Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Gen; Remus, Luna
Length: 1,359; one-shot
Author on LJ: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Author Website: Harry Potter fic memories
Why this must be read:

Because it's really everything an interaction between Remus Lupin and Luna Lovegood should be: sweet, quirky, and always touching at something deeper.

"What would happen if you put a werewolf on the moon?"

Remus started, blinking as he looked up from the pile of parchment on his desk. The last of the second year Ravenclaws had left the room not thirty seconds ago -- at least, what he thought had been the last of them. This girl certainly had a way of sneaking about, though. It wasn't the first time he'd been surprised by her presence.

"Sorry?" he said, not because he hadn't heard, but because his paranoia had snagged on a certain word, and the rest of his mind was still struggling to wrap itself around the rest of the question.

The blonde girl tilted her head slightly to one side, and calmly repeated herself: "What would happen if you put a werewolf on the moon, Professor?"

Moonshine

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: None
Length: Short, 730 words
Author on LJ: kiarasayre
Author Website: _seven_crows
Why this must be read:

And so to my last recommendation this time round. I’ve had a ball finding and presenting the more unique side of the fandom and I hope that you all have had a fun time reading the fic presented.

This last fic embodies the strangeness of the show, and the fandom, totally. On the face of it, it’s a typical, rather dry, report on incidents at the Cat Scratch Nightclub. But the footnotes, oh the footnotes, just make it and turn that official report into something special and heartwarming and, in the case of Annie, rather scary.

Official Report of Sam Tyler in Regards to the Undercover Operation at the Cat Scratch Nightclub of June 3rd, 1973

Fandom: STAR WARS OT/EU
Pairing: Gen
Length: 140,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Websites: Larbo's FFN Profile

Why this must be read:

The premise of this fic is that Luke Skywalker somehow missed (but he swears he hit it just right) when he fired that fateful shot at the end of the battle of Yavin, and the Death Star was thus able to destroy the moon along with the entire Alliance/Rebellion. Only Luke, Han, and Chewie survived. Luke, of course, blames himself, and has been wallowing in his grief and guilt for five years. It turns out, however, that history was interfered with. Someone or something has manipulated events such that history is being rewritten. Who or what is it, and what is the purpose?

This is probably one of the more unusual Star Wars fics I've read, and believe me, I've read a lot. The premise is not so unusual, but the conclusion is. Of course, I cannot give away the conclusion without ruining the story, so you'll just have to read it to find out. Suffice it to say, perhaps Darth Traya had a point after all. (Is that obscure enough for you?)

This fic does use elements of the Expanded Universe, but knowledge of the EU is not required to enjoy it. The pacing is good, the story has twists and turns in all the right places, and it is very well written. The conclusion is unexpected and satisfying as well. Highly recommended.

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Galaxies Apart

Fandom: FAKE NEWS
Pairing: Jon Stewart/"Stephen Colbert"
Length: 5,000 words
Author on LJ: roadstergal
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read:

When Tad the building manager finds an oddly intelligent-looking dog, he doesn't really think much of it. Then his boss starts acting weird, and Mr. Stewart isn't quite acting normal, either ...

Let the Eagle Stray is one of the first fics I read in this fandom. It's light-hearted and cracky, and I think everyone should read it.

Chapters: one | two | three | four

Fandom: STAR WARS OT
Pairing: Gen
Length: 16,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Websites: Kenya Starflight's FFN Profile, Me, Myself, & Vader, kenyastarflight at deviantART

Why this must be read:

I've made no secret of the fact that I enjoy good Luke-Vader fics that deal with their relationship as father and son. Kenya Starflight has written several excellent fic in this genre, and this story is no exception.

Set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the fic's premise is that Darth Vader has disappeared. The Alliance, deciding that a missing and possibly independent Vader may be more of threat to them than an loyal-to-the-Empire Vader, sends Han Solo, Chewie, and Luke Skywalker out to discover what happened to him. The short story that follows leads up to Luke discovering his true heritage and the repercussions thereof.

One note on characterization: The Emperor is far smarter in this fic than he is in the Return of the Jedi movie, in my opinion. He spends ten years carefully leading the father down to where he is ready and willing to embrace the Dark Side, but he only spends a few hours with the son on the second Death Star and expects him to fall just like that? In this fic at least, he spends a little more time on the plan and the setup, but I digress.

Well-written and well-characterized, this short fic is a fast and good read. You will definitely enjoy it.

