Title: Given Up by Yahtzee
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Author on LJ: yahtzee63
Author Website: Yahtzee!
Why this must be read:

This is the newest story I'll be picking this month. I was pondering several choices for the crossover day, and then came across this story. I liked it because it acknowledged the sad aftermath of X-men 2, and the likely future of Mulder and Scully, yet still managed to sound a note of hope.

The opening sentences immediately catch the character's voices, and the dialogue continues to be spot on. So, although it's a short story it has the depth that we, the readers, bring to it from familiarity with the two universes.

This is Scully's story. A Scully who has Mulder, but has given up William. Who is still the sceptic, but has lost her faith.


Given Up

Title: Hell Money by FayJay
Fandom: Smallville, crossed with Angel.
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: pandarus
Author Website: Spreading the Yay, One Ho at at Time
Why this must be read: My favorite sort of crossover - the kind that connect the two fictional universes so seamlessly that you almost forget it's a crossover at all. Lionel discusses a particularly nasty deal with his lawyers, the evil firm of Wolfram and Hart. This is a short piece, but it still packs quite a punch.

FANDOM: Pirates of the Caribbean
Pairing: None really, but shades of Jack/Will
Author on LJ: d_r_o_n_e
Author's Website: Ladybee's Fiction
Why this must be read:

I'm a sucker for a well-written AU story and this definitely fits the bill. Set in modern-day Boston, this is a clever re-telling of the movie, with Will as an assistant to a Professor at Harvard Law and Jack as a brilliant part gypsy, part grifter. The characterizations of both Jack and Will are well formed and most of all, real and true.


( A small taste... )

Debauchery

Fandom: BABYLON 5
Pairing: Ivanova
Author on LJ: garnettrees
Author Website: Everglow
Why this must be read:

"The Dying Country" is a short, observant and dark little Ivanova piece that manages to, in a small space, lay out just why it is that Susan wishes she had the power to fix everything, and just how heartbreaking it is when she realizes she doesn't.

Also, this is an excuse to rec "Future Games," Meredith's awesome Ivanova/Marcus story that may or may not be a WIP (and therefore couldn't quite merit its own line-item rec). This is the story where Marcus and Ivanova shared some mysterious history; the story where Ivanova might well be the long-ago girl Marcus cared about, and lost. Springing from that first moment of recognition (in the episode "Matters of Honor" where Sheridan introduces Ivanova to the Rangers, and Ivanova makes it clear she's known about them all along), Meredith creates a past for Marcus and Susan and one hell of a twisted shared secret.

Read 'em both. Send Meredith feedback, because she's currently hopped off to Japan and everyone knows that feedback's the best gift upon a return from a trip.

Note -- "Future Games" here is linked to FF.net, because the frames on Meredith's site don't allow me to link to the whole thingy at once. "The Dying Country" is on her site, which I do recommend checking out, for fic in B5 and some other great fandoms.

The Dying Country

Future Games

Fandom: LORD OF THE RINGS RPS
Pairing: Elijah Wood/Orlando Bloom, implied Billy Boyd/Dominic Monaghan
Author on LJ: deleerium
Author Website: www.deleerium.com (temporarily down)

Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: [skaterboy + geeky professor + Harvard = fun; a remix of sorts] What if Orlando’s Flaunt tattoos were real? What if Elijah’s gig at Harvard was permanent (and not just a Lampoon initiation)? Hellooooooo hotness in Cambridge....

There's so much about this story that makes it stand out to me, I think I'd be here all day long if I tried to list them. The devil is in the details, they say, and Dee's certainly got those covered. My only complaint about this story would be that there's not more in this universe.


Skaterboy, Parts One and Two.

Fandom: STAR WARS: tPM
Pairing: Maul/Obi-Wan
Author on LJ: Nope.
Author Website: Sweet Uncleanness

Why this must be read:

Matthew Haldeman-Time is something of a slash god, or if not, he should be. Both of these pieces are based in the Sith Academy, previously recced, but they can be enjoyed without reading that, although they may confuse you somewhat. These pieces are both gorgeous, unfinished, but not too frustratingly, and hot and lovely.

"Heal yourself."

"No. Qui-Gon-"

"He leaves you out there to get hurt, he doesn't take care of you, and then when you get hurt he wants you to suffer through it for some noble high-minded Jedi shit cause."

"He shouldn't have to take care of me anymore. I shouldn't require it. By now we're supposed to be partners of a sort."

"If you were my partner you'd never get hurt. I wouldn't allow it."

"I know."

Those two simple words. That easy, solemn acceptance. Obi-Wan didn't doubt him.

