Slightly later than I intended to start, but here I am with the first of the January Pirates of the Caribbean recs. My bias is towards Norrington-centric stories and Jack/Bootstrap, for the most part, but I like pretty much anything if it's well-written enough, and I've even been convinced by a few Will/Jack stories.

Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Jack, Norrington, Anamaria (no overt pairing)
Author on LJ: firesignwriter
Author Website: Her stories may be found on this page of Webcrowmancer's site.
Why this must be read:

Anamaria didn't have much of a role in the movie, but I thought she had some intriguing potential -- so I have an automatic bias towards stories which flesh her out in an interesting and believable manner, as this one does. Firesignwriter portrays the relationships and interactions between Jack and Anamaria, Anamaria and Norrington, and Norrington and Jack deftly. Really, words fail me when I try to talk about this story: it is really that good.

It starts with Jack and Anamaria adrift, and ends with Jack finding another new identity. Along the way it's by turns funny, sad, and touching, and Norrington's world is changed a bit.

Did I mention that it's really, really good?

A quote:
"Think of me as a fly on the wall," Norrington suggested, not budging.

Jack sighed. He went to his knees by the bed and put his head close to Anamaria's. Low enough voices, pitched as heartsore endearments, might still do the trick. That, and a little high drama. "Is the pain terrible, darling?"

Anamaria wasn't much into acting. Her grip threatened to pulp his hand. "Not as terrible as the pain you'll be in if ye think to be leavin' me behind when you escape," she cooed softly, between her teeth.

Fortune and Favor, by Firesignwriter.

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Author's Website: here
Author on LJ: N/A
Why this must be read:

One of the hallmarks for me of X-Files fic is the abundance of great prose. There are dozens of amazingly talented writers in this fandom, people who can spin sentences that make me weep or cry or curl up shuddering under my desk.

And then there's Penumbra. Her prose is ineffable and inimitable, and every time the topic of favorites lines comes up, she is cited over and over again. She breaks all the implicit rules of ficwriting, and she makes you love it.

Contact High takes off from the sixth-season episode "Field Trip", in which (if you don't recall), Mulder and Scully are nearly consumed by a giant fungus, whose fumes give them hallucinations. There's some indication in the episode that the fumes even put them in psychic contact with each other. It's a fun episode (yet another Mulder!death!), not least because it resulted in the fabulous, dreamy, smutty festival of stunning imagery and quirky psychological insight which is Contact High. Penumbra starts with the assumption that this psychic link doesn't fade away immediately after our agents are rescued from the giant mushroom, and things progress from there.

This is one of my all-time favorite stories ever.

"You were thinking about me," she says.

Mulder actually looks alarmed, dropping his hands. "No, I wasn't."

"Yes you were. Mulder, we're still connected, can't you feel it?"

He frowns. "You were in Annapolis. How could you know what I was thinking? Let's go and make some coffee."

"If you're going to think about me like that, you should be prepared for repercussions."

The repercussions are fabulous. Contact High, by Penumbra

Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing:  Leia/Han
Author on LJ: ?
Author Website: You Could Use Another Good Kiss
Why this must be read:

This is a missing scene between Han and Leia during Return of the Jedi (check out the author’s site for other fics in a similar vein). This is a solidly written story that looks at the brief quiet time before the Rebels begin their assault on the Death Star. The story matches the tone of the movie itself, and very well feels as if it could have taken place in canon.

Checkmate

Fandom: WITHOUT A TRACE
Pairing: Sam/Jack mention only
Author on LJ: dressageridertb
Author Website: I haven't been able to find one that works
Why this must be read:

This is another almost-gen rec, but there are mentions of Sam/Jack. The season one episode "In Extremis" was emotionally charged for a lot of reasons, and this is, in my opinion, the best treatment of the aftermath in fandom. The episode focused quite a bit on Martin, but Jack's guilt over the outcome of the case was very understated and Devanie does a good job with carrying out what he might have been feeling. She touches on a throw-away scene between Sam and Jack as well, which the writers never did so it's nice to see it reconciled via fic.

I like this Sam/Jack dynamic, and I am not a big Sam/Jack fan, so that's saying quite a bit.

Not Dark Yet

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Ray Kowalski/Benton Fraser
Authors' Websites: Bone - http://www.geocities.com/coffeeslash/bone/index.html,
Authors' Websites: Aristide's stories hosted on zen&Nancy's House of Slash - http://hos.slashcity.com/arslash.htm;
Authors on LJ: Bone - thisisbone

I realized that I neglected in my first post earlier this week to introduce myself and give you an idea what to expect. I'm Justacat, and though I admire people who rec stories that they don't personally like because those stories are important to the fandom, I must admit that I am not one of them. What I want is to share the stories that I love, that have made me so passionately love this fandom. So it's only fair to give you an indication of what I like: in a nutshell, the Fraser/Kowalski pairing, good writing, deep emotion, stories that capture the whacky bizarre almost surreal humor of the show, the guys showing a degree of sweetness and tenderness while remaining indisputably guys, and happy endings - by which I mean the guys end up together forever. I often like a bit of hurt/comfort, and I definitely prefer the smuttier end of the slash spectrum, but only so long as the smut is interesting, in-character, and not cookie-cutter. I'm unlikely to recommend depressing or "edgy" fics, or ones that lack a more-or-less explicit sexual relationship.

