Title: Go Far by skoosiepants
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Ron Weasley, implied John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Author on LJ: skoosiepants
Author Website: Animagi Do It Naked
Why this must be read:

This is actually a fusion between the two universes. Here the Harry Potter characters are changed into members of the Atlantis expedition. Ron and Draco are both scientists. Ron has a disturbing habit of getting himself into bad situations, and Draco has an even more disturbing habit of saving Ron from said danger. But they hate each other, of course. Definitely.

( Excerpt )

Go Far

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark Kent/Lex Luthor
Author on LJ: mahaliem
Author Website: Beyond the Pale

Why this must be read: "Clark's been through a rough time recently. I'm certain he didn't mean to hurt you." Lex dies, Clark goes a little crazy. And then he just goes batshit insane, ala Lex in Belle Reve. I can't really say how fantastic the role reversal is here, how subtle and building and ultimately joy inducing the plot is. You aren't sure if Clark is just nuts or if he's right, right up until the very end.

Angst isn't something one might expect from mahaliem, as her trademark is her humor at which she is very, very good. But this story is different. It was written for an anonymous fic challenge (a_clexian_tale) and she took the opportunity to break out of her usual style and spread her wings and it paid off in spades. The angst in this story is delicious, the plot is compelling and the resolution is exactly perfect.

No More Worlds

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. The baby was a spoiled child. He wanted everything for himself, and the girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew was that the Goblin King had fallen in love with her, and given her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she asked the goblins for help. 'Say your right words,' the goblins said, 'and we'll take the baby to the goblin city, and you will be free.' But the girl knew that the king of the goblins would keep the baby in his castle forever and ever and turn it into a goblin, so she suffered in silence, until one night, when she was tired from doing housework, and hurt by the harsh words of her stepmother, and she could no longer stand it."

"I wish the goblins would come take you away right now."

Then the goblins came and took the baby, and a snowy owl flew to her window and then transformed into Jareth the Goblin King in a cascading sparkle of glitter.

Then Sarah thought, "Oops, I should try to get my brother back," and blinked, and then realized "Hey, Jareth looks quite hot."

Then all the fans chorused as one, "Well, duh, it's David Bowie."

( Labyrinth )

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairings: Fraser/Vecchio; Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: hth_the_first
Author Website: Fierce Flawless

Why this must be read:
This is a story about beginnings, so it's not long, but it feels like things could have happened this way. I like the Fraser/Vecchio past context, and the fact that at this point, Ray has no freaking idea what to do about this weird, opaque Mountie he's been paired with on his undercover op. But by the end of the story, he's figuring things out.

As He's In It

A day late, but I couldn't get to this yesterday.  Sorry!

Title:  The Shell Game by Taz
Pairing:  Methos/Odysseus
Author on LJ:  tazlet
Author website:  Tazworks
Why this must be read:  Because it is a beautifully written, utterly fascinating and charming story - and sexy to boot.  A very young Prince Odysseus meets a naked stranger conning the locals with only a small stone and three shells.  The sense of time and place is exquisitely evoked, and we see the eager brashness of the young prince, as well as the easy grace and seductive power of the oldest survivor of them all.



The Shell Game

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Ray Vecchio/Ray Kowalski
Author on LJ: sprat
Author Website: Sprat's fanfiction

Why this must be read:
I chose this story purely for the porn, and mighty fine smut it is (thanks to brooklinegirl for pointing out Sprat's stories way back when). I like the snarky Vecchio mental commentary, and RayK is phenomenally hot in this story.

Housesitting

Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Sparrow/Norrington
Author on LJ: hija_paloma
Author Website: Cultural Infidelities
Why this must be read:

This delightful short fic is set at the Turners' wedding, shortly after the end of the first movie. James is there, Jack is there – hijinks ensue.

( excerpt )

I don't want to spoil the fun by telling too much; suffice it to say that James abruptly finds himself in an extremely compromising position.

Hot, hilarious, and unapologetically smutty, what more can you ask?

Hunting Pirates at the Wedding

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author: Nyssa
Author website: none, but this was posted at the Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse
Why this must be read:

Okay, I admit it: I’m not a hearts and flowers type fan. I find thoughts and emotions more interesting when they’re unarticulated; motivations, when they’re complex and ill-defined. I prefer Romance that’s more of a dying declaration of "’Tis a far far better thing I do..." than a declaration of undying love.

