Fandom: X-MEN MOVIEVERSE
Pairing: Magneto/Mystique
Author on lj: artaxastra
Author's website: Outlaws, Aliens, and Mutants
Why this must be read:

Full disclosure: I betaed this story, and it's by an author I've frequently co-written with. But it's a lovely look at Mystique, who gets far too little character development in movieverse. Artaxastra shows us Mystique and Magneto during the night they spend camped with the X-Men; Mystique's trying to drown her anger and worry in sensuality, and remembering the uneasy beginnings of her relationship with a man she clearly loves.

Under Cover of Darkness

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: Sydney/Vaughn
Author on LJ: bellalumina
Author's Website: Beautiful Light Productions
Why this must be read: In many stories in this fandom, the tension is created by someone betraying Sydney, but in this story Sydney has done the betraying. In an AU set mid-Season 1, it's taken almost 5 years for the CIA to take down SD-6 and during the raid Vaughn is shot. It falls on Sydney to help him recover and try to rebuild the trust that she broke between them.

The Elements

Fandom: HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ: ?
Author Website: Seems to be missing
Why this must be read: This story focuses on the relationship between Hercules, Iolaus, and Jason, as the three men remember a fishing trip they took when they were younger that turned into a battle for their lives against Discord. There's angst and hurt/comfort in just the right amounts, as Discord disguises herself as Hercules and tries to make Iolaus think Herc has tried to kill him. It's well-written and a good look at how legendary friendships were formed.

(This is my last Hercules rec and I hope you enjoyed them! The next time our turn comes around, someone will be doing recs for stories about the other characters and showing different aspects of the fandom.)

Of Friends and Brothers

Fandom: SPORTS NIGHT
Pairing: Dan/Casey
Author on LJ: I'm not sure. Julian, do you have an lj?
Author Website: The Thwarted Invasion: Julian Lee's Fanfiction with a Grudge
Why this must be read:

For sheer hilarity you cannot go past this fic. It's short, but mighty sweet and one of those stories that will have you snorting with mirth. Julian's Dan and Casey banter with aplomb and everyone gets a go, with even Charlie and Lisa making guest appearances. And I can guarantee that after you have read it, you will never look at your fridge in quite the same way again.

Freon

Fandom: EVERWOOD
Pairing: Bright/Ephram
Author on LJ: hackthis
Author Website: Dysfunctional

Why this must be read: In a gist, this is about Bright driving cross-country to salvage his relationship with Ephram. It should be as simple as that, but it isn't. It's about fear and insecurity, secrets and regrets. It's also about finding the strength and the courage to love who you want to love and do what you want to do. I love the fact that Bright's trip to New York is also a metaphor about his personal journey towards accepting himself and loving Ephram.

It's the journey, not the destination, that matters. And this story will make you enjoy the ride.

Signs

Fandom: THE X FILES
Pairing: gen
Author on LJ: kormantic
Author Website: Skalab

Why this must be read:

"Monday" is the sixth-season X-Files episode about the repeating day. Everyone in it is trapped in a time loop, over and over and over again, and only one woman is aware of it. Pam watches this day, over and over and over again, with all its death, destruction, and grief; stuck in that day, she never gets to heal, to forget, to hope.

"Other People" is Pam's story.

( Excerpt )


"Other People"

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex, Clark/other
Author on LJ: thete1
Author Website: Teland
Why this must be read:

Everyone knows Te writes outstanding porn, and I really wanted to rec something of hers along that line this month. When it came down to it, though, I had to pick Past Grief, which, while admittedly very hot, is so much more. A dark AU in which Clark loses his parents, and ends up needing Lex the way that Lex needs Clark, until they become everything to each other. Until the rest of the world ceases to matter, except that it interferes, when they’ll do anything to protect and keep the other. And the boundaries fall like dominoes.

Past Grief (140 K)

And the sequel, creepy and disturbing and worth reading all of Past Grief if only just to get to it: Past Grief: Renewal (12 K)

Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Jack/Will/Elizabeth
Author on LJ: elspethdixon
Author Website: Shiny Pirate Goodness
Why this must be read:
As an apology for neglecting my duties, I offer one of the best long J/W/E fics ever written. Romance! Vengeance! And contraband jewellery! There's an endearingly sweet yet scorchingly hot (despite being, sadly, g-rated) fhreesome love story here, but what's most appealing to me about this story is the penetrating look at the moral problems of piracy. When a cousin of Elizabeth's is killed in a chance attack by the Black Pearl, Will and Elizabeth are forced to choose between the world of respectable Port Royal and Jack's world, a decision that's easier than they expected. Then, of course, they face the *real* difficult choice:( quote )

While the Will and Jack here are wonderfully IC and goofy both apart and together, and Norrington is refreshingly an antagonist but not an enemy, it's Elizabeth who makes this story for me, from her dealing with the general assumption that she's having an affair with Jack, to her realistic reaction to the death of her cousin, to her Spectacular Bodice of Guard Seduction. (Not to mention the scene when she's wearing only pearls and gold coins. . .)

I have yet to read a fic which captures the spirit of the movie so well.

A Pirate's Life
There are also two short stories that elaborate on two bits of backstory here: Skin and Bones, Anamaria-POV, and Contagion, Bootstrap POV.

EDIT: The Skyehawke archive seems to have been slashdotted. Was that us? Anyway, you can still find them at Shiny Pirate Goodness.