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Lean On Me

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam, others
Length: 106k 14 chapters
Author on LJ: wolfling & omphalos
Author Website:Hands of God
Why this must be read: Absolution is actually my first venture into a Dean/Castiel pairing, and I have to admit it was a slam-dunk! Takes off from directly from the episode, Sex & Violence, and goes au from there. Castiel offers Dean a possible solution to help Sam, one that proves difficult if not dangerous for everyone involved, especially Castiel. Long involved, first-time, and the best part, Sam is right there through it all. Absolution offers, a bit of everything, action/adventure, hurt/comfort, humor, Castiel’s innocence, Winchester’ fighting to protect each other, a long luscious layered, multi-facet story. It appears to be the start of an ongoing series, Hand of God, but can and does stand-alone.

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Absolution

Fandom: STAR WARS OT
Pairing: Gen
Length: 28,000 words
Author on LJ: jedinemo
Author Websites: Volcania: Nemo's Hidden Base, jedinemo's FFN Profile

Why this must be read:

What if, when Luke said, "Come with me," to his father on Endor, Vader said yes? What would happen then? The story that jedinemo weaves following this unlikely event changes the direction of the entire galaxy.

This is mostly a Luke-Vader story, but other characters have their moments to shine, too. Luke and Vader, in particular, are well-written and accurate in their portrayals. Their relationship is never easy, but it is fascinating to watch it unfold. Leia's addition to the mix just makes things all the more interesting.

There is an unfinished sequel to this story entitled "That Which Remains," which can be found at Fanfiction.net. Even though it is a work in progress, it is also a very good read.

"Come With Me" is a well-written, excellent story. Highly recommended.

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Come With Me

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Dean/Sam, Dean/others (m/f, f/f, m/m)
Length: 61,400 words in 21 chapters
Author on LJ: pandarus
Author Website:Pandarus' fanfic archive on LJ
Why this must be read: As much as I love a good cliché, curse fic, I usually shy away from gender-bender/switch type of fics. Usually they irk me, more than delight. This does not irk in any way shape or form. Yes, this is a gender/curse fic with girl!Dean, and it works on so many levels. Not only is, Dean’s essence intact, but his voice, and attitude is clearly Dean throughout. Set aside some time for this one. Once you’re settled, get ready for a long, detailed delicious fun read, from beginning to end. With outrageous/glorious dialog, spot on characterization, first-time ride between Sam/Dean. It’s brilliant, hilarious and well executed! Honestly the best gender switch fic I’ve read in SPN.

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Not Time's Fool

Sincere Apologies! for my lack of recs. RL just didn't ease up, but I hope you do enjoy the few I did.

Fandom: GOOD OMENS
Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: shiplizard
Author Website: ?? If anyone knows, please tell me!
Why this must be read:

This is more a "bromance" story than a romance, and it shows us a good up-close look at something many fanfics gloss over: an angel and a demon at work. Arrangement notwithstanding, they are often at cross-purposes, and it's not always cute and funny. This story is set in the 1920s, in the United States, and Aziraphale and Crowley have to confront what it is they really are, with a sleazy and dishonest faith healer as a catalyst. There is still plenty of humor, satire, and slapstick, and even the angst is very much in-character. The revelations are still, deftly, both painful and profound, and the resolution is beautifully earned.

"You." Aziraphale stood up. Crowley stood, too, taking a step back. "You're proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"Just doing my job, angel."

"You."

It wasn't angelic wrath. Angelic wrath is solemn and horrible, and sometimes accompanied by a choir. This, what Aziraphale was feeling right now, was helpless and angry and venomous altogether-- it was all to do with the glands in this body. And worse, he knew that, but there was something so appealing about it that he didn't WANT to miracle away the chemicals bubbling up through his blood-- the adrenaline that made this rather commonplace body feel so strong.


Human Footnotes

Pairing: Kitty Pryde (aka Katia de Pryd, in the 1602 timeline)
Length: ~5,800 words
Author on LJ: silver_apples
Author Website: None known.
Why this must be read:

For my last Marvel recommendation, I wanted to represent one of my favorite corners of Marvel comics fanfic, the 1602 universe. Many fic writers have followed the example Neil Gaiman's 1602, which recreates the Marvel Universe in the year 1602, and imagined the lives of modern Marvel characters who weren't part of the 1602 comics.

Katia's Journey is an absolutely wonderful story about Katia (aka, Kitty Pryde), a young Jewish girl living in Spain during the inquisition. Her family has a double-problem -- they're not only hiding their Jewish heritage and faith, but their daughter's mutant abilities. I love this story for lots of reasons. (1) It's Kitty -- and SilverApples does a great job of capturing her intelligence and resourcefulness, and (2) it's a story about a damsel-in-distress who saves herself -- again and again. In fact, this story works very well for anyone who loves smart heroines, whether you know Kitty's canon at all. This also features a great use of Enrique (the 1602-verse Magneto).

