Mod Post: We want recs!!

[escribo.livejournal.com]

Hello! Welcome to the mid-point of monaboyd_month. Thanks so much to everyone who has participated so far. It's been brilliant!

Today, we'd like to invite you to leave a link to your favorite monaboyd story--maybe the first one you ever read (do you remember?!), or just one that has always stuck with you. Whatever you love, we want to read it!

And as a bonus, if you're a writer, how about leaving a link to your own favorite story that you wrote? We'd love to read whatever you've got!

To get your started,From dizzydame's collection:
Spare the Rod by philomel Smut. Delicious smut, done... deliciously. 

The Full Experience by icelushypnos This is one of those getting together fics where you're just waiting for the boys to wise up and everything to fall into place. The characterization is great and it's pretty much what I'd consider just... classic, good monaboyd.

Parts by valerienne I'm biased because this one was written for me, but it's AU and you'll read the whole thing trying to pinpoint exactly where it veers from what we know and trust me, it's worth it once you realize it. 

And from my own:

Subversion by calico (NC-17) (ew/vm/ob/dm/bb) Can't go wrong with a classic, right? One of the first I read, I think (I'm not admitting which was my very first monaboyd fic :D). Hot hot hot.

Cover from the Sky by kiltsandlollies (NC-17) (Billy/Dominic; Billy/Ali; Billy/Ali/Dominic; some Ali/Dominic) Kilts is a brilliant writer and this fic sings.

The King of New Orleans by traveller A little bit of well written everything.

And my own favorite story of mine? Case of You I worked on this forever and finally finished, a few years after I started it, for the 2008 monaboyd_month (link goes to the epilogue since it has all the links)

Share yours!!!

Comments

[glass-moment.livejournal.com]

I have to say my favorite monaboyd story is still Pro Patria Mori (http://serpentisfix.livejournal.com/9235.html) by serpentisfix/lord_alexander. It's everything I usually don't like in fic- a school AU, for one, and an abandoned WIP, for another. Don't let any of that scare you away, though! Set in a Yorkshire boarding school in 1928, this fic is just absolutely gorgeous. It has a numerous pairings and relationships, all brilliantly written and perfectly characterized. It ends at a good point, too, and won't leave you hanging despite the WIP status.

peter_and_fran is another favorite that I just started rereading for maybe the fourth or fifth time. This is a band AU that's pretty much unlike any band AU I've ever read (I think it's meant to be somewhat based on Belle and Sebastian, but I don't know anything about that). It's a long story that bounces back and forth in time to tell the band's history as well as its present, complete with excellent characterization and a lot of hilarity. I think what gets me most is how much this AU just perfectly captures the closeness of this group that we all saw in real life. Also it has a cool meta multimedia aspect with fake fansites and interviews and such, which is really well done.

These are so unlike what my usual preference is! Let's have some good old-fashioned NZ monaboyd too.

I'm pretty proud of my googlefu in finding a link for Funny (http://slashababy.livejournal.com/14472.html) by kaydeefalls, a fic that has stuck in my mind since (apparently) 2003. This is a fairly short fic, but it's so good. I absolutely adore the framing device of jokes (just read it, you'll see what I mean), and how it plays with the idea of Dom (and Billy) being the "funny" ones. Also, the last line always makes me smile.


As for my own fic, I think my favorite is And When It All Falls (http://monaboyd-month.livejournal.com/18864.html), which I wrote for monaboyd_month 2008. It's futurefic in which Dom is the one who has his act together, which was something I hadn't seen and wanted to explore, and I really like the sort of sad-and-yet-hopeful tone it ended up with.

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

I haven't been on LJ or reading smut (those two coincided in timing, oddly enough...), but I think one of my favorite things I've read so far is suede_scripture's "A True Gentleman" (http://suede-scripture.livejournal.com/tag/a%20true%20gentleman)... especially the last couple of chapters!

I started reading stuff over at Library of Moria not long before I started reading it here, and there's not very many Billy/Dom stories there (everybody's all about Viggo/Orlando... blarg!) but I really liked this particular one, Counting on Fingers and Toes (http://www.libraryofmoria.com/a/viewstory.php?sid=196&chapter=1). Well, I particularly liked the smut part.

As for mine, I've got a whole very long ongoing Billy/Dom series (all tagged "Glass" in my journal) which is sort of my little obsessive personal project, but there was one that I just wrote for a friend's request that I thought turned out pretty well called "Strange Currencies (http://ruby-story-swap.livejournal.com/2265.html#cutid1)" (it's the title of an REM song). It's posted in my story swap community, which is ongoing and could definitely use a few more people who might be interested in Billy/Dom requests... most of my friends there lean toward VigBean-ish and I'm bored of it!

