Fandom: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Pairing: gen (with great Mark/Eduardo dynamic)
Length: 17 000 words
Author on LJ: __sine
Why this must be read: Mark is Iron Man, Eduardo is Spiderman. Not really an AU, because everything happens after the movie. It's a fusion! It has meta! There is Christy! It rocks! (note: AG, who played Saverin, is the new Spiderman. And RDJ quoted the TSN tagline in the Avengers *fandoms collision*)

( Excerpt )

Never Give All The Heart (AO3)

Good evening. I shall be reccing Stargate SG-1 fiction all this month. Stargate SG1 is pretty old in fannish years, but like Granny Weatherwax, it aten't dead yet (  [intro information] )

I'm going to start with one of the best things I've read in any fandom, ever, and which has probably been missed by a whole stack of people who would love it because it was only completed last year.

Fandom: STARGATE SG1
Pairing: Gen.
Length: Novel (127,700 words)
Author on DW: Magibrain
Author Website: Go here AO3. Read everything.
Why this must be read:
SG-1 find the unlikeliest of worlds, an abandoned base on a planet locked inside the jets of a pulsar, which may provide the key to winning the war if Sam and Daniel can just decipher the technology left behind. However, the sacrifice SG1 must make in pursuit of that goal is one they never wanted to consider.

This is a terrific, twisting, gut-wrenching read about memory and the nature of identity; about grief and the nature of team-as-family. It even has a pretty good science fiction plot and an end that feels earned and satisfactory without ever tieing everything up with a neat little bow.

It never forgets that Sam is an astrophysicist, not an identikit scientist; it never forgets that Jack loves his team beyond all reckoning, even though he doesn't admit it; it never forgets that Teal'c is alien in outlook but feels deeply for his comrades; and it never forgets how damned clever Daniel Jackson is.

It start from canon mid-season 7 then hurtles AU-wards thereafter.

Beneath A Beating Sun

Fandom: BABYLON 5
Pairing: Stephen Franklin/Michael Garibaldi, Michael Garibaldi/Lise Hampton (open relationship), Vir Cotto/Lennier, Delenn/Susan Ivanova
Length: 3665 words
Author on LJ: thingswithwings
Author Website: thingswithwings at An Archive Of Our Own

Why this must be read:

"Three relationships. Allegro, Largo, Rondo alla Polacca."

Love: from an easygoing, yet still passionate, relationship of decades (Stephen/Michael), to a friendship (and perhaps more) forged in trying times (Vir/Lennier), to love after loss (Susan/Delenn), this fic explores the B5 universe from perspectives we perhaps don’t see much. My favourite section is probably the last—it convinced me of the Susan/Delenn ship (which I now hold as canon post-Sleeping In Light), for one thing—but the whole thing is simply gorgeous. Canon-compliant, yet adding to what we think we know about the characters, which I love.

It’s well worth it as well to check out other works by thingswithwings, who writes for a staggering number of fandoms with consistent brilliance.

Excerpt:

( In the hours before dawn, they lie together in the dark... )

Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major

Title: Early Returns
Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: 15k
Author on LJ: http://rageprufrock.livejournal.com
Author on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/rageprufrock/pseuds/rageprufrock

Why this must be read

I believe it is a truth universally acknowledged that if you see Rageprufrock in the byline, you must read the story.  Early Returns is a newspaper AU with Eames as an investigative journalist and Arthur his editor.  Think Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday levels of banter and attraction.  Dom, Mal, Yusuf and Ariadne all play convincing secondary roles as do several original characters and you get a fascinating look into the workings of a newspaper.  And to make it even better, there is a wonderful podfic by tinypinkmouse.  This one is on heavy rotation for me, I never get tired of listening to her.

The Story: Early Returns

The Podfic: Early Returns

Title: We Can Do This Until We Pass Out
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: 6k 
Author on LJ: http://delires.livejournal.com/
Author on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/delires/pseuds/delires

Why this must be read
While the rec is for the first story, all the stories in the chav!verse by delires are absolutely worth reading.  The premise seems simple enough; businessman Arthur in London has a random hook up with the unsavory Eames, a street thug of the lowest social order known unaffectionately as a chav (definition here).  Playing stereotype against stereotype is part of what makes this great fun and the sizzling sexual tension is amazing.  But what really stands out is the complexity of the characters.  The rough exterior of Eames hides a gentle man and beneath the scowls and sarcasm Arthur is a romantic.  And so a love story is built.  Plus, the idea of Arthur being at heart a little raver pleases me.

And this has podfic!  I must admit I really hesitated before giving this a try as I was afraid of an American doing some kind of terrible, mangled Cockney accent.  Like Dick Van Dyke's horrifying Cockney in Mary Poppin's level of bad.  And since the whole set-up depends on getting Eames as a chav right, it seemed too much to hope for.  I was totally and completely wrong.  Seussian pulls it off brilliantly.  In fact, she somehow makes his slang part of what is intrinsically hot about Eames and one of the reasons why Arthur can't stay away.  If you go for the podfic, please take my advice and make sure you get the sequel, When Life Sucks, Put On Some Glitter. 

Story: We Can Do This Until We Pass Out
Podfic: We Can Do This Until We Pass Out + Sequel