By anyone’s standards this story is not romantic, which is just fine with me. I know others have found it too cold, too gritty, too understated and matter-of-fact, and too melancholic, which are exactly the reasons I like it. It feels real.

So the time is 1959 and the place is a seedy motel room on Staten Island, the morning after a one-night stand between two near-strangers. Solo is indulging in his usual risky behavior. Illya is distant, foreign and enigmatic. What’s not said out loud is even more interesting than what is. And of course, for a fan reader, the story packs most of its punch, not in what actually happens in the space of a couple of hours, but what will happen in the years ahead. There’s a huge space between the once and future, and the fun is letting your imagination fill in the blank.

But for now, the temperature of that room is decidedly chilly, as spies are wont to be. No wonder they call it coming in from the cold.

Room Temperature

Fandom: LABYRINTH
Pairing: Jareth/Sarah
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Within A Land Serene, and many of her stories are also archived at http://www.marysia.com/labyrinth/labfic.asp

Why this must be read:

Storyteller is the first of a four-part series of stories, but can be read standalone. It's a dark, creepy, lovely look at the creative drive and muses and voices in our minds.

The second story, Jareth's Rebuttal, can also be read on its own, and actually sent a reverberating shiver all through me.

How much do we control our creativity and imagination, and how much do they control us?

Storyteller

Fandom: LABYRINTH
Pairing: Jareth/Sarahs
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read:

It's tough, being an archetype.

Yes, he really had to move on. He’d miss sometimes being an owl, but that would be a small price to pay to get away from the Sarahs.

Career Change

Fandom: LABYRINTH
Pairing: Jareth/Sarah
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read:

In case you were thinking that most of the fic in this fandom is G-rated... um, no. No, there's plenty of adult stories. Hello, seduction and sex!

His eyes looked back up to hers, and she was facinated by the fire that burned in them, barely contained. "But, before, when we last met, there was the fate of a child at stake. What will you offer me this time? What will you give me?"

Sarah smiled seductively at him. "What am I?" At his slightly puzzled look, she laughed. "I am a girl, nothing more. But if you turn me this way...." She rose so that she was at the same height as him, and leaned forward towards him until her lips were millimetres from his own ".... I can show you your dreams....."

The Wager

Fandom: LABYRINTH
Pairing: Jareth/Sarah
Author on LJ: cormak
Author Website: http://www.geocities.com/jareth_sarah/ and http://www.scatteredlogic.net/viewuser.php?uid=6

Why this must be read:

Set nine years after the film, Sarah and Jareth are still in each other's dreams, still in each other's desires. This fandom thrives on the sexually-charged power play between Sarah and Jareth.

"Then what have your dreams meant?" He stepped closer and Sarah had nowhere to go. Her back was pressed against the wall. "Why do you dream about us dancing or talking beneath the stars? Why do you dream that I'm making love to you? Boredom? Or are you trying to torture me?"

Sarah turned her face away from him. "My dreams are my own and weren't meant for public viewing, " she said bitterly.

"It was not my intention to see them, but we are linked, Sarah. We have been since you defeated me. Whenever you think of me, I hear it. Whenever you dream, I see it. And I am powerless to intervene without your command."

Bring Me To Life

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Xander gen
Author on LJ: nwhepcat
Author Website:Fic by Nwhepcat
Why this must be read:

If you like Xander at all then this is the fic for you. The story works on a couple of different levels, first as 32 self contained drabbles (all of which are good) and second as a longer fic charting Xander's development over the life of the series.


Xander rolls a pencil along the top of the desk as Ms. Bossman calls attendance. It's the six-sided kind, not the round, so it makes a soft clicking noise. Schoolbus yellow -- is that on purpose, he wonders, or just coincidence -- except where the paint is flaking around the teeth marks. He's a biter.

"Jesse?"

It's the second time she's called his name.

"He's not coming back," Xander says. He stares at his hand, the pencil bumping along underneath.

"Oh," she says softly. "Thank you, Xander." She asks no questions.

They never do.

He can't believe he's never noticed that before.


32 short fics about Xander Harris