Monaboyd Moments

[carribbe.livejournal.com]

I suck at many things, one of them is figuring out how to post things correctly. Hopefully, people can locate links if interested...

An absolute favorite story of mine is Just Hopin' That I Find by beizy - http://Beizy.livejournal.com/1134538.html. I adored it from the moment I found it. It's hot, sexy, and a little bit bloody, involving those moments when Billy has had enough attitude from Dom. I thought it was well done.

Also, All That Matters by dizzydame, http://slashababy.livejournal.com/138879.html, melted my heart last Christmas. I know of course I am biased because it was written for me, but I think it's a wonderful and angsty little fic.

I am also quite taken by a little triangle fic, An Ending, by silentdescant - http://monaboyd-month.livejournal.com/15202.html. It's quite emotional, but I think extremely interesting from the angle of loyalty and eventual choices. I like it - very much.

If I need to examine my own creations, I'm probably attached to the most recently completed, Final Surrender, found @ http://carribbe.livejournal.com/80977.html#cutid1. I don't write a great deal, but I have a definite theme. :)

[babydazzle.livejournal.com]

I have a penchant for drama, action and h/c so you'll probably find a recurring theme here. I don't recall the first Monaboyd fic that I read, but these were the ones that pulled me into the fandom on hands and knees, begging helplessly for more kicking and screaming:

1. Be My Lifeline: Don't Let Me Fall by peeshwank , parts I (http://peeshwank.livejournal.com/3155.html)and II (http://peeshwank.livejournal.com/3569.html). This story is so concise; I don't believe there's one extraneous word. And it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

2. Maraon by escribo. Part I (http://escribo.livejournal.com/5945.html) Part II (http://escribo.livejournal.com/8204.html), Part III (http://escribo.livejournal.com/9924.html) and the Final Installment (http://escribo.livejournal.com/9556.html). This is a WIP that she had co-written with rynalwyn ages ago. If you can deal without an ending, it's worth the investment into Dom's and Billy's vastly different lives and their struggles. Deep and cutting, but you could see hope and provision ahead.

3. Trees by capra_maritimus and multiple others (see notes). This (http://monaboyd-month.livejournal.com/37948.html) is a link to the most recent chapter (I think) as well as the previous chapters. The prose alone is stunning and worth the read, but the story is fascinating and Billy and Dom are in turns tender and protective. Lovely, lovely, lovely. It's a WIP, however Capra is still actively writing it, last I checked.

4. Defy the Dark by beizy, parts I (http://beizy.livejournal.com/974566.html), II (http://beizy.livejournal.com/974827.html)and III (http://beizy.livejournal.com/974923.html). Stunning.

Of course, anything by semaphore27 (http://semaphore27) was also an instant favorite of mine.

And more recently:

5. Civil War (http://monaboyd-month.livejournal.com/28739.html) by foxtales. And not just because it was written for my birthday one year. This story brings me to my knees. Billy = surgeon, Dom = soldier. I say no more. (Link to epilogue and previous parts)

6. And finally, suede_scripture has several WIPs going that I adore: Kill Bill and Beware the Manor House (both on her fic index) (http://suede-scripture.livejournal.com/) are two of the most interesting AUs I've read in this fandom. Her characterization is great, as is her storytelling, and she always seems to find a way to balance the boys' masculinity and vulnerability.

I'm sure that most of these are fairly popular, but hopefully one or two of these are a little more obscure and that someone has found a new read out of them.

As for my own work, I'm not as skilled or prolific as I'd like to be, so my body of work is rather small. However, I would say my favorite is Of Temperature and Temperament (http://babydazzle.livejournal.com/85447.html) (short, fluff), as I cranked it out quickly and enjoyed the exercise.

Long Live Monaboyd!

[msilverstar]

One I forgot in my big list o' recs, Shaenie's gorgeously kinky BDSM Convergence series, especially Cusp, which makes my heart pound re-reading it for the zillionth time since 2003. It becomes the fucksome trio (Billy/Dom/Elijah) later on, but the first one is all monaboyd.

[eff-reality.livejournal.com]

We are fortunate to have so many great writers who love our amazing OTP. Because I don't want to highlight, I'll simply direct to my 500+ Monaboyd recs on Delicious (http://delicious.com/eff_reality/billy/dom). Definitely not everything I've ever enjoyed, either.

I will say, though, that one of my favorite authors who doesn't get recced nearly enough is hackthis. Maybe she just taps into my sensibilities and sense of humor, but I love her style. :D