Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: Brian/Nick
Length: short story
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: I Got You
Why this must be read: Everything the title says it is. Nick is sweet sixteen, although perhaps not in the traditional sense of that phrase, and Brian just can't stop thinking about him. Nick though, ever perceptive, is rather encouraged by Brian's fumblings, leading to some less-than-chaste relations.

This is another shivery-good piece of slash, featuring characteristically spot-on interactions between Nick and Brian and wonderful descriptions. I can almost taste the cherry popsicle... or, wish I could, anyway.

"Sixteen and already a damn tease."

Sweet Sixteen

Fandom: HEROES
Pairing: Mohinder/Sylar
Length: 1,843
Author on LJ: cruiscin_lan
Author Website: Fic Masterlist

Why This Must Be Read: I love virus!AUs. I love dark and jaded Mohinder. I love writing so evocative, you can feel the despair of the characters, left alive in a post-apocalyptic world. Downpour combines all three into a gut wrenching character study of Mohinder and Sylar.

It also has, hands down (in my opinion), the best Mohinder characterisation in a fic that I've seen in a long, long time. He's utterly human, raw flaws and all, and at its heart, that's what makes Downpour so compelling for me.

( Excerpt )

Downpour

I also highly recommend the remix, Behind Clouds, Sun Shines (The Legends Remix) by brighteyed_jill, a wonderfully atmospheric Heroes/I Am Legend fusion.

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: (Gwen/Morgana, background hints of Arthur/Merlin)
Length: (~1,300 words)
Author on LJ: srin
Author Website: Her fannish LJ is mad_poetics
Why this must be read:


Despite being dominated by Arthur/Merlin, the Merlin fandom has two amazing female characters and is quite femmeslash friendly. This is my new favorite Gwen/Morgana fic.

The tagline for Series 2 (premiering soonish...at some point!) is: "You can't escape destiny." But what exactly is that destiny? One of the most interesting things about Merlin as a show is the ways in which it re-imagines and re-interprets the Arthurian canon, a canon that is incredibly fractured to begin with. This fic plays on that notion brilliantly through the means of Morgana's visions. And there's Gwen/Morgana! What's not to like?

On Swefnum, Incuthra Eorthan is by turns funny, warm, and ultimately poignant, all in around 1300 words. Highly recommended.


On Swefnum, Incuthra Eorthan

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Length: 196K or 35,156 words
Author on LJ: xparrot
Author Website: X-Magical: A Fan Page
Why this must be read: xparrot. She wrote the SV classic "achilles' heel", and then left SV for FUCKING 5 years!!
Thank god, she came back, and *what* a comeback it was!!! 2007 was SV-clex wise definitely her year, I had a hard time to decide which of her fics to choose, coz well, there is a limit on the rec ;)
But this story. I did not choose because of the plot. Its great, but no, its rather been, the characterization of both, Clark and Lex, they are down to the core who I thought, they were and at the same time, who I wanted them to be. Hence, if the characterization is *that* good, I usually don't even care, if the main character was to die. Coz its still like, consistent :D

Lex's eyes changed. Clark couldn't say how they did, only that something shifted in those colorless recesses, like water moving under ice. "I'm going to die," he said.

Clark barely felt his mother's hand on his shoulder. He could bear the weight of a building falling on him; the insignificant pressure of a human touch was only noticeable if he concentrated.

"There must be something..." Martha began.

"There's five hours," Lex said, not any differently than he had said anything else. "Maybe as many as six. My immune system is compensating better than average, but not enough to make a significant difference."

Contingencies or here
fic: contingencies or here
Contingencies

Hi, all! I'm lysimache, and I'll be doing Harry Potter recs this month. It's going to be all Snarry, all the time. :) I had originally thought to do some other pairings also, because, honestly, I like Snape slashed with just about anyone and Harry really isn't my favorite. But since my list, when I actually sat down to make it, was almost all Snarry anyway, I figured I might as well just go with that. I'm going to rec a few older stories as well as some brand new things from this year's snarry_games. I've got a thing for well-done stories that use well-loved tropes, so that's what I'll be presenting this month.

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Harry Potter / Severus Snape
Length: 15,849 words
Author on LJ: gingertart50, but she has now migrated to IJ, same username
Author Website: Her stories collected on hpfandom.net
Why this must be read:

First up is a 'character is a secret!animagus' story, with a good helping of EWE (Epilogue? What epilogue?) and fixit, in fandom's grand old tradition. In other words, definitely spoilers for HBP but no character death warning. :)

In this humorous story, Snape has survived Nagini's attack, but, uncertain of the outcome of the battle, he transforms into his animagus form, an 8" long, black scorpion. He maneuvers to attach himself to Harry as his familiar as the mopping-up from the battle begins, and by the end, they're ready to embark on a different sort of relationship.

The characterization of Snape as a prickly, proud arachnid (*not* an insect, thank you very much!) is just *adorable*, and the writing is sure and to the point. Not a wasted moment in this one. Snape scuttling around and waving his claws at people is simply not to be missed! It's just so *cute*!

(Note: Harry is 17 at the time of the story, but no sex acts between him and any adult are depicted. The rating is for a masturbation scene observed by scorpion!Snape.)

Excerpt: ( His cephalothorax still ached. )

Getting Familiar

Fandom: WATCHMEN
Characters: King Mob, Moloch the Mystic, Captain Axis, The Screaming Skull, The Liquidator, and Buzzbomb
Length: Around 3000 words
Author on LJ: orangesparks
Author Website: Author's LJ has several fanfic tags (fic tag for watchmen)
Why this must be read:

Some more gen fic to expand on the universe before we dive into some of the more character-based fic. This is a really neat fleshing out of the 'super villains' of the Watchmen universe. These guys really only get cameos in the series, and the stories that orangesparks manages to attach to them based on what little we know about them are wonderful. The overall effect of the fic is to give us an idea of the society that the people of Watchmen are living in. What kind of world births men such as these? In being born, do heroes create their villains?

Excerpt: ANOTHER SHOCKING DEATH BY THE SCREAMING SKULL'S ELECTRO-VIBE!--

--only he hasn't actually killed anyone. Bodies are found unconscious (arranged into more artistic poses of despair, most times; it's boring as hell when they just sort of slump over), hair standing comically on end, but always still breathing - he's not a psychopath, for God's sake.

He just likes playing one.

they're not taking me alive!