Sorry for getting such a late start, guys, but with the first seder just completed minutes ago, I finally have a spare minute after weeks of helping clean and cook! For those of you who remember me from my last turn behind the wheel, I tend towards reccing older stories, and there's going to be a lot of Kittyfic this time around. So, without further ado...

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Author Website: Story found at Fonts of Wisdom
Why this must be read:

There are times when, in the hands of a bad writer or artist, even the best story concept can die a terrible death. Kitty Pryde, Agent of SHIELD was a great idea, but the comic was so badly done that I had to force myself to read it. Here, Jim creates an AU to completely overhaul the characters and storyline and present the story as it should have been done. Stranded on Earth during the cross-time caper, having lost her Excalibur teammates so soon after the X-Men's 'death', Kitty picks herself up again and struggles to find a place and a purpose working for Nick Fury.

Kitty Pryde, Agent of SHIELD

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairings: Duncan/Methos (Duncan/Amanda, Methos/OMCs)
Author on LJ: olympia_m
Author Website: http://seacouver.slashcity.net/illuferret/index.html

Why this must be read:
Sometimes, there's nothing better than a long, drawn-out seduction story, and this one is particularly lovely and memorable. Duncan and Methos meet for the first time in a brothel in 1837, and find themselves drawn to one another despite their philosophical differences; meanwhile, Amanda has her own agenda, and it may or may not coincide with what Methos has in mind.

What fascinates me most about this story is the Methos the author portrays, so different from the Methos that we know, yet showing familiar facets below the surface. Shamelessly erotic, yet understated, the story seduces much like he does, charming and tempting the reader, coaxing you along with the intriguing glimpses she allows into Methos' complex nature, and grounding the seduction in a vividly realized time and place. Convincing details and period touches complete the spell.

( excerpt )

The Oldest Story

Please let the author know if you enjoy this story.

Fandom: due South
Pairings: Fraser/RayK
Author on LJ: the_star_fish
Author Website: The Title Pool

Why this must be read: This story is casually known as the other mechanic AU among some dS fen. Okay, maybe it's just me there, but it is the other dS mechanic AU. It's also one of my desert island fics and has the illustrious place of being one of 10 fics that is always saved in my email for when I'm bored at work.

When Fraser returns to Chicago, he finds a stranger in Ray Vecchio's place. Except it's not Ray Kowalski. This story features a very interesting twist on the person who takes Vecchio's place and manages to weave a very detailed, very realistic AU around what happens when Fraser doesn't have someone like Ray Kowalski in his life professionally. In the blink of an eye, an off-duty Fraser becomes involved in the investigation of the murder of one of Ray's mechanics, finds himself a new apartment and a new roommate, becomes friends with Turnbull, and finds himself in love with Ray. It's a very simple story that has a very detailed plot, great characterizations, and a very strong romantic feeling through all of this. It's filled with the kind of banter, friendship, and compassion that the real Fraser and RayK have on the show. As if all that isn't enough, it's a long, satisfying read for those of us who crave long fic.


( exerpt )

Can't Stop Falling

Fandom: LOTR
Pairing: Estella Bolger/OFC/OFC
Author on LJ: the_danamark
Author Website: http://danachan.livejournal.com/
Why this must be read:

Did you know that there's a hobbit femslash fandom? It's small and delicate as a blossom, and headquartered on the LJ community bodice_laces. A large part of the fun of the fandom is in investigating and expanding Shire life beyondb the tantalizing glimpses we see in the books. This story is a gorgeous example of the genre, and also a beautiful, individual story of its own, full of Dana's trademark atmospheric prose and warm hobbitty goodness. All that and fanart by hyel, too!

( Excerpt: )

Turning Air to Gold

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: none; Mal and Zoe gen
Author on LJ: cherryice
Author Website: Cherry Bombs
Why this must be read:

Because it’s Mal and Zoe, in the aftermath of Serenity, and it’s beautiful and heartbreaking. Their friendship is so deep and rich and complex as to put most other relationships to shame, but Mal can’t heal the damage, though he desperately wants to. Sharp, stark, beautifully written.

( an excerpt )

And as a bonus, this story has been remixed, and the remix is gorgeous and heartbreaking as well: Still Flying, Still Breathing (The Pennyroyal Tea Remix) by Raven.

