Title: And Already It is As Old As You Are by pervyficgirl
Pairing: Spock Prime/T'Pol
Length: 2,300 words
Author on LJ: pervyficgirl
Author Website: My Fiction Index
Why this must be read: When I saw this story, this pairing, appear on my flist, I admit I was sceptical. But I had to click, and thank goodness I did. Because the relationship pervyficgirl evokes is strangely wonderful, as two survivors of different time tragedies finally find peace with each other.

And Already It is As Old As You Are

Fandom: DEEP SPACE NINE
Pairing: Garak/Bashir
Length: 70k
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read:

The majority of Garak/Bashir fics portray Garak as the dominant partner, while Bashir is cast as the inexperienced newcomer to hot man-on-man action. The First Time reverses these roles, and creates a very different yet utterly believable version of this pairing. Olivia Monteith also captures all of the overwhelming emotions and physical sensations of a 'first time', and balances them with gentle humour and witty dialogue. The result is a poignant and sexy tale of two very different cultures, species and men colliding behind closed doors.

( Have a taste: )

The First Time

Fandom: DEEP SPACE NINE
Pairing: Garak/Bashir
Length: between 20 to 40k depending on the path you choose
Author on LJ: karmenghia
Author Website: click here

Why this must be read:

Because Rishi Baba is far more than just a hypertext 'choose your own adventure' for adults. It's a story that explores the nature of fantasies and reality, or in this case, realities. Depending on the choices you make, the characters will experience dreams or nightmares, love or betrayal, life or death. However, where ever you go, you'll encounter witty banter, graphic sex, and what lies at the very foundation of Garak and Bashir's relationship -- arguments over what makes good literature.

( Have a taste: )

Rishi Baba

Title: After Hours by J.A. Chapman
Pairing: too many to count, both het and slash
Length: 13k
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read:

Because it's unadulterated, smutty crack that pokes fun at canon, fanon, meta fiction and itself. Plus, After Hours ensures that everyone on DS9 finally enjoys a hedonistic break from all the war, suffering and betrayal of season seven. . . well, with one hilarious exception.

( Have a taste: )
Go ahead and indulge yourself (I'll never tell).

After Hours

Fandom: STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Soval/Cole
Length: long
Author on LJ: none known
Author Website: House of Tucker's author index page (scroll down to find shouldknowbetter)
Why this must be read:

Another unusual Human/Vulcan pairing. This one takes Corporal Amanda Cole, who was in a single episode for the purpose of making T'Pol jealous, and turns her into a real character. It also deals with the abrupt transition in Soval's image among humans, and the ramifications of revolution--however peacefully carried out--on the already strained relationship between Earth and Vulcan. Transferred to the Earth embassy on Vulcan, Amanda meets and falls in love with the former ambassador to Earth. But does true love really conquer all?

There Is No Sin But Ignorance

Fandom: STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Reed/T'Pol
Length: medium-long
Author on LJ: none known
Author Website: navigatio on ff.net
Why this must be read:

The characters are well-written, the angst is well-done, the plot is an old one done well, and navigatio has taken an unusual pairing and made it work. And it's about a Vulcan. What's not to love? Usually when a Vulcan is paired with a human, the human is written as a very emotional person who is able to bulldoze through the cultural differences and the logical objections of the Vulcan and sweep him/her off his/her feet, metaphorically speaking. (Or as close as Vulcans get to being swept of their feet.) What happens when the human in question is almost as reserved as the Vulcan?

T'Pol and Reed, trapped together alone on a deserted planet with no hope of rescue. How do they cope?

Castaways
Malcolm's Farewell to Arms

Fandom: STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Trip/T'Pol
Length: medium/long--but part of a longer series
Author on LJ: none that I know
Author Website: The Land of Might-Have-Been (the website).
Why this must be read:

Enterprise is one of those fandoms in which a large portion of fanfic writing was designed to "fix" aspects of the show or fill in scenes to make aspects of the show more coherent or palatable. I would be remiss if I didn't rec at least one (and possibly more) this month.

