Fandom: NINJA TURTLES
Pairing: none, gen-fic
Author on LJ: Not that I know of
Author's webpage: AJ3's ff.net profile
Why this must be read:

Donatello is my favorite character so I'm partial to anything featuring him, especially a story as fun as this one. Displaced involves Don taking the long way home one night – very long – after he follows a gunman onto a bus bound for Massachussettes.


Displaced by AJ

Fandom: LOTR
Pairing: if applicable, Sam/Rosie; story focus is on Elanor
Author on LJ: belegcuthalion
Author Website: http://www.cuthalionsbogen.de/
Why this must be read:

I love tales of hobbit life, and this is a stellar example of such stories; this tale is quiet and sweet and conveys a plausible sense of the little settled rhythms of the Shire, while also being fascinating and about characters we know and love, and even answering questions we hadn't thought to ask. cuthalion has a beautiful command of [more than one!] language, and uses it to depict hobbit life in all its domestic glory, and set that homely beauty against the backdrop of the epic history we know, which we know has shaped and echoes in their lives even now. .

As well as for all the features within this story, I really enjoy it for some metatextual reasons as well. It's set in the universe of Pretty Good Year, a fanfic series that became a shared world. Among other features of this delightful universe, it redresses a lack; LOTR canon is rather deficient in female characters, and this story continues PGY's strong tradition of helping make up for that.

( Excerpt: )

A Light in the Window

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Buffy/Angel
Author on LJ: None
Author Website: Yahtzee
Why this must be read: Quite simply, this is the best Buffy AU I've ever read. It gives a poignancy and depth to Angel's character, works out a satisfying ending to Buffy's journey, and it paints a vivid, compelling picture of a distopian future in which the Slayers are pawns in a deep political game. Superb!

Phoenix Burning

That's it from me this month. I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Fandom: STARGATE: ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir, but mostly gen
Author on LJ: minnow1212
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read: This story received a lot of attention when it was first posted, back in October 2004, and for good reason. Well-written and insightful, it shows us seven possible returns (over almost three-hundred years) to Earth for Sheppard and the Atlantis team.

( excerpt )

Seven Ways John Sheppard Goes Home

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1,800 words
Author on LJ: theregoesyamum
Author Website: There Goes My Gun's Fanfiction.net Profile

Why this must be read:

This fun little piece takes us back to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Despite what we saw in the movie version, readers were never privy to a scene in which Remus Lupin taught Defense Against the Dark Arts to Slytherins. The author takes what we know of Draco Malfoy, Remus Lupin, and Narcissa Malfoy to spin this epistolary tale. How would Remus relate to Draco in class? And how would Draco react? And lastly, what would Narcissa do afterward? The end result is a series of delightfully passive-aggressive letters and a battle of wits between Narcissa Malfoy and Remus Lupin. Who wins? Read and give yourself a grin.

* * *

( Excerpt )

Academic Discourse

Fandom: STARGATE: ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir
Author on LJ: sugargroupie
Author Website: the inkwell
Why this must be read: Written for the Sheppard/Weir Ficathon, Shunda gives us a post-The Siege (Part 3) story that, while now AU, is nonetheless engaging and well-written. A happy, celebration-style fic for the most part, it also contains a trace of angst for those who don't necessarily like everything all happily-ever-after.

( excerpt )

Linger Long

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Krycek, Scully/Reyes
Author on LJ: marciaelena
Author Website: Timeless Gold - Marcia Elena's Mulder/Krycek slash site
Why this must be read:

Because Marcia Elena's stories paint beautiful, impressionist images more than they follow a linear narrative, and those images stay with you for a long time after the reading. In this story, Clyde Bruckman's prediction for Scully comes painfully, hauntingly true.

Amaranthine

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: Bruce Wayne/Diana
Author on LJ: brown_betty
Author Website: Stories by Brown Betty
Why this must be read:

This story takes the old "forced marriage" cliche and turns it into an entertaining, well-plotted story about the roles people play and who they really are. It's written as an AU of the Justice League Unlimited animated series, but I think if you know any version of Batman and Wonder Woman you'll be fine.

Aspire to Touch the Sky

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: spikeyboots
Author Website: spikeyboots
Why this must be read:

Sharp, incisive, gut-wrenching look at Zoe, and her choices, in the aftermath of the movie. This story is short but packs a powerful punch; it took my breath away when I first read it, and made me sob. To say more would be to spoil, but it concerns a topic that may be considered controversial, though I think everyone here is amazingly, heartbreakingly in character.