The Past and Pending by Cherry Ice

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Please let the author know if you enjoy the story.

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Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: boonies
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read: Normally, I avoid stories that aren’t titled, but I’m glad I read this during one of my must ingest as much SPN fic as possible moments. After Sam and Dean deal with a demon, they find themselves caring for a four-year-old. It’s funny and charming and the way the boys take to the child by the end is so perfect. It’s a rare happy fic in a fandom filled with the angst.

( An excerpt to prove this is worthy of reading… )

Go read and be sure to leave feedback for the author: Untitled – the thing about orphans was the emo.

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Author on LJ: shrift
Author Website: shrift's fanfiction
Why this must be read: Spike ended up so broken in season 7, and shrift draws that out deliciously in this short, sharp character piece.

Spectacle

Fandom: CSI: LV
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Author on LJ: zoemargaret
Author Website: n/a
Why this must be read: 
 
Unable to sleep, Greg contemplates his relationship with Nick.

Greg hadn't realized that living together would involve waking up to find a puddle of snot on his shoulder. He’d been disgusted until Nick huffily pointed out that he dealt with sperm from dead people everyday, why the fuck was he complaining about a little living phlegm. Greg had then pointed out that “A Little Living Phlegm” would be an excellent name for a rock band, and Nick threatened to stuff his dripping tissues where the sun didn’t shine.

In the Uncertain Hour

Fandom: Lost
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: alliecat8
Author Website: none
Why this must be read: It's pretty rare, in my experience, to find fanfic that can compete with literary fiction, and this story does. Set in Sawyer's southern past, there's a style and tone and sense of place in this story that remind me of the writing of Eudora Welty or Flannery O'Connor. It's that same writing style that makes this simple story so effectively spooky. Adding to the shivers the reader gets at the end is how prescient this story was in terms of things that happened on the show.

( excerpt )

Spooks

Fandom: LotRiPS
Pairing: Billy/Dom/Elijah and other combinations thereof.
Author on LJ: ogreatitskate
Author Website: daydreaming girl
Why this must be read:

It's sad and sweet and melancholy and charming and all of those good, lovely fic adjectives that make me alternately wish there was more (because I love these boys the way they're written here) and glad that there's not (because the ending is perfection).

In three years, Dom's smile will change. He will get his teeth whitened bleached shaped filed filled straightened capped aligned sealed polished fluoridated; he'll wear those invisible braces when he goes to bed. Because that's Hollywood, that's what happens when you go back to Manchester and realize that you're not the same person anymore, that your friends became friends with an ole' Dommie boy that no longer exists. So you pack your bags and move not to Edinburgh, but to Los Angeles, where the work is, the City of Angels, the city of Elijah. You stay for a year. You don't want to move out.

Billy won't ever really understand that.

12/01/03

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Gen
Length: 145,000 words
Author on LJ: gillianinoz
Author Website: Gillian's Harry Potter Stories; Gillian's Fanfiction.net Profile

Why this must be read:

The story has been told and retold many times in Harry Potter fandom: Snape is Harry's real father, discovers the Dursleys' mistreatment of Harry, and consequently takes Harry in to raise as his own son. There are good stories that fall into this particular category, but there are also many, many mediocre and downright bad stories that do so as well. Therefore, such Snape-as-Harry's-father stories tend to have a poor reputation in some corners of HP fandom.

This story, however, is the best of that little subgenre. Snape is completely in character. His early and vehement refusal to acknowledge Harry is quite sincere, as is his eventual and slowly building care for his son. He is still Snape, however, so he ever and always despises Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James Potter. Dumbledore is the benign manipulator of fanon fame, but he twinkles so well that one can forgive the author for the slight stretch in his characterization. Cornelius Fudge -- the real villain of the story (Voldemort largely remains offstage) -- seeks to wrest young Harry from his father for his own political ends. The Weasleys and Neville Longbottom also make appearances, and all are wonderfully and delightfully in character.

To sum up, this series is one of the best series in HP fanfic I've ever read. Do not be dissuaded by the subject matter. You will not be sorry. Highly recommended.

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( Excerpt )

Mine
Snape's Vocation
The Absence of Unhappy
The Owl and the Puppydog
Fossils and Frog Spawn