Fandom: NEW GIRL
Pairing: Jessica Day/Nick Miller
Length: ~5k
Author on LJ: lila82
Author Website: FF.Net, LJ
Why this must be read:

This is a kind, understated look at Nick (post-season one) slowly and carefully starting to get his life together. It's the sort of sweet, lovely world-building that fanfiction can do so well, and makes you feel like the world is a place that's going to be a-okay in the end.

Going to California (FF.Net, LJ)
Nick buys a bar, channels Russell, and woos Jess along the way

Fandom: THE AVENGERS (MOVIEVERSE)
Pairing: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Length: 5407 and 6936 respectively
Author on LJ: allisnow
Author Website: LJ or AO3
Why this must be read:

I read this fic early on in my forays into Avengers fandom, and it's always stuck with me. Clint and Natasha are both written very believably here - lost and emotionally raw following Loki's manipulations and the aftermath of the movie. Natasha knows something is wrong with Clint, though she doesn't guess what it is (at least not correctly) right away. Clint is fighting for his sanity, Natasha is fighting for their partnership, and allisnow weaves the stories through their two opposing points of view.

"An Arrow, Discarded" is a chilling look at what Loki put in Clint's head, images and desires that he can't escape as easily as he did the overt control Loki had over him, because once things are thought and felt, they can't ever entirely be undone. Natasha, meanwhile (in "Out is Through") is struggling to deal with an experience that was truly hers - not something that happened to a persona or a cover she could easily discard or file away in the recesses of her mind. At the same time that she's trying to regain her footing, she can tell that Clint is slipping away from her and sabotaging their partnership, but she doesn't know why. (Or how to fix it.)

The language is beautiful and emotionally descriptive, those emotions are raw and intense, and the connection between the two of them is deep but fragile, and she shows how they rebuild both themselves and each other through that connection.

Please read and heed the author's warnings - there's some pretty heavy stuff here. To those, I would also add that she includes some very vivid (and accurate) depictions of anxiety and panic attacks.

( Excerpt: Click for more )

An Arrow, Discarded AO3 or LJ and Out is Through AO3 or LJ

Author's Summary:

He is Clint Barton and he is Hawkeye and he is Loki and he is a rime of blue ice. He is an arrow loosed from a madman's bow.

and

Natasha is not afraid of dreams. (She dreams, but she does not remember.)

If you like the story(s), please remember to take a moment and let the author know. It will absolutely make their day!

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Length: 4,351
Author on LJ: hutchlover
Author Website: http://www.starskyhutcharchive.net/viewuser.php?uid=216

Why this must be read: In this post-SR story, Hutch wants to throw a special party for his partner/lover as Starsky prepares to return to the streets. Hutch turns to Sugar for help. If you like the idea of Hutch in drag, this cute story is for you.

Basic Black & Pearls with a Pink Tutu

Fandom: THE EAGLE
Pairing: Marcus/Esca/Cottia
Length: ~4k
Author on LJ: slowascent
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

So this fic is set post-book rather than in the filmverse but I really wanted to get some Cottia in this month and you need no knowledge of the book to read it other than that of Marcus and Cottia's union. It's an incredibly beautiful, lyrical piece that paints all three of them with a vivid grace and fills in their world as they build it. The gentle care the author takes with them and the care they take with each other is perfect and heart-warming. It's the kind of fic you'll wish is a million times longer so you never have to stop reading.


Exiit ad Caleum
(you will need an AO3 account to see this fic)