This story is the sixth in the Reconnecting series, which starts out as a fairly standard set of short fillers for "Home" and its aftermath. (Home is the episode in which T'Pol takes Trip home to Vulcan to meet her mother, and is pressured into marrying her former betrothed instead.) HopefulRomantic was one of many authors trying to soften that disappointment through fic.

This story is where the series steps out of the ordinary. HopefulRomantic didn't like the implied destruction of the alternate Enterprise in E2, either. And, after all, they only assumed Lorian's Enterprise was destroyed. What would have happened if they weren't? How would that have affected Trip and T'Pol's relationship? How would it have affected other crew members who had descendants there? And what would it be like for the crew of the other Enterprise to finally see Earth, the planet they've been protecting all their lives, for the first time?

You can read this story without reading the five short pieces that come before it; you may wish to read the sequels, listed at the series page.

The Land of Might-Have-Been (the story).

Fandom: STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE
Pairing: T'Pol/Archer, Trip/T'Pol
Length: two multi-part stories
Author on LJ: samanthaquinn and pervyficgirl
Author Website: Merely an Illusion, her fic at Warp 5, and ff.net.
Why this must be read:

Another nicely angsty look at the problems and misunderstandings inherent in a relationship between Vulcans and Humans.

Those of you in the DC fandom know her as pervyficgirl, but she started out in 2002 as a firmly PG/PG-13 rated het shipper named Samantha Quinn. While she is an excellent writer today of higher-rated slash stories, her early work is proof that lack of explicit sex is no barrier to writing intimately intricate relationships. Unfulfilled was written in 2003 (begun before the Xindi arc), while Enterprise was still on air, so it's firmly AU.

This story is about consequences. It's about what happens when people try to do "the right thing" without understanding the expectations and belief systems of the people those actions affect. It's about the impossibility of building true and lasting relationships when one or more party of the relationship doesn't understand--or want to understand--the other. It's about what happens when you assume that either pure emotion or pure logic is enough to build a life on.

And it's about what happens to the kids caught in the middle.

( Excerpt from Unfulfilled )

Unfulfilled and Fulfilled

Vidder: giandujakiss
Musical artist: Rockapella
Pairing: Various
Vidder on LJ: giandujakiss
Vidder's website: Monsters from the Vids
Why this vid kicks ass: We've already touched on my love of zombies once in this rec set, so I'm sure you're not terribly surprised to see I'm reccing a whole zombie-themed songvid today. The thing you need to know about this songvid, the thing that makes it stand head and shoul... various body parts above other zombie songvids, is that "Zombie Jamboree" has dancing zombies.

Yes. I know! That was my first reaction too.

giandujakiss is a genius.

*bops off to re-watch the dancing zombies*

Zombie Jamboree

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Tucker/Reed
Author on LJ: shi_shi2525
Author's Web site: Shi Shi
Why this must be read: So you're in the mood for a long, angsty offworld adventure with Amnesiac!Tucker and Determined!Reed, with some hot sex and maybe a little bit of attempted noncon? Look no further. This is slutty and long and fabulous and wonderful. Shi Shi plays here with the fannish idea of theirloveissopure, but puts a wonderful Shi Shi twist on it: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," her summary reads.

There was something so familiar about this man, beyond just the visions of his dreams; something that evoked warm emotions in him. Something besides lust or mere attraction, something deeper, as if there was a connection, a link [he] hadn't felt before. Not with his wives or any of the Disfavored ones he'd been intimate with, but more profound.

A love, he thought fleetingly as his fingers brushed over a seductively shaped lower lip.

