Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Jack/Will/Elizabeth
Author on LJ: viva_gloria
Author Website: Imagin'd Glories
Why this must be read:

A beautifully drawn and blisteringly hot exploration of the three-way dynamic between Jack Sparrow and the newly-married Will and Elizabeth Turner. There's jealousy and possessiveness and attitude. Elizabeth and Jack and even Will get to snark and quip their fill, and then they all get to take their fill of one another. viva_gloria does an excellent job with multiple viewpoints and rapid switches -- a difficult thing to pull off. She's at her best when writing from the perspectives of Elizabeth and Will but really all three characters are written very well. She has a knack for getting completely inside their heads with only a few words and phrases and bringing out the complex and very human swirl of emotions present in a situation such as this.

Scoundrels

Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: John/Aeryn
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author's Webpage: Unknown

Why this must be read:

Another action adventure story taking place in the interim between Fractures and I Yensch, You Yensch, this story actually takes the mission that John sets out for all the way through to the end. It's full of great character moments from all involved and a mission that doesn't become bogged down in the John/Aeryn situation. And be on the look out for the most original ploy to fool Scorpius I've seen in fanfiction.

This one's just a good ole adventure into the heart of evil. Buckle up.

Dead Men Don't Tell Tales

Fandom : CLAMP – SERIES: X/TOKYO BABYLON
Pairing : none, characters - Subaru
Author on LJ: fuzzyserpent
Author Website : none
Why this must be read:

It is short but so beautiful, and really I don't use that word lightly. The imagery and atmosphere are amazing, and the story itself is almost lyrical in its writing style.

While reading this I got a real visceral sense of who Subaru is from a much underused POV. That in itself adds interest, and was so well done that this remains one of my favorite character pieces.

Under the Moonlight

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: Blake/Avon, pre-slash, as far as I know
Author on LJ: hafren
Author Website: Hafren's Gloomy Patch of the Forest
Why this must be read:

This must be read simply because hey, it is by Hafren. One of the best, most lyrical B7 ficcers out there. There is very little I can tell you about this short piece without spoiling, but... it has Avon, Blake and snow. Very appropriate for the season. The imagery of snow, what goes on inside Avon's head, the very word choices and images are what make this story so wonderful. As is the case with all of Hafren's fics, IMHO. Without further ado, here's the link, be sure to leave her feedback.

Angels

Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Jack Sparrow/James Norrington
Author on LJ: gryphons_lair
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

An entirely plausible and gloriously hopeful view of Jack and James' possible future. gryphons_lair's descriptions here are marvelous, evoking a time and place and implying a complex web of relationships with only a few well-used words. The warmth and the emotion -- clear but understated -- is what really makes this fic. This is the future I like to imagine for Jack and James, and I cherish the way gryphons_lair brings it to life.

Legacy

Fandom: LoTRIPS
Pairing: A little bit of everyone
Author on LJ: lalejandra
Author Website:

Why this must be read: No one writes crack!fic like the LoTRIPS community. From wing!fic to AUs, these guys have been placed in just about every conceivable situation, and a few that boggle the imagination.

And the greatest of these, I believe, is the antennae!fic series by Lalejandra. Yes, antennae. Because if the boys could have wings, why shouldn't they have antennae? The series is hysterical and well-written.

You'll never look at Orlando's knit caps the same way.

The story begins with It's a Mad, Mad, Fucked Up World, and continues in her memories section.



Def Leppard - Tear It Down

ETA: Links have been fixed.

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex, pre-slash
Author on LJ: ruby101
Author Website: Ruby's Writings - deactivated by geocites, so never mind.
Why this must be read:

I was wading through clarklexfic one day long ago, and I came across a request for a fic I'd never heard of. It said something about Lex always keeping his promises to Clark and hotter not!porn than had ever before been written. Immediately I set out to find this story, and, lo, I did, and I read it. And it was good. Really good. Like, reccing on crack_van worthy good, and I was shocked I hadn't seen it recced yet.

First of all, it's College!Clark, a kink for a good portion of fandom. And Lex follows Clark to Metropolis because they're best friends. Well, best friends who are hopelessly in love with one another, but this is pre-slash, so they don't know it yet. But we sure do.

This Lex is my favorite Lex in fanfic. He's got those heartbreaking vulnerabilities, but they're much more subversive here. We see much more of confident!Lex, and a confident Clark to match. They play off one another with such ease and connection, I'm as surprised as all of their friends that they're not banging one another yet.

I should be writing this rec while I'm more awake so that I can better convey to you just how essential this fic is to fandom. It's just so perfectly written. Perfect characterizations, perfect plot, perfect reveal. Perfect friendship that looks like it could lead to perfect lovers.

I'm not quite sure what happened to Ruby. Sometime after posting the sequel to Promise, she vanished from the LJ scene. I mean, her LJ is still there, but she doesn't appear to be. We probably need to stalk her or something to bring her back, because the fandom could benefit from more of Ruby's fanfic.

Promise is here, and be sure to leave Ruby feedback!

Sequel: Not Yet.

Fandom: CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
Pairing: Gil Grissom/Nick Stokes
Author on LJ: damerel
Author Website: http://www.iphicles.org.uk/
Why this must be read:

I like the dark fics in this fandom, the ones that strip the characters bare and reveal what makes them tick, even if what makes them tick isn't particularly savoury. I like the angst, the despair and most of all the fics that explore exactly what the effect of dealing with the worst of human misery day, in day out can have on a person.

And while I'm not normally a huge fan of AUs, I have to admit that this particularly AU scenario intrigued me.

In this AU, Nick is a rentboy but don't let that fool you. This isn't Pretty Woman, or the slash version. This fic is all about Gil. It's a character piece, and an intriguing one at that, and Nick is barely there. He's more a cypher than anything else, a temptation that Gil can't resist no matter how destructive it could be. As such, it works really well, flaying Gil's character bare in a way that's satisfying to the reader, if not Gil himself. It's about addiction and risk taking and the need to stop thinking for a while, no matter the cost. After all, Gil used to ride rollercoasters, but what do you do when that safety net is removed?

The writing is nice and fluid and carries the story along, and the author pulls no punches. All of Gil's weaknesses are exposed - most of all to himself - leaving both Gil and the reader a little raw and down at the end. Very satisfying.

( A sample )

Fandom: CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
Pairing: slight allusions to Catherine Willows/Nick Stokes
Author on LJ: always_winter
Author Website: Follow The Shoe
Why this must be read:

I promised myself that I wasn't going to be a sloth, and would space my recs out appropriately, but Christmas and small people have a way of interfering with good intentions. So I bring you another rec.

Continuing with the dark theme (I'll lighten up before Christmas proper, I promise), I bring you Palmistry by Wintertime. I'm going to nail my colours to the mast and point out that I'm actually a Catherine/Nick shipper, although I'll read anything with Nick in it, so I doubly love this story - it's dark and desperate and there are hints of something building between them.

Mostly, though, this is about Nick. Again it's slightly AU, and this is a Nick that could have been - a Nick who isn't as much of a survivor as the one on the show, showing what could happen if he wasn't quite so resilient as he is, or if the writers had a better grasp of continuity. But above all, this is still a Nick who is believable, and it's easy to see how Wintertime got there.

The story itself is dark and twisted, and the way that Wintertime paints Nick is full of despair but still beautiful. It's an interesting twist, but handled very well and the language used is a joy. I admit to being a complete sucker for beautiful language, and there are lovely little insights that speak of Nick's descent into darkness, without it ever becoming melodramatic or less than believable.

( A sample )

Palmistry