And what he'd said, it could have meant...it could have meant not just in battle, but in life, if they were life partners, if Obi-Wan were his part-

He turned away sharply, walked away, turned back again but wouldn't look at Obi-Wan, couldn't look, left the apartment.

Obi-sex

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully & Krycek
Author on LJ: Not that I know.
Author Website: Vehemently's Fan Fiction
Why this must be read:

This is a very powerful story that explores the relationship between Mulder, Scully and Krycek. The mystery of who Krycek is and where he comes from is always a popular subject with authors. When I first read this piece, with its mixture of the mundane and the dramatic, I believed that this was one of the best characterisations of him I'd ever read.

( Want to know more? )

Scatter

I think this stands alone very well, but it's actually the first part of a trilogy. So if you enjoy it, then you'll be delighted to read further with

Fandom:FIREFLY
Pairing:Mal/Simon
Author on LJ:Skripka
Author website:"Along The Rim"

Why this must be read: It's Mal feeling kind of lost and lonely and Simon being Simon. Wuyeshi means 'at midnight' and that's where this story starts. The title fits the atmosphere that surrounds the entire story and while some may see it as dark, it's not. Firefly itself is dark at times so all this story does is show the reader a part of the show that can easily be imagined happening after an episode. Even the Mal and Simon parts.

"Captain?" There was concern there. "Are you all right?" There was also the sound of movement, the shift of air. Suddenly, one of those hands was on his forehead, cool and competent. "Gaisi, you are warm. Let me get you ..." Of it's own volition, Mal's hand grasped Simon's. There was a brief frozen moment. That inner voice groaned. Or maybe it was his outer voice. Hard to tell with all that blood rushing around. "Captain ..." it was a soft question, perhaps an answer.

"Mal. Please."

"Mal." Simon moved their linked hands lower. "Will you look at me?"

His eyes opened. Those blue eyes were intense, reserved, and questioning at the same time. He could almost feel the mutual need pouring off the boy. No, not the boy, Simon. His voice caught. All he could do was reach out the other hand and touch the partially exposed hip. A slight tug, and the lithe body was ensconced firmly on his lap. The warmth against his body made him groan again.

"Are you all right?" Simon asked again. Mal just held on tighter, and pulled the twined hands to his mouth. He couldn't speak, all he could do was brush his lips against the knuckles. And then there was a fingertip, just invitingly there. Somehow, it found it's way into his mouth. Mal groaned again. Sweat, soap ... it was all Simon, and tasted like ... God, he didn't know. It was wonderful, and he sucked lightly. His eyes wandered up to Simon's face. Rapt with desire, that mouth (what a mouth) slightly opened in astonishment, the eyes going dark with lust. A nibble on the finger, a deeper draw, a sweep of the tongue and a groan was pulled out of the younger man. "Mal ... we ..." and the breath hitched in his throat.


Wuyeshi

Be sure to follow the links at the bottom of the story to read all parts of it!

Title: The Look by Bone
Pairing: Jim Ellison/Duncan MacLeod
Author on LJ:
Author Website: at Zen and Nancy's House of Slack in the "Homeless Shelter and Soup Kitchen"
Why this must be read:

Your very very bad Sentinel rec-er has a crossover rec a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short. There have been no Sentinel recs thus far this month because I've been on the road, but with this rec I hope to mend my ways and start doing better.

This is the first in a series of three Sentinel/Highlander stories pairing Jim and Duncan. I pretty much love everything Bone writes, but this one has a special place in my heart (or parts slightly further South) because it's fairly rare to read slash about two men who are equally well muscled, and I always say the more muscles, the merrier.

So, the premise is that Jim walks into a bar in Seacouver and gets rather more than he bargained for, and just what he needs. This can also be read by Blair/Jim and Duncan/Methos OTP purists because the series doesn't attempt to usurp the place of the guys' more common partners. Rather these shorts attest to the power of every person you meet, for however short a time, to transform your life - through good conversation or therapeutic fucking as the case may be.

The Look

And the Sequels: Look Again, and One Last Look

Fandom: HORATIO HORNBLOWER
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: misspeacock
Author Website: Beyond Pandora's Box
Why this must be read: One of my favorite Hornblower moments is when Horatio, Archie and William Bush jumps off the cliff. This is a missing scene ficlet that takes place right after that scene. It's a lovely piece of interaction for Bush and Kennedy that captures the characters' voices really well. Amusing and well-written.


A Good Feeling

Fandom: Smallville
Direct Link: Just Pie
Pairing: A hint of Clark/Lex.
Author on LJ: liviapenn
Author Website: Livia's Library
Why this must be read: Every fandom has its hookerfic/pimpfic AUs. Unfortunately, they're not all as clever and amusing as this one. A charming reworking of a usually cliched plotline.