Geek in the Grass, by Koschka. PG-13ish, Gen
Fandom: SG:A
Sheppard goes out on a mission without McKay, leading to extensive scientist whining. Then the Stargate blows up and leaves the expedition team stuck on the other side, being attacked by the evil natives (because every planet with a stargate is inhabited by evil people) leading to extensive scientist panicking. Will the gate be fixed in time to rescue them? Will Sheppard be eaten by giant snake men? Will innocent technicians be driven to suicide in an attempt to escape McKay?
Best bit: Sheppard's Indiana Jones-like wigging out over the snake-people. Dr. Zelenka's dire predictions of what will happen if the gate isn't fixed ("We will live out our lives here in this hideous place. They will be no doubt short and brutal, marked by disease and violence. With no other humans, there will be no females and so we will be forced into desperate actions of men with needs--needs so strong that-" *is mercifully cut off by attacking snake people*).
Then read all Koschka's other SGA stories, wich aren't quite as great as that one, but are still very good.
Neither Helpful Nor Comforting, by 20thcenturyvole. (Sheppard/McKay)
Fandom: SG:A
The fic where Sheppard and McKay are trapped in a cave with psychic sharks. Really, that's all that needs to be said.
Flying Blind, by minnow1212. PG-13ish, Gen.
Fandom: SG:A
Sheppard is temporarily blinded on a mission. Refreshingly, no one learns any deep lessons from this, no epiphanies are had, and the fact that he is forced to depend on the rest of the team to lead him back to the gate doesn't cause him to fall in love with anybody. Best bits: Teyla and Ford trying to pry the door of the alien storage closet they've been locked in open with a knife, and McKay reading and critiquing other scientists' reports while other people are trying to talk to him about deep, emotional things ("Most people at this level, their theories are basically sound, sometimes even elegant, but they have tiny flaws that ruin their conclusions. Whereas Jorgensen is just hugely, horribly, mind-bogglingly *wrong* but he arrives at the correct answer anyway. We should study him to see how he's doing it. Wait, were you saying something?").
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Merry. R/NC-17ish (Sheppard/McKay)
Fandom: SG:A
Sheppard and McKay go exploring under Atlantis, where they find many, many ducts, conduits, pipes, tubing, and alien remoras. And then a giant sea monster. Slash, but if you left out the smut, it could practically be an episode. Best bit: the snarky banter. Also, McKay's complete 180 from "We're doomed! Doomed!" to "Didn't I tell you my brilliance would get us rescued," and Sheppard's effortless tuning out of both.
You, I'm sure, will come out of this completely unscathed. I'll die of explosive decompression, or suffocation, or starvation, and you'll be towed up to Atlantis by helpful suckerfish who provide mouth-to-mouth until you reach the surface."
"Okay," Sheppard said. "First, that's disgusting. And second... still just really disgusting."
"Their little suckerfish friends will probably sing on the way."
"Yes, you're probably right. It'll be like the director's cut of Wes Craven's The Little Mermaid."
"Fine. Laugh now. Just be sure to have 'I told you so' inscribed on my tombstone."
Old Recs (Pre-2005)
Buffy Season Noir by Anna S. Rated R through NC-17. Spike/Buffy, Xander/Anya, Willow/Tara.
Fandom: Buffy
A virtual season that branches off from Gone and eventually segues into a deliciously dark AU in which Sunnydale is invaded and occupied by a Nazi-esque demon regime. Forced into hiding, Buffy and the Scoobies attempt to organize a Resistance, while Spike--now Captain William Aurelius of Special Forces--feeds them information from the inside.
I've seen a lot of virtual seasons for a lot of shows, but this has got to be one of the best. The plot starts off a bit slow (though never dull--the Evil Carnival episode in particular is hilariously funny) but gradually builds up a truly creepy momentum, and watching Xander in particular evolve from a goofy sidekick into a hardened, ruthless soldier is fascinating.
"Buffy Season Noir" can be found at http://www.drizzle.com/~eliade/demon_noir.html (for some reason, likely my poor html skills, the link won't work unless you copy and paste).
A Raising in the Sun and Necessary Evils by Barb Cummings. Rated R (Raising) and NC-17 (Evils). Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara.
Fandom: Buffy
Post The Gift. An evil business tycoon is trying to raise Buffy from the dead for his own nefarious purposes. While Xander, Giles, Anya, & Tara try to stop him, Willow, Spike & Dawn hatch a scheme to bring Buffy back themselves, before the bad guys can. Once that's dealt with, there's still the problem of Glory's lingering brainsuck victims, Willow's addiction to power, and Spike and Buffy's budding (or is that wilting) relationship.