Fortunately, there is an abundance of wonderful dS fics that meet all my standards, and How Ray Got His Groove Back is the next one on my list.

Why this must be read:

How Ray Got His Groove Back has been called the "ultimate slash story," and though most dS fans will have read it, no rec site worth its salt could fail to mention it. When Bone and Aristide get together, the result is magic, as any who have read their Sentinel fic will know. This is arguably their best story in any fandom, and certainly it's the most often-recommended due South slash story of all (to see the many places it's been rec'ed, you can check out my due South Slash Resources page).

Like all B&A's fics, this one is heavy, heavy, heavy on the smut - it comes by its NC-17 rating honestly. The premise: Ray is jaded and lonely after his divorce, ready to give up on love, and Fraser is longing for him in his uniquely repressed fashion. Somehow, events conspire so that Ray finds himself introducing Fraser to "the coping mechanism of the modern American male":

"The movie," Ray said, trying not to fidget against the doorframe. "It's a blue movie."

"Ah."

One beat, two. He waited. Fraser just stared at him, almost smiling and flushed, looking like it all made sense to him now. Ray knew better. "You have no idea what that means, do you?"

"Well, no."

"It's the coping mechanism of the modern American male."

Ha. For once, he had Fraser looking at him the way he was forever looking at Fraser—like there were words coming out of his mouth, but he'd be damned if they sounded like English.

"Coping -"

"With this," and Ray made the universal pull-the-hotdog motion with his hand.

Fraser just stood there, fondling his hat. That not-quite-smile looked frozen in place, and that was kind of funny, yeah, but still - unbelievable. He'd just done the jerk-off sign in front of Fraser. Christ, he was losing it.

So Fraser watches porn with Ray - or rather, he watches Ray watching porn, and seeing Ray's reaction finds that his legendary self control has deserted him. The result: a string of the hottest, sweetest, most sizzling sex scenes you could possibly imagine - and the sweet and tentative evolution of, yes, true love.

HRGHGB has been called a PWP, but in my book that label doesn't fit - this is one of those rare stories in which the plot is the relationship, and the relationship is the plot. As I said, I'm a big fan of (well-written) smut myself, but I recommend this fic even to those who don't typically search it out. Because though HRGHGB, like all B&A's fics, is highly smutty, it's also - again like all of B&A's fics - so much more than "just" smut. The relationship and character development are amazing, the voices staggeringly good, the dialogue witty and perfectly in character. It's funny but not farcical, sweet and tender but not sappy. Fraser's and Ray's confusion and fear and hope, and the deep underlying affection they have for each other, are so poignantly and touchingly portrayed, it makes your heart just quiver. The sex scenes are quite explicit, but they're always incredibly sexy and never crude (except when they're supposed to be, like the description of the porn vid Ray's watching). And the sex is integral to the story; through it we see, and come to understand, the characters and their relationship, their motivations and thoughts and deepest feelings.

It's hard to overstate the brilliance of this story. It's truly a classic, standing up to countless re-readings without ever losing a bit of its magic. Better yet: Bone wrote a wonderful little epilogue, which closes the loop, giving us the most satisfying ending imaginable.

The stories are available on Aristide's website with cover artwork by Crysothemis:
How Ray Got His Groove Back and Epilogue

Alternatively, they can be found in text-only format on the due Slash archive.
How Ray Got His Groove Back and Epilogue

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Draco Malfoy / Neville Longbottom
Author on LJ: (if applicable) ajhall
Author Website: Shoes for Industry
Why this must be read:

Because they're unique, which is a rare and precious thing in fan fiction. A characteristic which unfortunately makes them slightly hard to recommend, because I don't quite know where to start.

The basics first: they're both detective stories, in the Golden Age tradition. As such they feature an ancestral pile (with obligatory leaky roof); a fraudulent engagement; a damsel in distress; a variety of eccentric characters and other standard characteristics of the genre. As they're taking place in the wizarding world they also feature a werewolf, the odd bit of necromancy, and a magical doomsday device. All this and so much more: political satire; religious commentary; interesting legal detail about tomb desecration and general wit about the human condition.

The real attraction, however, is the way that these elements are weaved together. The magical world meshes perfectly with the non-magical, which is itself a glorious mix of the real England with that England that only exists in fiction. And while all this is going on the plot drives forward and the characterisation remains impeccable. As I said they're unique, and compelling – not to mention frequently hilarious.

And anyone who's taken one look at the pairing and rejected them is missing one of the best series in the fandom. Trust me, it works here.

Lust Over Pendle.

Dissipation and Despair

Fandom: GUNDAM WING
Pairing: Heero/Relena (also Duo/Hilde, Treize/Une, Zechs/Noin, Une/?)
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Lemon Wing
Why this must be read:

Because this is the *only* GW het good enough to be recommended.

It's really the Heero/Relena stories that make this wonderful, but the other pairings are done very well, too. Most of the stories are PWPs, but PWPs with spot-on characterization. The first Heero/Relena has a set-up that is just *so* totally Heero, and the 2nd Heero/Relena is long, and has a very good plot. These are the characters we see in the series, just more grown up.

Lemon Wing
click on 'Endless Waltz Universe' for one more story