neal Caffrey, Neal Caffrey/Kate Moreau
Length: 9,300 words
Author on LJ: lionessvalenti
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

This is a rentboy AU wherein Peter and Elizabeth indulge themselves in a special treat for their 10th anniversary: a professional escort by the name of Neal Caffrey. What stands out about this fic – aside from the absolutely smoking hot porn – is just how realistic the entire thing seems. Peter and El are, of course, devoted to each other, but he’s so secure within their relationship he barely flinches when she asks for a threesome. During their evening together, Neal recommends Peter remove his shoes and socks before anything starts happening, because there’s nothing sexy about having to do that once you're naked.

The story is rich with emotional content as well. Though I will not spoil it by getting too specific, each participant in this night of passion gets more out of it than they planned for originally.

“Bought and Paid-for Fantasy” is the first part of a series that explores the relationships a bit further, but is wholly satisfying as a standalone. I can’t recommend it enough.

Bought and Paid-for Fantasy

Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert
Length: 1,100 words
Author on LJ: zippity_zoppity
Author Website: MTT
Why this must be read: Sweet and sincere, this fic is an out-of-chronological-order recounting of five gifts of various sorts everyone’s favorite Scranton couple exchanges over the years, from pre-series up to the then-present(ish) day.

( She smiles for the rest of the day. )

Trinkets

Fandom: Fairy Tales: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Characters: Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Baby Bear, Goldilocks
Length: 1402 words
Author Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: Nice expanded scene of the bears' reactions when they came home to find devastation. What were they thinking when they found Goldilocks? Why didn't they simply eat her and be done with it? Answers inside.

I had to laugh when I saw the author's notes. She wrote this as an assignment for a creative writing class. I expect that happens quite a bit as inventive fans hone their skills through all available means. Enjoy.

Intruder

If you like this, take a moment to tell the author. Feedback is precious and appreciated!

Fandom: CRIMINAL MINDS
Characters/Pairing: Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan (gen)
Length: 3260 words
Rating: PG or FRT
Author Website: Author on AO3

Why this must be read: I love the dynamic between Spencer Reid and Emily Prentiss in Criminal Minds. There was never even a hint of romance between them on the show, but the real life friendship between the actors seemed to bleed over into their onscreen personas into this weirdly warm and intimate friendship. While I 'ship them in fan fiction, this story is just about their friendship - how it grows and fills out over the years. In a way, bessemerprocess's story is more romantic than most Reid/Prentiss fics I've read because she shows them as devoted and loving without physical obsession throwing a wrench in the works. And it all begins and ends with Reid's infamous purple scarf.

Speak, Friend, and Enter by bessemerprocess on AO3

Did you like this? Spread the love and let the author know it!

Fandom: RÓMEÓ ÉS JÚLIA
Pairing: Lady Capulet/Lord Capulet
Length: 2220 words
Author on LJ | Tumblr: drcalvin | drcalvin
Author Website: fic on AO3
Why this must be read:

Lady Capulet is one of the best-developed characters in this version of canon, but even so there are many questions to answer about her. Was her marriage always a mess? What motivates her fixation on marriage as the solution to Julia's problems, when it clearly didn't solve hers? What's going on under all that brittle, fragile beauty?

In this layered little backstory, drcalvin tries to answer some of those questions, painting a picture of a Lady Capulet who is neither wholly unlikable nor wholly sympathetic, while foreshadowing both the disintegration of her marriage and her rather weird relationship with her nephew Tybalt.

( Excerpt )

Becoming Lady Capulet

If you enjoy this story, please take a moment to tell the author. Tiny fandom writers always appreciate encouragement!

Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert
Length: 1,250 words
Author on LJ: honey_wheeler
Author Website:
Why this must be read: Nobody, especially if they work in at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, is perfect. Jim Halpert, for all that we fangirls lovelovelove him, is not exempt from that. We get glimpses of his rougher moments, like dumping Katy on the Booze Cruise or (as discussed in this fic) making a mockery of the Finer Things Club. For every heartfelt parking lot confession, he’s got a nasty breakup by a fountain in New York City. This little number finds Pam experiencing a few of his less proud moments, and taking them in stride. After all, she’s not perfect either.

( You’ve got some growing up to do. Maybe we should start with a coal walk. )

brief interviews with hideous men

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Length: novella
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Increasing Workplace Productivity | Author's Page at Gossamer
Why this must be read: Though prufrock's love is perhaps best known for her historical AUs, I actually prefer her post-col and myth-arc stories. This myth-arc heavy fic is not canon compliant, so if you are the sort of reader who gets freaked out because Scully has a baby girl and it's not Mulder's kid, you may not enjoy this. But if you like a well-constructed, exciting, fast-moving drama, with an emotionally satisfying resolution, snappy dialogue, and a great first person Mulder POV, I would at least give it a try. I think her summary gives a good idea of what you can expect without giving too much away.

Mulder is returned: to Scully, to a new baby, and to vivid nightmares of his role in the future. A love story of Elvis' revenge, baseball, babies' toes, hitchhiking the galaxy, aliens, hard science, and a little faith. Star Trek, Tigger baggage, old shirts, new beginnings, and the end of the world as we know it. And Jack Nicholson.

Yep. That pretty much covers it.

The revised stories she's posted to Gossamer should be read there, since they're the most current versions, plus there's an email address now. The geocities (now reocities) website is no longer being updated, but the fic is still (mostly) available.

Read Pascal's Wager.

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: Vila/Tarrant, Scorpio crew (with some circumstantial straight!Avon/Tarrant, and some Servalan/Tarrant)
Length: LONG. Must be about 20K
Why this must be read: ( This is a very long review. I've lj-cut most of it ) even though V/T is not my pairing at all (or is it?), even though the Avon in this story is aggressively straight (for plot, I think), and even though Blake is entirely absent, 'Path of Thorns' is, in my opinion, one of the best Blake's 7 stories ever. Fanlore tells me that it lost out in the 1999 Stiffies to 'Divide and Conquer' and... I love D&C a lot, so I am OK with this, but... I would have been OK with things going the other way. And D&C is a beautiful, awkward and funny B/A epic by one of my favourite writers. So - what I'm saying is PoT is one of the best Blake's stories ever.

It manages this through a combination of 1) fantastic, multilayered and gripping characterisation (more of this later), 2) an exciting adventure plot that makes use of all the characters, and forces most of them to have emotions and emotional crises... and blow things up and pretend to be important business men, AND 3) ... a ludicrous crack premise that is nevertheless 100% based in the show. ( Cut again - more rec behind here )

( Excerpt )

Link: There was a copy on eBay recently, but not at the moment. I don't know where else you can look, but I strongly recommend doing so.

Fandoms: UNCHARTED
Characters/Pairings: Katherine Marlowe/Talbot
Length: 2641 words (44005 for the series)
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: on Ao3
Why this must be read:

Marlowe and Talbot of UC3 are intriguing villains, though for a lot of people in fandom they simply fall under the 'love to hate' category. I can't say when I played the games that I shipped them but I certainly wanted to know more about their motivations and history than the game provided. Lady_of_Rohan appears to be the person in UC fandom who has written the most in depth about them, fleshing them out wonderfully in this series which starts off with this mostly gen fic about them that leads up to the UC3 story.

Later fics in this series do have UST/romantic in them but as I read - as someone who hadn't considered them together until I saw this small fandom ship about - I found it believable, not to mention an interestingly different ship with its dynamics of older woman/younger man, who seem to be mentor/protege as well as employer/employee. Even if you don't ship this pairing I'd urge you to give this series a go if you want to know more about these two as like me you might be pleasantly surprised to like them together.

Without You (the Tallowe series here with rating up to Mature for some fics in it)