Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: John, Aeryn, Crais
Author on LJ: huzzlewhat
Author's Website: Unknown

Why this must be read:

Another story written after The Great Twinning Arc of season 3, this story is hard, sharp, and painful.  The depiction of Aeryn in this story, broken, lost, and generalizing between two John's, is one of my favorite characterizations of Aeryn post twinning.  No matter how much it's exclaimed, how often it's used in fic, there is no way Aeryn can think of the two John's as one John, in my opinion.  This story takes that idea and twists it.  What one John wanted, the other John doesn't but Aeryn doesn't care and that causes immeasurable angst between the two of them.

Don't expect happy reunions and happily ever after from this one.  This is a raw scab ripped wide open without a bandaid.  It hurts and it makes you hurt for John and Aeryn and everything that they do to each other.

Forced Perspective

Fandom: X-MEN MOVIEVERSE
Pairing: Scott/Jean, Bobby/Rogue
Author on LJ: seldear
Author Website:. The Dragon's Lair

Why this must be read: In Movieverse fic, Bobby Drake inevitably ends up being thrown over by Rogue so that she can chase after Logan. This story, in which Scott and Bobby share a brotherly heart-to-heart over being the dependable men to Logan's runaway bad boy, conveys in a sweet and simple way why Jean and Rogue might have the hots for Logan, but still stay firmly attached to their lovable "nice guys."

The Nice Guys

Fandom: X-MEN MOVIEVERSE
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: mogigraphia
Author Website: Across the Lines

Why this must be read: It's not uncommon for Hank McCoy to get a proper fanfic introduction to the Movieverse, especially considering his far-too-brief cameo on the bar TV in X2. This story brings Professor Xavier and Scott into his admittedly strange sphere of reality, offering up a dead-on Hank voice that's perfectly playful and intellectual all at once.

I Shall Be Mr. Seek

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

Post-colonization stories might be my favorite genre of X-Files fic because while it's not unique to this fandom, I think the genre fits it particularly well. Aliens invading and irrevocably changing Earth, whether it be friendly or not, simply fits the themes of the show and allows for fantastic twists of plot and character studies that stretch boundaries even as they remain true to the show.

"Letters of Transit" is an incredible post-col story. It not only nails the X-Files characters, it fits them into a crossover-type universe with the movie "Casablanca" in a way that not only makes sense, it seems real. On top of that, this story's got marvelous angst, great plot twists, and romance that hurts so good. I love long stories like this. (Not that there are many of them!)

Letters of Transit, Part 1 and Part 2

Fandom: BUFFY
Pairing: Xander/Oz
Author on LJ: 3jane & thete1
Author Website: Janefic & Teland
Why this must be read: One of the best things about Buffy fandom is the plethora of really well-written slash -- fueled not least in part by the show's textual homoeroticism. Jane St. Clair and Te are both masters of the genre and when they team up the result is as delicious as you'd expect.

Transfer is a gorgeous, twisty, hot, *smart* story pairing Xander and Oz immediately after the events of "Lover's Walk." And as appropriate it doesn't gloss over the ways in which their respective relationships with Willow affect how they relate to one another; in a way the story is about Willow, though she isn't in it, and that's damn good character-exploration writing no matter what. But it's also very much about the boys, about making big fucked-up mistakes, trying to fix them and maybe making more in the process. All porn should be this pretty; all literature should be this hot.


Transfer

Fandom: STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Pairing: Garak/Bashir
Author on LJ: Not that I know of
Author Website: Not that I know of
Why this must be read:

This is a great story of a Defiant from an alternate universe arriving in DS9's universe. All the familiar characters are there, but in different roles and the pleasure in the story is seeing how they interact with the originals.

Garak/Bashir was the first slash pairing I read about, and the acknowledgments at the start of this story read like a Who's Who of G/B writing, so there's certainly a nostalgic element to this rec. I re-read it with some trepidation before reccing it, worried that it wouldn't be so good as my rose-tinted memories made it.

But I was soon involved in the story, and delighting in the character interaction. And all the characters get a good showing. In fact, you could take the G/B out of this story and still have a well-plotted, moving, intriguing piece about DS9. Not that you'd actually want to, since the sex is great <g>

(The only thing about the story that shows its age is slightly erratic formatting, which seems to be the same in all the current online versions.)

Converse Symmetry

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Multiple: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Muraki/Ukyo, Terazuma/Wakaba to name a few
Author on LJ: eag
Author Website: http://eag.squidkitty.org/
Why this must be read:

Set post-Kyoto, the well-plotted fic has alternating scenes from Muraki and Hisoka's point of view. The style of the piece jumps around a bit, sometimes reminiscent of a detective novel, where the protagonist talks to the reader like he's telling you a story when you've just met in a smoky bar at 1 am. For the first couple of chapters, Hisoka moves into an uncertain future, while Muraki relives his past, remembering significant moments of his life in snapshots of time. And then ... well, I can't spoil it for you, but then there's a sudden twist and the plot of the story takes off in a new direction. Filled with details that give a little bit of Japanese flavor. Careful attention to continuity and character background, with speculative backstory for characters like Tatsumi, Terazuma, Wakaba that are fleshed out here and given depth. The plot is interesting and it's easy to get sucked in - before you know it, it's 2 am and you're still reading. One thing that held me back from reccing this in the beginning was what I feel is some moderate OOCness, of Muraki and Hisoka specifically in places, but if you view the story in the context of an AU (which it is) and consider the significance of the situations in which these particular characters find themselves, it becomes something that can be rationalized away. Tucked in among the chapters are side stories, offshoots, outtakes and extra goodies that make for an enjoyable experience. Multichaptered, this fic isn't short by any means, but it has one additional advantage over many of the other long stories in YnM fandom: it's complete :)

( Spoilery excerpts )

The First Death

Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK US
Pairings: Various canon pairings mentioned (Also: Implied Chan warning)
Author on LJ: eleveninches
Author Website: That Boy Ain't Right

Why this must be read:
A little humor to lighten your day...before my last two recs, which are both dark. All of durendal's stories (at least the ones I have read) seem to have a humorous edge that I find very appealing. I like this Michael-centric tale of a future mistake, even if Michael has a hard time in it. ;)

Growing Pains

Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: Simon/Jayne
Author on LJ: Not that I know of
Author Website: Firefly Fanfiction

Why this must be read:
I got an email saying, "When are you going to post some S/J slash?" That same evening, Eli pointed this series out to me. "A Modest Proposal" is funny, fun pre-slash, with both Simon and Jayne in character. It's got several much naughtier sequels, also hosted at the same site.

A Modest Proposal.

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Kazuma/Nonomiya
Author on LJ: aeanagwen
Author Website: http://www.livejournal.com/users/aeanagwen
Why this must be read:

The rarest of all rarities: femmeslash in Yami no Matsuei :) There are female characters in the series, believe it or not - mostly they are explored in the manga, and they do have interesting (un)lives. This short fic looks at Kazuma and Nonomiya, the Peace Preservation Bureau ladies, their partnership and something more. Simple, nicely paced, well-written, quite enjoyable.

A Mutual Understanding