Fandom: GRIMM
Pairing: Nick/Monroe
Length: 8,800 words
Author on LJ: rabidchild67
Author Website: Masterlist on LJ
Warnings: violence and major character death (Groundhog Day kind of a give away and he always comes back to life...)
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: No matter how hard he tries, Monroe can’t stop Nick from dying all the damn time.

Groundhog Day like scenarios are always favorites of mine, whether they be in fanfiction or in canon episodes like Supernatural's "Mystery Spot". Rabidchild67 gives us the Grimm version with some nice connections to the mystery that is Renard (so didn't see that possibility!) and some wonderful Nick and Monroe bantering. She's interwoven these character voices and this trope so well into the fabric of Grimm that it's like watching Grimm's own "Mystery Spot" episode.

I also love how Rabidchild67 put together the tragedy of Nick dying repeatedly, how that affects Monroe, and the macabre humor of how many flippin' different ways she finds to kill Nick off. I know it's tragic to watch your friend/loved one die over and over, knowing that no matter what you, they'll die. However, when some of the way those deaths occur are by rabid Chihuahuas' and the whole shaving incident, I can't help the chuckles from just bursting forth! Everything is meshed together into a great fic to occupy some time with.

I’ll Never Let You Go (If You Promise Not to Fade Away)

Fandom: AVENGERS (Captain America 2011)
Pairing: none; gen
Length: 10,000 words
Author on LJ: postcardmystery
Author Website: postcardmystery
Why this must be read:

This is a brutal, sharp, heartbreaking, utterly brilliant story of the Winter Soldier as he kills his way through decades of war in the 20th century. Please heed the warnings (per the author: There is explicit description of war, genocide, war atrocities, war as a tool of oppression and PTSD, torture and similar KGB-era tactics, as well was what could be construed as "terrorist" acts. This story also deals heavily with the consequences of brainwashing, including sexual coercion and the constant loss of control.)

Wars blur into one another. The landscapes are much the same. His codename is no longer the operative, is now and forever the Winter Soldier. Leningrad is all he will answer to, the mark on him of things everybody else is trying their best to forget. He does not like forgetting. He has never had a choice, why should they? In Kosovo he is an agent of chaos, the knife in the night who is not on anybody’s side. He wears a bandanna above his eyes, holding back dark hair thick with dirt. He wears the bandanna into Algeria, an agent of chaos once more. He travels the length of Africa, destabilising and propping up regimes as his orders see fit. He flees on a boat full of what the press call pirates, and then it's Chechnya, once more. He walks in snow and through deserts, he eats when he can and he hides his arm unless he's the last thing you're ever going to see. There's a tracking device beneath his skin, wrapped around his carotid artery, and if he pulls it out, he’ll die in seconds. They’ve got a wolf on a leash and he's never heard them so pleased with themselves, so sure that this is the only weapon they're ever going to need. They did not win the first war in Chechnya, but a second time and the story is rewritten. (He knows that this is a thing they truly believe. He's lived more history than they have. He knows better.) He rides on tanks, jumps from helicopters onto ground solid with snow. He stands, ringed by ruins, in a capital that burns. He lost his last war in Grozny. This time, he slings his rifle on his back, breathes smoke, knows what it is to watch history being made.

Беда́ не прихо́дит одна́ (trouble never comes alone) by postcardmystery

If you like the story, please let the author know!

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Fandom: BANDOM (Panic! at the Disco/Fall Out Boy)
Pairing: Patrick/Brendon/Spencer, Brendon/Spencer, Pete/Patrick
Length: 16,854 words.
Authors on AO3: girlpearl and melusina

Why this must be read: bandombigbang Wave Three is in full swing, and this story's already one of my favorites from the group. It's always a treat to read well-written ships involving more than two people (no matter the dynamic, but having a primary couple with a guest, like this fic uses, is one of my favorites). It's extra fun when there's sex and kinky hijinks involved. But this story adds amazing, in-character pining to the mix, and that's what makes the whole thing special: it all works together perfectly.

( Summary and excerpt. )

the trick of finding what you didn't lose

Fandom: STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES
Pairing: Kirk/Spock
Length: 14,680
Author on LJ: sans_pertinence
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

The characterization. For having amazingly in character voices that it feels like an extension of TOS.

The fic deals with the aftermath of the TOS episode "Plato's Stepchildren". It's an excellent, introspective and perhaps a bit haunting character study and a first time story from Kirk's POV. Like the author, I also remember being unsettled when I watched this episode and the implications of what happened in the episode forms the crux of this story. The author captures Kirk's voice showing both his emotional intelligence as well as his all too human flaws. And Spock is characterized perfectly as are the other characters (Bones, Uhura, Chapel and even Alexander). I loved the fact that Kirk knew he was being selfish, of Spock's shame and anger at having his control taken, the way the repercussions were dealt with, the tender breaking down of barriers between Kirk and Spock, and the nuanced details. Well-written, well-paced and definitely worth checking out. Highly rec'd!

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