I'm going to be your tour guide/driver through the Andromeda fandom for October. We're a small fandom, and most of us either know or have heard of each other (at least in LJ-space, or those affiliated with maryavatar's Andromeda Uncovered website and mailing list.) Sadly, the fandom fizzled out toward the end of the third season, with only a few diehards continuing to write and/or rec stories. Hopefully I can do my part to drum up interest in this fandom.

Speaking of Maryavatar, I decided that the first story/series I was going to rec would be her "Pouncing on People."

Fandom: ANDROMEDA
Pairing: Harper/Tyr
Author on LJ: maryavatar
Author Website: Amused and Abused
Why this must be read:

The most common portrayal of Tyr in fanfic is as a odd cross between Klingon and Vulcan. Tyr is shown as dominant, aggressive, and only interested in procreative sex, even in the slash fics (where it's explained as either "practice" or a "dominance" thing.)

Maryavatar takes a slightly different tack with "Pouncing on People." In the story, (a short series of linked PWP ficlets) Nietszcheans have a genetic predisposition to being attracted to certain useful survival traits such as intelligence, regardless of the sex of the individual they're attracted to--and Harper is a genius.

What results is a game of cat and mouse with Tyr pouncing on Harper, and Harper not minding very much. This story manages to be cute and funny, with a few brief bouts of seriousness, because even a light PWP needs to deal with Harper's backstory, IMO.

Pouncing on People

A realistic "Harper growing up on Earth" prequel would probably be equal parts City of God, Salaam Bombay, and My Own Private Idaho.