Katia's Journey

Fandom: STAR WARS PT/EU
Pairing: Gen
Length: 16,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Websites: ardavenport's FFN Profile

Why this must be read:

I knew that I wanted to recommend a story by ardavenport. The problem is, which one? This author is particularly excellent as well as highly prolific. She has 83 stories on Fanfiction.net, with more being added on a regular basis. What is even more surprising is that all of her stories are wonderful and unique creations. Each has an amusing or surprising (sometimes both) twist on the Galaxy Far, Far Away. When reading ardavenport's stories, the reader is always aware just how alien the galaxy is. She focuses on the Jedi, usually Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, and explores their day-to-day activities, their missions, and their way of life.

This particular fic was just recently posted on FFN, and I knew immediately after reading it that it would be my recommendation. (If I had my druthers, I would recommend ten or more of ardavenport's fics, but alas, I have run out of month in which to do so.) For those unfamiliar with the character Xanatos, he was Qui-Gon Jinn's first padawan who fell to the Dark Side. I myself do not know more than that, not having read the Jedi Apprentice series of books.

This story tells of a Xanatos who did not fall, but he did have a humbling experience that changed him dramatically. Now he is contemplating choosing a padawan for himself. The interplay between young Obi-Wan and a young bully by the name of Bruck Chun parallels Xanatos's backstory and the reasons why he chooses the padawan he does. The story explores the Jedi way of detachment, and how Xanatos finally achieves that ideal.

While Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are only secondary characters in this fic, their presence is absolutely essential to Xanatos's journey. Both of them are in character. I can easily imagine a young Obi-Wan acting just the way he is depicted here. Yoda and Dooku make appearances as well, and are also true to themselves.

Thoughtful, compelling, and insightful all at once, this is an excellent story. It sucks you in and you really get to know Xanatos, or at least ardavenport's version of him. You will not be disappointed. Highly recommended.

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Xanatos: Detached

Fandom: GOOD OMENS
Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley, extensive cast of angels and demons
Length: Novella, about 20,000 words
Author on LJ: daughtersofisis
Author Website: At FF.net. Fic journal ibisandjacquel

Why this must be read:

There are many stories where Heaven and Hell decide to come after Aziraphale and Crowley in retribution for the thwarted Apocalypse, but in this one, they decide to force the cosmic Hands because they just can't wait for the shoes to drop. Predictably, they botch it. Badly. This story has about the most canonically-apt fleshing out of Heaven and Hell that I've ever seen, right down to the horrible answering machines and the fact that in its way, Heaven is much more frightening than Hell. There's high adventure, there's Cerberus, there's a rather ticked-off Adam pulling feathers out of the fire, and there is simply fantastic language. DoS is one of those writers (rather like Gaiman and Pratchett themselves) who stops me almost every paragraph with some hilarious, eloquent, sublime turn of phrase. And I can't even linger on them long because the plot is so compelling.

"There can be no deus ex machina in a godless place."

Great Are the Myths

And so to the last of my recs. Thank you and goodnight...

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Donna/Romana
Length: shortish
Author on LJ: netgirl_y2k
Author Website: Teaspoon page
Why this must be read:
Sunday morning and Donna Noble opened her front door armed with a hangover and a cup of coffee to find a small blonde woman wearing an astonished expression pointing a glowing, bleeping stick at Donna's chest.
“You're an impossible thing,” she breathed.
“Oh, bugger off.” Donna slammed the door in the woman's face.

And that's just how it starts. Funny, clever and even a little bit delightful.
Six Impossible Things

Okay, one last rec for the road before I turn y'all over to your June driver. Thanks for riding along with me, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Until next time!

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: Mal/Wash
Length: 5938 words
Author on LJ: ana_grrl
Author Website: Anafic
Why this must be read: This is an AU in which Wash never develops a relationship with Zoe, but instead goes after Mal. Now, I love Wash with Zoe; I like how they fit together so well that I hardly ever read either of them with anyone else. But the most amazing thing about this story is that it takes the way Wash complements Zoe and makes those same things work with Mal. I love how the similarities between Mal and Zoe, their shared experiences of war and defeat and the darkened spaces that leaves in their souls, might be ameliorated by the light that is Wash for either of them. Ana simply brings that healing to Mal rather than Zoe, which is a far more profound character insight for all three of them than you might expect. Reversing the roles sheds new light all around, and makes this a fascinating read. The stunningly good voices and excellent dialogue add extra shiny, too.

Distracted

Fandom: STAR WARS PT
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1119 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Websites: ardavenport's FFN Profile

Why this must be read:

I think I have enough time to get one more recommendation in before the end of the month. So, quickly, here it is:

This fic is very short, but it's a fun one. It shows Yoda living on Dagobah and learning how to go into the Force as Qui-Gon did. The author's summary of the fic is short and sweet: Yoda, the Padawan. It's a quick read, and the personalities of both Yoda and Qui-Gon shine through. One begins to understand Yoda's slight animosity toward Qui-Gon in the Jedi Council scenes of The Phantom Menace. One also has to grin at Qui-Gon's own unique way of payback.