This epic-in-the making is Season Six the way it should have been, with all the trauma of Buffy's death and Willow's gradual descent into Dark!Willow, but without the sadomasochistic Spuffy trainwreck (or the Xander/Anya wedding disaster, for that matter). Instead, you get a prickly partnership that developes into a passionate but uneasy romance, complete with a couple of vampire/slayer sex scenes that Laurel K. Hamilton would envy. Plus, you get Conspiracy Theory-type plotting on the part of the Watchers Council, characterization of Dawn that's frankly better than the series (anyone else notice how she sort of drifts over to the sidelines in season six?), and Hank Summers, Deadbeat Dad.
Barb Cumming's fic can be found at http://sleepingjaguars.com/buffy/
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit by Priestess of Avalon. Rated PG-13.
Fandom: Harry Potter
When Voldemort returns, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy find their old friendship under a new strain, until Lucius enlists Snape's help in a plan to keep Draco away from the Dark Lord's clutches--and then in a new, desperate plan to overthrow his Dark master. Overthrow him, and take his place.
A must read for any Slytherin fan, this is a wonderful look at Lucius Malfoy by a writer who knows her Paradise Lost. He's a scheming, manipulative, amoral politician with a megalomanicial streak, but he's also fiercely protective of Draco, and anything but evil. The tense almost-friendship between Snape, Lucius, and Remus is intriguing, Voldemort is sadistically creepy, and for once, someone other than Snape is part vampire. Harry barely figures on the radar for most of the story, though, even in the final defeat of Voldemort.
"Nemo Me Impune Lacessit" can be found at http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Priestess_of_Avalon/
The Aftermath by P.L. Nunn. Rated R. Mainly (but, of course, not exclusively) DS/Yoko.
Fandom: Bastard!!
An AU version of events after Ansasla's destruction. Dark Schneider returns, and he, Yoko, Kall-su, and the rest must face down a new enemy, a false priest with ties to Schneider's past. And to complicate matters, there's the little detail about Schneider not being able to use his powers... No magic, and the bad guys are out to get him, and Yoko won't have sex with him, and damnit, it's just not fair!
I'll put it this way. If this fic were a novel (and at 68 chapters, it's certainly long enough) I'd buy it in hardback. The villain is believably creepy, the narrative arc tight, and the characterization brilliant. Half the time you want to hug DS, and the rest of the time you want to throttle him for an insensitive, selfish jerk. There are a few mispellings and comma placement issues, but most are minor enough to overlook. Oh, and, unlike everything else by P.L. Nunn that I've ever read or seen, it's not slash/yaoi--but it's every bit as passionate and angst-filled a romance as any of her yaoi stuff.
"The Aftermath" can be found at http://www.bishonenworks.com/fanfictionpage.htm
Thick as Thieves by Valerie Jones and Lori McDonald. Not Rated, but somewhere between PG-13 and R. Gambit/Rogue, Iceman/OFC.
Fandom: X-Men
Bobby Drake has met a girl, and she's everything he's ever wanted in a woman. The catch? She's also a member of the New York Thieves' Guild, and the only way he can get near her is to convince Gambit to help him pass as a Thief. Unfortunately, Gambit won't do that. If Bobby wants to pass himself off as a Thief, he's got to actually be one, training, Guild membership, and all. He decides that she's worth it. Then he discovers that she's married--to a mob boss.
This is one of the best long X-Men pieces I've seen, and a must read for both Iceman fans and Gambit fans. Diedre (the OFC) manages to avoid irritating MS-like perfection, and the convoluted web of Thieves' Guild politics the pair of X-Men end up tangled in is, while not quite Byzantine, still complicated and underhanded enough to satisfy. Plus, the slowly shift of Remy and Bobby's relationship from mutual disgust to friendship and respect is both well done and endearing. And there's a sequel, which contains even more Thieves' Guild politics and divided loyalties, plus the coolest bit of fanon speculation about Gambit's powers that I've ever seen.
"Thick as Thieves" and its sequel, "Blind Sight" can be found at http://members.lycos.co.uk/lebeaulibrary/ (or at least, they could two years ago).
The Danse Ronde Arc by lolitas-sister. Rated R. Remy/Rogue.