( an excerpt )

War Is Kind by spikeyboots

***

Please let the author know if you enjoy the story.

***

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Sam/Dean
Author on LJ: meadowmines
Author Website: Chao Patties
Why this must be read:

For a girl who doesn’t really read Wincest, this is the second of that type that I’m reccing. For some reason, borderline email sex interspersed with hysterical bickering/bantering back and forth between the brothers totally makes it less squicky for me. And this story brings the banter and the funny in a way that I haven’t really read yet in this fandom. It’s definitely a great read.

( It’s time for the excerpt… )

Go read and, if you like it, let the author know - The Internet Is For Porn

Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: Stark & Chiana, maybe sort of Stark/Chiana-ish if you want to think of it that way
Author on LJ: apathocles
Author Website: None I know of.
Why this must be read:

This story was written before the miniseries came out, and it postulates a different sequence of events post-"Bad Timing" than we eventually got, but it still works very nicely as an AU. Chiana, blind, has been taken to a Diagnosan to await treatment and, surprisingly, it's Stark who gives her companionship and comfort. Chiana and Stark is an character combination that's almost never explored in fic or canon, which in itself is enough to make this interesting, and Apathy really does it justice. The writing is wonderfully descriptive, Chiana's characterization is well-drawn and complex, and the story gives us a sense of great beauty and great pain, both in a very short space. I won't give away the ending, but I'll just say that it had a hell of an impact on me.

( an excerpt )

Show, Don't Tell

Fandom: LotRiPS
Pairing: Viggo/Orlando, Karl/Orlando
Author on LJ: deleerium
Author Website: deleerium (under construction)
Why this must be read:

I can't do the images in this fic justice with any kind of summary. It's short enough to read quickly and then return to linger over, soaking in all of the well-turned phrases and the carefully chosen words. It's lovely.

Wet, pea-green velvet. Viggo pushed his toes through another two inches of grass. Rain slid along the underside of the half-open door, landing in splats on the top of his naked foot. "I wrote words for you. On the back of a re-write." He scratched at a dried crust of burnt umber melded to the green of his faded cords and breathed into the phone. "Tasted you when I licked my thumb, turning a page." He tilted his head back and stared at the metal roof. Chuckled - a rough, afterglow kind of sound. "No."

Wet

Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: Justin Timberlake/Lance Bass. (And: Chris Kirkpatrick/Lance Bass, Justin Timberlake/Nick Carter, Justin Timberlake/Chris Kirkpatrick, Chris Kirkpatrick/Nick Carter, Justin Timberlake/OFC)
Author on LJ: callmesandy
Author Website: Suitable for Framing
Why this must be read:

What's not to love? Businessman!Lance working as Justin's manager. Actor!Joey. Artiste!Daddy!JC. Documentary-Maker!Chris. And solo!Justin worrying about his Mom, searching for love, and trying to find his own musical path. Here the band politics are minimal because these are five guys who love each other and their legacy, yet the relationships are complicated by personal baggage, particularly Lance and Chris' break-up and everyone's growing pains. This story is a great look at how life doesn't end when your boyband does, no matter what you believe when you are a teenager. And sometimes endings really are beginnings of better things even if they aren't the ones you used to dream about.

Finally, I also love how it is set solidly in the pop world. Touring, recording, photo shoots, and the rest of Justin's solo career are the bedrock of this story and it is this kind of exploration of celebrity that makes Popslash shine. And when the story wraps around to the possibility of an NSYNC reunion, it is a wonderful boon to wishful fans and totally plausible for these characters.



( Lance says, "Was that an imitation of me? You were talking like Eeyore." )


A Free Man in Paris by Sandy

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Hermione/Viktor
Length: 1,800 words
Author on LJ: thimble_kiss
Author Website: Unknown

Why this must be read:

This short story gives us a lovely missing scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Viktor Krum approaches a frazzled Professor McGonagall to ask permission to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball. The conversation that ensues is a study in miscommunication and mortification for both participants, but by the end, both Viktor and McGonagall part with happier spirits.

This fic fits nicely into canon, and its characterization of both Viktor and McGonagall is nigh perfect. Even Krum's stilted and heavily accented English is just as Rowling would have written it. The whole fic is very nicely written, and the last line is sure to give a chuckle.

There is a canon-friendly sequel of sorts called Eloquent, which takes place just after Hermione's confrontation with Ron at the Yule Ball. It's just as lovely and well-written as "Chivalry," but a bit more shippy for Hermione/Viktor.

* * *

( Excerpt )

Chivalry