Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: ceindreadh
Author Website: Cein
Why this must be read:

After "Twilight" aired, NCIS fandom was flooded with angsty, painful, dark post-Twilight fics. For me, someone who strongly prefers happy endings, romance, and fluff, it was a hard time in my fandom. I pretty much buried myself in fics I knew and waited for the storm to pass. If it hadn't been for the fact that this story was nominated in the NCIS Awards, I might have missed it.

Death Be Not Proud is a post-Twilight fic. It's also a humour fic. Think that's not possible? Then you really have to read this. I almost died laughing and I really, really needed that at the time. I won't say anything else, because I don't want to spoil the story. Just read. *grins*

Death Be Not Proud

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Author on LJ: lorie945
Author Website: Laura Mason's DS fic
Why this must be read: This story is one that captured my imagination really early on it's just one of the best first times moving into established relationship fics I have read and it also manages to weave a credible crime plot in there too which makes it a solid all round fic. By covering both the first time, which is tenderly done,then going into how Ray's family reacts and how they start to build a life together, you are able to see the relationship develop. This makes a nice change from leaving it at the first time, this fic takes it a bit further and is all the more richer for it.

(Three Months)

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read: There aren't many fics that explore Fraser' dark side, this is one. What's interesting is it is told from Fraser's POV piece as he thinks about his past and the darkness within him. Yu can hear his voice inhis internal monologue. This short story draws very heavily on what we learn about Fraser in the episode 'Victoria's Secret'. It's sad as Fraser can’t reach for the light that is Ray because he is feeling things too deeply.

(Black)

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: Batman/Catwoman
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: (author's fics, if available) DC Luder’s Fan Fiction.
Why this must be read:

This fanfic is simply an incredible journey from beginning to end. Batman suffers a horrific injury and faces a very long and hard road to recovery. The injury in question being brain damage from a bullet to the head. Everyone is realistic in their reactions to the problem, and the story is, quite simply, heartrending. Even so, the story is wonderfully written, and follows everyone through both Bruce’s recovery and beyond.

This is one of those stories that you find yourself going back to read again and again. Personally, it is one of my favorites in the fandom, and it is an honor to recommend it.

As of now, this story has reached the point of being four stories long. Don’t let the sheer number of chapters deter you, though. It’s worth reading.

( Excerpt—chosen for how it describes a few of the injuries after Bruce was shot. )

And, so you can read the entire saga, I will link you to each entry in the series. The story is still in progress.

Time Will Tell
Life Is Good
One And Only
What Lies Ahead

Fandom: MASTER AND COMMANDER
Pairing: Aubrey/Maturin
Author on LJ: alibi_factory
Author Website: no
Why this must be read:

One of my previous recs mentioned the problem many Master and Commander fics have of being either too close to O'Brian's authorial voice or too far. This one has its own answer to that; one I've never seen before, but which I really like. It manages to be both really, incredibly like O'Brian in the way it sounds, and nothing like him at all like him in the way it's put together. It really interested me, and the more I thought about it the more I liked it: it fits, to me, that this story that never quite gets told in the canon has its own voice like this.

This is also unusual in being what you might call angsty. Jack and Stephen are typically written as very cute and fluffy and OTP-in-love, which is admittedly justifiable in a canon where they really do call each other "joy", but the canon has a couple of fleets worth of angst, too, and this fic reflects that. It's maybe a little further on the angst side than I'd like - I'm a sap, really, and want them to be happy - but given Stephen's impressive level of fucked-up, it's not out of the realms of possibility. And, well, I'm the kind of nerd who finds the intertwining of the structure and the narrative voice and Stephen's many issues really interesting. This fic is one of the few I've seen that've tried replicating what I think of as the poetry in the canon, and I find it weirdly beautiful.

(Oh, and, it might look like this is part 3 of a longer fic: it's not. It's part three indeed, but the other two are also both completed fics, and not in M&C fandom. :) )

Castaway

Fandom: X-MEN MOVIEVERSE
Pairing: Logan/Rogue
Author on LJ: artemis2050
Author Website: Artemis' WRFA page
Why this must be read: The companion piece to Lose All The Battles. Great Logan voice here. He's a man of few words, but the thoughts behind them are hilarious, poignant, and insightful.

( Excerpt )

Alea Iacta Est