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Days Like These

I have thoroughly enjoyed driving for my fave fandom this month, and I hope you enjoyed the recs! I could easily have doubled or tripled the numbers; I had a LOT of hard choices to make. I decided to go out with a bang.

Please, if you enjoyed the stories, leave the authors some feedback. Even if the stories are a couple years old, I bet they'd all appreciate it.

Fandom: GOOD OMENS
Pairing: Shadwell/Madame Tracy, Adam/Pepper, Shadwell/Adam
Length: oneshot
Author on LJ: waxbean
Author Website: At Skyehawke; at Good Omens Library

Why this must be read:

Good Omens is a millennia-spanning fandom full of metaphysical wit, good English sense, disturbingly wholesome children, occult slapstick, and divine/diabolic sensuality. It's also rather vanilla, and tends to focus on its most-loved OTP at the expense of all else. So imagine my delight at this story, which focuses on a very-rarely-identified-with, much less eroticized, character (Shadwell) and shows that that even a conventionally-unattractive little man with Issues can benefit from the influence of a well-mannered Antichrist and his desire to help everyone if he can. With any problem.

This is one of the filthiest stories this fandom has ever produced, and I also find it one of the most generous-spirited...in its very disturbing way.


How Shadwell Got His Groove Back

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: Epic. No, seriously.
Author(s) on LJ: cofax7, fialka, finisterre
Author Website: Alchemy, Mouldiwarps, and Coprophagy, Fialka's Candybox and Maria Nicole's XF Fanfiction. finisterre is the fic journal of the artist formerly known as Marasmus.
Why this must be read: This is the fic that made me a fan of The X-Files. Who were these people? Mulder? Scully? The Lone Gunmen? This story was so compelling that I had to start watching the show just to see more of these characters and to better understand the context of the stories. The next thing I knew, I owned seasons one through nine on DVD.

This is a brilliantly written, starkly realistic series about life after the alien invasion and the ensuing global apocalypse. It is the standard by which I will measure all apocafic: past, present and future, in this fandom or any fandom. It is just that good.

Life During Wartime

There ends my turn driving the van. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

Well, this is my last rec on Highlander. I really hope I was able to bring to you some new, or some old loved fic. I know I had a great time!

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Duncan/Methos
Length: Almost 15.900 words
Author on LJ: ciceqi
Author Website: Blood, Love & Rhetoric
Why this must be read: And another Sleep with Coyotes rec. This one is a strange story. Post series, Methos and Duncan friendship had crumble, so Methos, of course, decide is time to go. He settles in Oregon, and finds a woman, a pregnant woman. And he can feel a buzz...
Sleep with Coyotes presents us a disturbing vision about how Immortals come to life, and Methos observe it first-hand. Now, what's gonna Duncan's reaction be when Methos show-up at his door, with a baby in his arms?
This is intriguing, and fierce, and such a good story! and you even have X's art as a bonus!

Have ( a little taste here: )
No, go, enjoy this wonderful story and X's amazing art.
Hush

Fandom: TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
Pairing: Derek/Sarah
Length: ~5,700
Author on LJ: svilleficrecs
Author Website: none listed

Why this must be read:

Quite apart from the hotness factor, which really can’t be ignored, this fic is as full of history and emotion and life as Derek and Sarah themselves. Everything is there, from the prickliness of their relationship to Sarah’s need to make pancakes to get herself back into her proper headspace.

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Testify

And thus ends my turn at the wheel. It's been a pleasure. :)

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: none
Length: ~7000 words
Author on LJ: azdak
Author Website: On LJ

Why this must be read:

Basically, this fic is able to do what I think most fans would love to see--that is, show us Illya and Napoleon as children. What I most like about how this fic handles the scenario is that it does it without coming off as saccharine or overly sentimental. Young Napoleon and Illya are portrayed more like real children; they are an annoyance to the ladies they get foisted off onto, and fully earn the nicknames of Stinky and Smartypants. The conflict between Lisa Rogers and Illya is also believable, and I enjoy the look into the workaday lives of U.N.C.L.E.'s female staff. The resolution at the end, too, is believable and not too sappy. All in all, it's a good, fun read, and another one that I'm surprised hasn't been recced before.

Excerpt:

Waverly chomped on his pipe end so hard I thought it might break off. "Damn and blast it!" he said, which for Waverly is the equivalent of a nervous breakdown in a lesser man. "Time travel! I can never keep track of who's who when."

The Bitch from UNCLE, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love (or at Least Like) Illya Kuryakin