Once In A Lifetime (NC-17)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Reed/Sato, T'Pol/Tucker
Author on LJ: No
Author Web site: No, but here's his Author Profile At Warp 5
Warnings: deathfic, futurefic; assumes 4.22 "These Are The Voyages..." never happened, so in that sense, AU
Why this must be read: The author's plot summary is, "The Romulan war begins with a single battle." This ensemble piece, a description of that battle, flows wonderfully from one POV to another, linked by a word or a thought. Enterprise is under attack, and a shuttlepod containing Tucker, T'Pol, and several other crew members is shot down and struggles to make repairs before the aggressors return. But the plot—a move from crisis to crisis—is subsumed to character, from the usual suspects (Archer, Reed, Sato, Mayweather) to a MACO to Kelby, all with unique insights, hopes, and desires that flash through their minds as they deal with the crisis.

It was time, Malcolm realized. He keyed the intraship comms and spoke words he never wanted to hear, let alone speak. "All hands, prepare to abandon ship."

Elysium (PG-13)

Please leave feedback for the author if you enjoy the story.

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: Unknown
Why this must be read: This nonchronological story follows the aftereffects of a decision made in the Nazi era, during an op engineered by Daniels, and pushes forward into the future, when Tucker, Reed, and T'Pol meet for a reunion. An artifact in a museum jogs Tucker's memory, and with it comes guilt. Saving the human race in the abstract is placed against a particular human family, one only dimly remembered, but no less valuable for all that. The themes of memory, distance, and love are laid against duty and guilt, but there's no resolution here:

They rode the bikes through the pathways in the forest. At one point Trip and T'Pol began weaving their bikes from one side of the path to the other, never colliding, but slipping by each other, playing. Reed's memories folded in on each other. The true ones, the false ones, the ones he had to live with.

Long Time Gone (PG)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Tucker/Reed
Author on LJ: thegrrrl2002
Author Web site: The Grrrl
Why this must be read: The Grrrl is rightly famed for her hot, slutty, sweet sex. Here, it's combined with some action, adventure, and plot: Tucker and Reed are kidnapped and are pressed into service as crew on board an alien ship. And there's some angst, too, as Reed does what he has to do to survive, though he fears Tucker may not approve. Tucker and Reed are separated and must work independently in a bid for freedom, only occasionally coming together to strategize. Through it all, Reed, ever the warrior, watches and waits for his chance to escape.

"Just how stupid do you think I am?" Draj sneered, tightening his grip. "I know everything that goes on in my ship."

Stupid enough, thought Malcolm, to cuff my hands in front. He reached up, found Draj's thumb, and quickly bent it back until he heard the satisfying sound of bone snapping.

Draj cried out and pulled his hands back, holding his injured thumb. Desperately seizing the opportunity, Malcolm snatched the man's firearm from its holder and held it to the Draj's head.

"You wouldn't." Draj's grin was contemptuous.

Shanghaid (NC-17)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Technically Tucker/Reed, but really, this story reads like gen
Author on LJ: No (the authors no longer write fic)
Author Web site: Bagenders
Why this must be read: This brilliant crossover with Mary Poppins has an "efficiency expert" (and we all know who that is) visit Enterprise. Singing and dancing ensue, Reed makes a choice, Mayweather confronts his worst fear, and Commander Poppins faces down Doctor Phlox's bat. Like much of Random Dent and Lady Alyssa's stuff, this fic is absolutely hilarious, and it has a nice twisty ending. The warning on the fic is apt: "Contains Gormless!Archer." The authors play with fanfic cliches of the characters, from Reed's fecklessness and desire to blow stuff up to Mayweather's lack of presence. Oh, and of course, we have Archer's gormlessness:

"And what problems have you been having, captain?"

The captain stared at the hatstand. "Hng? Wskv?"

"Ah. Vacillation. Lack of command presence. I will talk with the crew and we will address your problem first."

"Problem?"

"It's worse than I thought."