Fandom: X-Men Evolution
Picking up immediately after the episode "Day of Reckoning," this AU follows Rogue as she teams up with one of Magneto's Acolytes to rescue her missing teammates. Along the way, she gains new powers, new enemies, a new relationship, and a very interesting collar�
These stories are told largely in the first person, and the author's grasp of Remy and Rogue's voices is first rate (plus, she keeps the dialect and bits of French to a readable level). Rogue's growth as a character (misjudgments and all) is very believable, but it's the supporting characters, especially lolitas's hyper and smart-mouthed Pyro, who really make things fun.
"Une Danse Ronde," "April Witch," "Envie," and "She'll Be Apples" can be found at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=152701
The Raised to the Third Power Trilogy by Iniga. Rated PG-13.
Fandom: Harry Potter
This trilogy of stories begins just after the end of Harry's fourth year. Horrified at the way a traumatized Harry is being treated by his selfish relatives, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione are determined to rescue him, even if it means jeopardizing plans to prove Sirius's innocence. The second tale, "Cyanide," centers around Percy, who has gone under-cover to gain information on the Death Eaters, and the last story follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione through the final battle against Voldemort. There is also a prologue, "Darkness Dying," which follows Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James & Lily through the weeks leading up to that faithful Halloween.
There are countless "fifth year" fics out there, but this is probably one of the best. As in the books, the main focus is on Harry and his friends, but the relationship between Sirius and Remus is also done remarkably well (and I'm using "relationship" here in a totally platonic sense). The scene where Sirius and Hermione pose as a prospective drill customer and his whiney teenage daughter in order to spy on the Dursleys is priceless. "Cyanide," which focuses mainly on Percy and Snape, is a wonderful look into the psyche of my personal favorite Weasley, and "Darkness Dying" is a tense glimpse into an earlier war, showing the toll it exacted upon the Marauders and the crumbling bonds of trust between them.
"Innocence Lost & Found," "Cyanide," and "Raised to the Third Power" can be found at http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Iniga/
"Darkness Dying" can be found at a href="http://www.thedarkarts.org/authorLinks/Iniga/
Slytherin Rising by J. L. Matthews. Rated PG-13. Fandom: Harry Potter
Tom Riddle was the heir of Slytherin, but among the denizens of the serpent House there is a prophecy of a second heir, the Slytherin Redeemer, who will rescue the House from the disgrace and darkness caused by her predecessor. While Harry Potter and his friends go through their adventures in Gryffindor, a group of four Slytherin girls are having adventures of their own, behind the scenes.
This rewrite of the Harry Potter story tackles two of the problems of the books: the lack of strong female characters, and the dilemma of Slytherin (surely, a quarter of Hogwarts' students can't all be evil). The original characters are well written and fully fleshed out--even Luella and Deanna, who practically embody a set of fandom clich�s (heir of Slytherin and Snape's long lost daughter) are far from Mary Sues. The author weaves in humour, drama, and angst, and manages to avoid the impulse to turn all Slytherins into misunderstood noble heroes (some are still nasty, and Snape, in particular has a very dark past). She seems to be giving both Remus and Sirius romantic pasts with two of her female OCs, though, so puppyshippers had better be warned when it comes to part four. So far, the Slytherin rising cycle contains three novel length stories: "Sleeping Death," "Slytherin on the Wane," and "Enemies of the Heir," and one work in progress: "The Year of the Cat."
"Slytherin Rising" can be found at http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/J_L_Matthews/
The Colour of Joy by Sionnachdhubh. Rated NC-17. Slash. (Crawford/Schuldig, Farfarello/OC)
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
After their final defeat at the hands of rival assassin team Weiss, Schwartz flees to Hong Kong to hide from their vengeful former masters. Unfortunately for them, there's a powerful ancient force waiting for them there, and it doesn't like psychics, or assassins. While Crawford struggles to hold the team together and keep a low profile, the conditioning done to Schwartz by their Estet masters begins to wear off, with, in Farfarello's case, potentially deadly results. And Nagi is about to discover some things about his own powers and heritage that he never expected.
Why is this not on the "Hard Lemonade" or "Key Lime Pie" page? Because the rating is for two brief scenes (out of an eight chapter long story) and because the romance involved is really only one of the tale's numerous subplots. And there are several, believe me, including an ancient clan of powerful mystics living throughout China, and an extremely interesting past the author has created for Farfarello. The story, sadly, is permanently unfinished, but it's wonderfully written and extensively researched (the reader almost believes that the author is from Hong Kong, instead of Ireland) and so well worth the read. And it's the story that first suckered me into the Weiss Kreuz fandom.
"The Colour of Joy" was once found at http://www.sionnachdhubh.com/Fanfiction/fanfictionmain.htm God knows where it is now, but you may be able to pull up the old page with the Wayback Machine.