Spreading the tales of a con man

Title: Undertow
Author: frith_in_thorns
Spoilers: for 3x16
Characters: Neal, Mozzie, some Peter and Elizabeth, OCs
Pairings: gen
Warning: torture (offscreen/implied), kids in danger
Summary: Set post-finale. Neal's drifting, but Mozzie's found an opportunity to take advantage of, one that on the surface doesn't look too risky. Of course, appearances can be deceiving.
(Full disclosure: I beta'd this fic, though I was not otherwise involved with its creation.)

Why rec'd? This is a really wonderful post-finale fic - great plot with lots of action, a very likable OC, and an excellent character study of Neal and his relationships with both Mozzie and Peter.

Title: Burnout
Author: augustbird
Spoilers: only for season one
Characters: Peter, Neal, OCs
Pairings: Peter/Neal (very slight), Neal/OMC
Warning: graphic non-con, torture both physical and mental
Summary: It was easy to pretend that it wasn’t Neal Caffrey undergoing this ordeal, just somebody who looked and acted just like him. Written for collarkink.

Why rec'd? So here I am back again with another rec that is very different from my usual reccing fare. Neal and Peter are held prisoner by a sadistic captor who wants Neal for his own personal thief, and, along the way, forces Neal to have sex with him by hurting Peter. I can't lie, this fic totally mashed down both my physical and emotional h/c buttons *g*, but what makes it really rec-worthy is that Neal and Peter are so thoroughly them in this scenario -- as opposed to being helplessly trapped, they are clever and resourceful and brave and determined to survive long enough to get out. A big part of my enjoyment in this story was watching them quietly find ways to do end runs around the bad guy's constant surveillance, finding sneaky methods for passing messages and making plans in their very limited time together, even while Peter is so badly injured that he's basically incapacitated and Neal is being watched every minute.

One other warning that I wanted to add besides the standard ones is that the ending might be unsatisfying to some -- this story doesn't really end so much as it stops, although the main plot is resolved. It feels more like the first part of a WiP than a story that is entirely complete in itself. But if this sort of plot is your cup of tea, it's definitely worth reading regardless!

Title: Living Proof
Author: Deastar
Spoilers: none (AU)
Characters: Peter, Neal, also a bit of Elizabeth
Pairings: Peter/Neal, Peter/Elizabeth, Neal/OMCs
Rating: NC-17
Warning: Non-con/rape, sex between a minor and adult(s) (not Peter/Neal, however)
Summary: Peter is a vice cop. Neal is a teenage prostitute who works in Peter's beat. AU.

Why rec'd? You may note from the warnings and summary that this is not my usual sort of reccing fare. "Teen hooker AU" is not my usual sort of reading fare, either.

But this story is really, really good. I think what makes it work for me is that the author is acutely aware of, and careful with, the power dynamics in their situation. This story doesn't romanticize prostitution (as the author's notes say, this story is not "Pretty Woman"), and it's more of a subversion of the teen-hooker AU story type than a straightforward angstfest. Peter is completely believable as a young (early 20s) vice cop who wants to break Neal out of his downward spiral while still maintaining a professional distance between them, and Neal is also believable as a runaway teenager who's so messed up at this point that he doesn't believe any adult would want anything from him other than sex. Without giving away plot spoilers, I'll just say that the story avoids most of the usual tropes that make this kind of AU generally not work for me, and made me love the characters even more than I already do.

(Also, this icon is awesomely appropriate! *g*)