A Spoonful Of Coolant (PG)

Title: Flashback by The Ragged Rose
Pairing: Archer/Reed ER, Reed/Ash, Reed/James
Author on LJ: raggedrose
Author Web site: Port Of Entry
Why this must be read: Daniels sends Reed undercover on a mission to England during World War II. Reed joins an unexploded bomb disposal unit, but his real mission is to find a Suliban booby trap inside a bomb, thereby saving the timeline. The fic connects Reed and his 2.03 "Minefield" experience to his new job defusing bombs, focusing on the emotional intensity that certain death brings to relationships. It also presents Reed at work doing something he loves and is good at, all while concealing his true self and his true motives even as he finds himself drawn to the soldiers in the unit he's working with, leading Reed to ponder the essence of what makes up a person. The world-building is spot on, and the fraught conversations Reed has with both Ash and James ring absolutely true, telling us something about Reed as well as about the 1940s worldview of homosexuality.

Although the fic has a whole extra layer of resonance if you know who the Danger UXB characters are, it stands alone as a wonderfully detailed period piece. Ragged Rose provides a summary of the show in her fic headnote as well as a photo of the cast.

"I understood Ash's job so quickly because mine was built upon the descendants of the same weapons, just as your time and mine were built on the same lives. Strange to hold the past and the future in your hand."

Flashback (NC-17)

The photo at the top of Ragged Rose's fic page has Ash on the left and James on the right. Ragged Rose also posted a Reed/James PWP NC-17 sex scene that didn't make it into the story entitled Only A Dream.

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Archer/Tucker, Reed/Hayes, Mayweather/MACO
Author on LJ: gigitrek
Author's Web site: Gigi Sinclair's Slash Emporium
Why this must be read: This "shameless abuse of a classic novel" (as Gigi puts it) is a wonderful, hilarious homage to Austen's Pride And Prejudice, with the classic plot recast with Enterprise characters. When the estate next to the Phloxes, Beramor, is let to an eligible bachelor, Mr. Archer, Mrs. Phlox immediately begins scheming to marry off one of her five children. Indeed, Mr. Archer takes to Trip, much to everyone's joy, but all planning goes awry when silent son Travis runs off with someone inappropriate, leading Malcolm to rush after his brother—only to find love with Archer's snooty friend from the City. With hilarious references to Enterprise (and other Trek series) and wonderfully anachronistic details, Gigi pokes at the fan world while displaying a true love for both her source texts.

Mr. Archer was good-looking and uncomplicated. He had inherited his fortune from his industrialist father Sir Henry Archer, designer and manufacturer of the first steam locomotive to sport aft thrusters and a series of attractive, if ultimately useless, blinking lights. The Archer heir himself had held many jobs, lately researcher of gazelle mating habits at Oxford University. Before purchasing Bermanor, he had resided in the pleasant, quiet village of Syndication with his longtime companion, a naval admiral named Albert who had gone out one day to buy a package of rolling papers and had never returned.

Enterprise And Enterprising (PG)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Archer/many (m and f)
Author on LJ: misssunbeam
Author's Web site: http://www.waxjism.org/cimorene/trek/sunbeam/
Why this must be read: This story borrows a conceit you may recognize from Voyager and twists it sideways, although Miss Sunbeam herself says that this story is "A hypothesis about the obvious regression that occurred in the time between 'Enterprise' and 'TOS.'" Enterprise is far away from home, in cold space, trapped by a dark anomaly, and they've discovered only one way to get back: Archer's fire, and the sacrifice, one by one, of the crew:

So many saints ended up in the fire. Ironic really, given how chilly the universe was. Fire and ice. Even more opposite than men and women. More opposite than black and white.

Extinguish'd (NC-17)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Archer/T'Pol
Author on LJ: thedorkygirl
Author's Web site: http://dork.asyousleep.net/
Why this must be read: Keren Ziv writes in crystalline prose with drops of parenthetical expressions interspersed that are like stones dropped into a pond, sending waves out that alter the reflection. In "Avoir Raison," we are reminded that Vulcans do indeed experience emotions; they merely repress them. What happens when T'Pol and Archer, fundamentally alien from one another, initiate an intimate relationship? Can there actually be intimacy between two people who literally cannot understand each other? The author's summary is a line from the fic: "She does not have an excuse for this; instead, reason upon logical reason pile on top of one another until they threaten to overwhelm her."


