Fandom: JANE AUSTEN (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE/MANSFIELD PARK)
Pairing: Mary Crawford/Colonel Fitzwilliam, Caroline Bingley/Mr. Rushworth
Length: 299,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown.
Author Website: Roads Not Taken (Jane Austen fanfiction by Victoria Cl)
Why this must be read:

This is one of the best Jane Austen crossovers out there. A sequel to both stories, it takes on the work of entwining the lives of the characters of the two novels seamlessly. Its delightful characterization is a real treat.

( Excerpt )

A More Prosperous Trial of the State

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: Captain Boomerang II, Mirror Master II
Length:1260
Author on LJ: liabrown
Author Website: LJ tag
Why this must be read:

Accents are tricky things to portray in prose -- if not done well it can be annoying or worse, unreadable. liabrown does such a fantastic job, I can hear Mirror Master speak as I read and not have it distract from the story of Owen celebrating the holidays with the Rogues.

Merry Christmas, Owen Mercer

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Length: ~9,700 words
Author on LJ: zarathuse
Author Website: none that I found
Why this must be read: Boys trying very hard to tell each other things without actually saying anything. Arthur is a little too in love with his sword. Witty, snarky banter. And OMG hot, magic sword sex! Amazingly, this is the author's first fandom fic, ever. Personally, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. :D

( read a snippet )

Externality

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Krycek/Marita
Length: 22,000 words
Author on LJ: Deslea
Author Website: Literatti :: Fiction by Deslea
Why this must be read:

A very special thanks to maidenjedi for help with this recommendation. I don’t usually read stories that don’t heavily feature Mulder and Scully, so I had to ask for help in tracking this one down.

Ask anyone about the X-Files most people can identify Mulder and Scully. Like all tv shows though, the X-Files offers an incredible list of “also starring” characters that received quite a bit of development. But, thanks to fanfiction we get to see more!

This is a back story written about Alex Krycek (“ratboy” to fans) and Marita Covarrubias, who worked for the UN and served as an informant to Mulder during the early seasons of the show.

I truly enjoyed the back story it offered, the history between these two characters, and then their individual histories even back to Russia for Krycek. I will admit that this story did not follow a character development I would’ve chosen for these two (I enjoy Krycek’s evil ambiguity and Marita’s cold self-interest too much to ever ruin it with warm fuzzy feelings) but I loved this little peek into some lives that weren’t explored on the show (oh, and let’s throw Spender a little love here!).

To those of you who are like me, give this story a shot, it’s well written and a offers a good story up for you addicts. For those of you who don’t read primarily Mulder and Scully X-Files fic, here’s a little love and many thanks to you and Desla for ensuring our fandom is not one-dimensional.

Restitution

Fandom: ANGEL
Pairing: gen, Faith/OFC
Length: 2,000 words
Author on LJ: obsessedmuch
Author Website: Biblioteque Diabolique
Why this must be read: Some people like to write about how Faith is coping in prison and working on redemption, while others choose to focus on how much she does NOT cope and her suffering in prison. This fic is one of the latter. Dark and tormented and claustrophobic. Warning for cutting.

I keep my new best friend hidden inside my own mattress. My fingers know exactly where to find it every time, they just creep right over to it no matter how many times the thing has been moved around. They know the shape of it by heart. Every time I pull it out, every time my hand feels the weight of it, the chill of it, the rusty bumps on the blunt end, my heart stops. It's like the one split second before you kiss a new lover for the first time; all the anticipation is right there, frozen in that tiny space, and no matter how good the kiss is, nothing is ever as good as the possibility of it.

Lanciname

Fandom: JANE AUSTEN (EMMA)
Pairing: Emma Woodhouse/George Knightley
Length: 13300 words
Author on LJ: ionescribens
Author Website: Ione's fic at yuletide treasure.
Why this must be read:

This sequel has everything. Irony, a nice regency voice, a very canon-like view of the characters and spots of really weird stuff hanged from the most unassuming canon lines.

//"Ay, very true, my dear," cried Miss Bates, though Jane had not spoken a word--"I was just going to say the same thing."

Jane Austen, Emma //

Go on, read it, you wont regret it!

Poignant Sting