Fandom: TORCHWOOD
Pairing: Cast of thousands, but the main pairings are Duplicate Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Captain Jack Harkness/Captain John Hart, Donna Noble/OMCs, with background Toshiko Sato/Thomas Brockless and Owen Harper/Katie
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: amand_r
Author Website: Livejournal Memories
Warning: Requires some knowledge of Doctor Who canon through "Journey's End" (which you probably watched, anyway, since Jack, Gwen, and Ianto were in it)
Why this must be read: I found this fic through halfamoon, the annual fourteen day challenge celebrating female characters in fandom, but it was written for Day Four of 14valentines. While its topic of reproductive rights and motherhood could have come off as preachy, the author avoids that by making the issues so personal, since she relates them through their effect on characters we know and love.

There's so many little touches here that I adore:
- that it's a man who has an abortion (unlike every other MPREG out there where a guy is totally OK with walking around knocked up and giving birth);
- that the metacrisis screwed with more than Donna's brain--and she can't even know what's happening to her;
- that Jack feels he has to ask if he's the father of Tosh's baby, despite them never having sex (which, admittedly, wouldn't be the strangest thing that's ever happened to Jack);
- that Owen whines about the Hub becoming a nursery but genuinely happy for Tosh after the birth;
- that Jack understands the desire for family enough not to fire Tosh from her high-risk job;
- that Tosh would have made a *great* mother--being a "single mother" has nothing to do with it (um, as you've probably figured out by now, Tosh's story is my favorite).

Also, I kind of want to smack Jenny in this fanfic, even though she's done nothing wrong to anyone. In a weird way, I'm jealous of the ease by which she becomes a mother, for the sake of the other characters.

Five children that weren't...and one that was

Fandom: JANE AUSTEN (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE)
Pairing: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy
Length: 84,100 words
Author on LJ: unknown.
Author Website: Lavender Girls fanfic
Why this must be read:

This is a good example of another typical what-if scenario. Rebecca's other fic (A Shade in His Character) is more famous--and even begun its own kind of fics--but this one is a perfect example of a FMS fic. (And besides, ASIHC is a wip.)

FMS means Forced Marriage Scenario, and where Harry Potter ff writers use magic and soul bonds and the Minister of Magic, where sci-fi ff writers use aliens, the Jane Austen fandom uses social pressure. This fic is also a delightful comedy of errors, which is hard enough to come by, and Rebecca is a wonderful writer. The story takes over when Jane is sick at Netherfield, and Elizabeth has just been invited to stay with her.

( Exerpt )

A Most Convenient Mishap

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: 160,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Annie Sewell-Jennings via the Way Back Machine
Why this must be read:

I'm a sucker for Alternate Universe stories. My favorite are the ones that take the well-known characters of the fandom and put them in a whole new time and setting. Really good Alternate Universe fics are hard to come by though. They aren't common in any fandom and when they are written, they usually aren't archived in one place (hmmm ... maybe I should start one?) which makes them difficult to find.

When I do stumble across a good one, I save it. Forever, and ever, and ever. This is one of those.

Mulder and Scully, in modern times. Scully is a pathologist in Charleston, South Carolina, and Mulder is a serial-killer tracking FBI agent. Not too far off from their X-Files lives. A case brings Mulder to Charleston and into contact with Scully against the background of a beautiful and destructive both literal and metaphorical hurricane. The case is fascinating and thrilling. Mulder and Scully seem like forces of nature themselves as they come together. And, the description is superb to the point that I felt like I had actually stepped inside of Charleston. Don't let the fact that it is an alternate universe fic scare you away from reading, it's close enough to the X-Files that you should enjoy it just fine.

This story does have a few of my pet peeves. Although the writing is fantastic, at times the description does bog it down a bit. Just when I begin to sigh in annoyance though, it redeems itself. It also puts Mulder and Scully together in a way that feels a little rushed, a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. That just bugs me. Mulder and Scully are just a little out of character here. Now, I know that it is an A/U story and that is just asking for that, but for some reason, I just noticed it more in this story. However, the characters are true to the story as written.

That said, this is seriously one of the best stories in this fandom I've ever read, alternate universe or not.

( Excerpt )

Skin

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: Bart Allen/Cthulhu, Bart Allen/Tim Drake
Length:1540
Author on LJ: shananagin
Author Website: List
Why this must be read:

When you're in the mood for something completely different and don't mind that it's all kinds of wrong, then this here's your stop. Bart Allen aka Impulse, makes the mistake of coming across Cthulhu and hilarious tentacle porn ensues.

Bart Will Never See Sushi the Same Way Again

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Sam/Gene
Length: approx 1300 words
Author on LJ: bistokids
Author Website: Fic List at Lifein1973
Why this must be read: because this is a fantastically erotic story that practically melts your computer screen. BK gives us gun play, a dominant, commanding Gene, handcuffs, and an ending that shows us just how these two men are equal in everything. Of course as well as being one of the hottest stories out there it stays wonderfully in character which just makes it more compelling.

( Excerpt )

The World’s Best Hangover Cure