Fandom: LORD OF THE RINGS
Pairing: none
Author Website: Amazing Creatures
Why this must be read:

Teasel is one of my personal favorite LOTR fanfic authors. She shows a keen perception of the One Ring’s effect on its bearers. In this particular vignette, she deals with Bilbo’s struggle with the ring as he attempts to revise The Red Book to reflect the truth of how ownership of the ring passed from Gollum to Bilbo. It’s important to Bilbo to set the record straight, and yet he finds it extremely difficult, due to the ring’s influence, to write the truth of the matter.

Teasel handles this short scene brilliantly. Bilbo’s addict-like struggle with the ring is central to the point of the piece without being over-done or preachy.

… he thrust his ring firmly back into his pocket, straightened his waistcoat, and finger-combed his hair, pushing the silver curls neatly behind his ears. He cleared his throat. He picked up his pen, and thought Thief!, and wrote:

We meant to give it our only only pressent . . .

No, no, no. He crossed that out. No. This should be simple, this should be easy. He had told the truth to Frodo. Frodo had quirked his eyebrows, his expression hovering somewhere between a smile and a frown, and said, That does sound much more likely, Bilbo, adding for some reason, But what else could you have done?

(Underlined text is italicized in the original work)

Revision

FANDOM: Pirates of the Caribbean
Pairing: The OT4 - Jack/James/Elizabeth/Will
Author on LJ: the_stowaway
Author's Website: n/a
Why this must be read:

Trust and Honour is the sequel to fabulously steamy Nocturne, which has been previously recced here. We now have Elizabeth involved in the story, which gives our favorite boys a strong female presence to play against. But the heart of this story is truly James Norrington. He's at a crossroads in his life and he's lucky to have three people who care so much about to help him make the toughest decision of his life.

There is quite a bit of smut here, but the plot that goes along with it is truly compelling.

Trust and Honour
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Frohike & Skinner friendship
Author on LJ: alysswolf
Author Website: Joyce's Corner
Why this must be read:

It was the profound line: "Do you recycle?" from The Blessing Way, that indicated there was more to the character than comic relief. Many authors used this as a springboard to examine a more serious Frohike, and this is one of the most memorable interpretations.

At first, it seems an unlikely friendship, but the context of their meeting makes it credible. It's told from Frohike's first person POV, and gives him a cynical, yet poetical voice that rings true for the man we sometimes caught a glimpse of in the series.

We nod to each other. I resist the urge to give him an ironic salute, a parody of the drill rammed into my reluctant brain. He does not deserve such disrespect. His very bearing speaks of the betrayal of trust and faith; the boy volunteer who found he had volunteered for a journey into damnation.

This is the first of a series 'The Wall', but they all work as standalone stories.

When Johnny Came Marching Home

Fandom: HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES
Pairing: Duncan/Methos
Author on LJ: lastrega
Author Website: Sword's Kiss
Why this must be read:

Greetings and Salutations and my humble apologies for the delay in starting your June Highlander fic pimpage.I am Evil Dr Em, Fic Pusher Extraordinaire and I shall be mainlining you the good stuff in the Highlander fandom for June.

The first rec is a double dose of Highlander joy. Esjay is one of the most talented writers in the Highlander fandom today and her stories always have an excellent blend of humour, drama and knicker wetting good sex.

Kiss The Steel is the first part of the trilogy which can all be found on her webpage. It starts shortly after the TV series finishes and is an engaging and violent adventure which will give you a whole new outlook on interior decorating and the Madonna song 'Open Your Heart To Me'. If the ending doesn't have you screaming, please check your pulse because you are obviously dead!

There is then a short snippet called Kite which is more of a mood piece. You can read this for completeness but it is not required

Kiss Of Shadows is the final part of the trilogy and probably the story which is best known by the author and in the fandom. It goes one step on from Kiss of Steel and the sheer quality of the writing shines through a complicated and well thought out plot.

It also fulfils the Evil Dr Em 'Proper Fic' requirement by having at least one Monty Python quote in it.

The story is set in Africa and weaves vodoun and diamond smuggling into the more familiar rough and tumble of two extremely opinionated male immortals attempting to have a relationship.

Basically, it *ROCKS* with the mightiest of Fists of Steel!

Esjay's research is always impeccable, but never more so in Kiss of Shadows which is so much more then a simple story about Duncan and Methos. The original characters are beautifully drawn and realised, yet never steal the show and her Duncan and Methos are real,living, breathing men who you can see and hear so clearly its like having them sitting next to you.

Oh and the sex is well...Guh!

Go read and enjoy..

Kiss The Steel

Kiss Of Shadows

Fandom: HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES
Pairing: Duncan/Methos although some Kronos/Methos
Author on LJ: Does not have one
Author Website: MacGeorge's Madness
Why this must be read:

Well its by MacGeorge for a start and she is the writer in the Highlander fandom for whom we all burn incense in thanks for every day.

This is not one of her more usual fics. It's an AU set round the Comes A Horseman and Revelations 6.8 episodes of the TV series. It's very dark, very disturbing and features a lot of explicit violence, non-con and torture. Needless to say I think it's one of my favourite of the author's stories. *winks* Please do heed these warnings however as the story is not for the fainthearted or easily squicked.

What the story does have to offer is superbly plotted dissection of sexual obsession in all its dark and bruised glory. The writer beautifully illustrates the conflicted and entwining relationships of all Four Horseman and then throws Duncan MacLeod into the mix and stirs vigorously.

What I enjoyed most about this particular story is how three dimensional and real her Kronos and Silas and Caspian are. Far too often they are reduced to being simple caricatures of evil. The obligatory bad guys! Not so in this fic. MacGeorge's Kronos is all the more terrifying because you can empathize with him.

As with all MacGeorge's writing her Methos and Duncan are beautifully and canonically accurate, while the background details add glorious colour and vivacity to the scenes she writes. Needless to say the Methos in this story is so perfectly conflicted I wanted to eat him and the Duncan suffers so very, very beautifully...

Read and Enjoy

Brothers Under The Skin

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Alex Summers (Havok)/Sam Guthrie (Cannonball)
Author on LJ: diamonde
Author Website: Peeing in the Jean Pool
Why this must be read:

After coming back from an alternate universe (as you do), Alex decides to quit being a superhero and go back to geology, then he skips out to go walking in the rain. Sam follows him to have a quiet chat about his rather abrupt decision. Sex ensues.

That's basically the story, which Diamonde has labelled a PWP, but it's also, besides from being hilarious and cute on it's own, the first story in a series which takes Sam and Alex from sex to relationship.

Of course, whatwith Alex being a Summers and Sam remaining in X-Force, things are far from easy.

( excerpt from Some Rain Must Fall )

Some Rain Must Fall
Cloudcover
Make it Okay
Throw a Stone