"Avoir Raison" by Keren Ziv (PG-13)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Trip Tucker/Malcolm Reed
Author on LJ: carmenamatorium
Author Web site: No
Why this must be read: This is the drabble series that made me rethink my hasty prejudice against the genre. Each of these ten drabbles is an exquisitely crafted poem, with the words resonating beyond themselves, laden with meaning ("I watch as my universe folds in on itself, a ruptured life"), just waiting to be unpacked by the reader. The drabbles, told from Reed's first-person POV, tell a courtship story as the relationship moves from "Snow" to "Rain" to "Burn" to "Blaze." This series inspired glad reaction and spawned fic. Read it and see why.

Romance In A Thousand Words (NC-17)

Fandom: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE
Pairing: Tucker/Reed
Author on LJ: No
Author Website: Leah at coffeeslash
Why this must be read: Leah is one of those amazing gonzo writers whose fanfics transcend every imaginable cliche. She writes actual, real stories, with plot and depth and wonderful characterization and, well, meaning. This story, a companion to Bound, is one of my favorites because it's told from the first-person POV of an alien. The meaning here is thus filtered through someone who is profoundly alien, someone who doesn't understand the consequences of what she is doing. The summary—"First Contact, and last"—says it all.
Warnings: This is a dark deathfic, and it's gonna make you sob, cry, and tear at your hair. But it's bleakly wonderful, the kind of story that will stay with you long, long after you're done reading.

Grey's Daughter (PG-13)

Title: Say The Word
Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Pairing: Sato/Mayweather
Author: Kylie Lee
Author On LJ: kylielee1000
Author Website: Kylie Lee: Slash Fanfiction
Why this must be read:

I went looking for a good slash piece to rec and found a fantastic het story that's a great character piece on Hoshi. We see Travis through Hoshi's eyes but it's the *how* we see him that's the incredible part. Kylie does an incredible job of tying Hoshi's profession into her view of the world and the people in. It sounds like Hoshi in a way I don't usually hear and I was absolutely caught up when I was reading it and I honestly say if I didn't love the characters in this story before I read it I would've loved them that much more afterward.

Say The Word

Title: The Panic In Me
Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Pairing: Tucker/Sato
Author on LJ: azarsuerte
Author Website: Probable Impossibilities
Why this must be read:

For all the times I've recced Trek on here I don't think I've actually recced a fic for this pairing which amuses me because if I have one that's guaranteed to get my interest on Enterprise, this one's it. Azar hasn't written Enterprise in years but what she did write was utterly fantastic and her view of Trip and Hoshi chief among those. I'm not a big fan of 1st person fics even though I've written my share of them. I find them harder to get into and harder to believe but looking at the situation post Vox Sola (this is a post ep-story) and getting to see it through Trip's eyes...she mixes just the right amount of angst, humor, attraction and charm...this is the Trip we know and love in a situation we only wish we could have seen on screen.

The Panic In Me

Title:Nobody
Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Pairing: Reed/Sato
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: N/A (just an ff.net account)
Why thismust be read:

I'm not a big Reed/Sato fan. I enjoyed it and kept it as one of the pairings I read during my Enterprise years but I never got really head over heels into it. But with that said, CJ's fic could make me go head over heels for it. This one is just a beautiful slice of mission which picks up on the 'invisibility' theme of the secondary officers and runs with it. Carrying through that is a lovely emotional theme that lies just under the surface and comes through in some great description. Like a lot of her work, it's lovely.


