CAMINO DEL DIABLO
by
Diamondback 

Camino del Diablo is a magnificent, slash AU represented by two novellas: Camino del Diablo and Interlude: Midnight of My Soul, both of which have received individual story awards here.  Camino also won a MoM award.  It's a "continuation AU" in that the author started the story with the old west Seven and utilizes both old west and modern settings to show the Seven as master vampires fighting evil, both internal and external.  This complex story utilizes supporting canon characters/guest villains and appeals to a common reader fantasy -- an immortal Seven whose fight for justice transcends time and mortality.  Of course, as Buck reminds JD in the opening novel, they're immortal but not invulnerable.  This AU is magical not only in concept but in execution.   The slash pairings flow naturally from the story, governed by the rules of vampire existence. They do not need even the "leap of faith" required for most slash relationships in a series intended to be about seven heterosexual men.  All apparent deviations from canon characterization are explained and justified in the context of the story.

EQUITABLE ACTION
by
Meg Tipper 

Equitable Action is a  magnificent, contemporary, gen AU represented by a number of medium length and short stories, several of which have received individual awards both here and in the MoM contest.  The stories we considered in making this award include:  Equitable Action; Catch Manny; From the Files of Buck Wilmington, PI; Going Home Again; The Decorators; Fool's Errand and City Maze.  This remarkable AU takes on the flavor of its New York setting; it definitely doesn't take place in "Any City" USA.   The first visit to the team offices tells the reader she's  not in Kansas anymore -- and in some ways New York is almost as strange as Oz.  The author has used this AU to present action, comedy, parody and even the supernatural.   In this universe,  Josiah and Ezra are lawyers, JD is a legal assistant and the rest are detectives.  However, all of them are at the center of the physical as well as legal action.  While every story is not an action story, it's definitely an action AU.  Excellent use is made of supporting canon characters/villains.