Nobody

Title: Derorrim
Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Pairing: Trip/T'Pol
Author on LJ: anr
Author Website: Acerbitas
Why this must be read:

As I've said before I don't read a lot of Trip/T'Pol fic but there are a few authors that I'll give it a read for and Ness is one of them. I've served as go to person for Trek for her in the past and that's what's gotten me reading it and I have to admit, despite my dislike of the pairing she never, ever disappoints. The fics are always fantastic and I find myself enjoying the pairing despite myself. In this case she takes on the MirrorVerse Trip/T'Pol and gives us some surprising depth for the somewhat shallow Tucker and an insightful look into the MirrorVerse T'Pol. MirrorVerse fics are a favorite of mine at any rate but this one takes it a step beyond for me and I greatly enjoyed it.

Derorrim

Fandom: Enterprise
Pairing: Reed/Sato
Author on LJ: stexgirl2000
Author Website: N/A

Why this must be read: Because it's really, really good porn. Stex shows that a woman's mind is never still, not even in her most intimate moments. A great read.

Warning: Slash is mentioned!

All In the Mind

ETA: Now with actual link to story! :p

Fandom: Enterprise
Pairing: Tucker/Sato
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: N/A

Why this should be read: I'm more than a little baffled that she hasn't been recced before. I suppose it's because she usually chose to write one of the least popular pairings. I was torn on her stories which one to rec, but kept coming back to this one. (I admit to betaing it if you can call "Holy cow that was great!" betaing)

It's a story that takes place after everyone has returned to Earth. (AU since it was written before the Xindi plot.) Hoshi decides to visit her long lost buddy from Enterprise, Trip, at his home in Florida. Things happen, people have changed, but she takes you along for the ride nicely.

It's beautifully written. Gorgeous imagery, charming dialogue. It's the kind of story that pulls you in and leaves you with a not-to-shabby warm feeling in your stomach when you're finished reading.

Everything In Its Own Time

Fandom: Enterprise
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: http://bagenders.stormpages.com/

Why this must be read: In the first season of Enterprise much of the series focused on the crew flailing around in space, trying to find some poor alien species to poke at. Essentially, they spent part of the first season complaining about not having much to do. This story is a take off of the Captain's log, and the crew's lack of entertainment. It's a quick read, and a genuinely funny story.

Captain's Log: Boredom

Fandom: Enterprise
Title: Holy Angels Guard Thy Rest
Pairing: Reed/Sato
Author on LJ: mnemosyne23
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read: I'm a sucker for kick-butt Reed fics. This is Malcolm at his best, protecting his family and friends.

Author Summary: Malcolm returns to Enterprise after a supply run and finds the ship deserted. What has happened to the crew?

( Fic Warnings in case you don't want to be surprised )

Holy Angels Guard Thy Rest

Title: Fortunate Voyager by Mara Greengrass
Pairing: X-verse characters Scott, Logan, Kitty, Bobby; the entire cast of Enterprise
(Link Updated) Author on LJ: Mara's Ramblings
(Link Updated) Author Website: Diversions and Digressions
Why this must be read:

Scott manifests a secondary mutation – the ability to move across time and space (just as his comicverse children do). Unfortunately, the brain damage that prevents Scott from controlling his optic blasts also prevents him from controlling this new power. With no warning, he and three other X-Men find themselves aboard the Enterprise and they become embroiled in the crew’s running battle with the Xindi.

The Enterprise crew worries they’ve beamed aboard Khan Noonien Singh’s supermen. As the story unfolds, they overcome their prejudices and even mount a rescue for one of the feared mutants. This story reminded me all over again of why I fell in love with Trek.

Toward the end of the story, the Enterprise doctor offers to repair the brain damage that prevents Scott from controlling his optic blasts. But there’s a catch – the surgery may eliminate Scott’s newfound ability to time-travel, leaving him and his companions stranded in this alternate timeline.

(Link Updated) Fortunate Voyager

Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Pairing: Tucker/Sato
Author on LJ: lovellama
Author Website: Josephine's Enterprise Fan Fiction
Why this must be read:

This was apparently a take off of an RR that the author participated in, but it stands on its own feet just fine.

This is a fist kiss story. I love this story. It's sweet, romantic, and it just captures the moment perfectly.

Change of Scenery