I read a lot of online fiction, and I'm not really picky about what
genre or fandom a story is as long as it's well written. So, this
page is a list of those stories that I particularly enjoyed. In
general, I look for good characterization and a decent plot or some
sort of psychological angle. I also love humor as well as dark,
angsty stories. There's a lot of slash stories here as well as gen
and even a few het stories, and they span a multitude of fandoms. I
hope others will enjoy reading them. Oh, and newer recs are at the
top of each section. I started keeping track of the date the rec was
added in August 2003. Anything without a date predates that.
Buffy/Angel |
Xena/Hercules | Misc
Title: Unsaid Warning
- Author: E.A.Week
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Horror
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: I found this story to be quite chilling. It starts out simply enough - Tara is riding her bike and finds a nice place in the woods. When she returns there to perform some magic spells, she has an accident and hits her head. After this, her personality begins to change. Is it something left over from having Glory in her head, or is it something else? The fear and sense of wrongness build slowly, finally reaching a crescendo. It's creepy but compelling, and I thought the characters were all really well-drawn. I personally didn't much like the epilogue, but that's probably just a matter of personal taste. Everything before that point is great, and the story still works if you ignore the epilogue.
Title: Buffybot Behind Bars!
- Author: Keswindhover
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is a funny little story set during the summer after the end of season five. Willow has reprogrammed Buffybot and she's now handling Buffy's old duties to the best of her abilities. However, she does lack social skills. When she's out patrolling she runs afoul of a pair of police officers who think she's on drugs and take her in. Things get worse as Buffybot says the wrong thing at the wrong time and ends up in the Sunnydale Women's Penitentiary. To make matters even worse,her batteries are running down and Willow and Giles and company have to get her out before people figure out that she's a robot. The story moves along at a breakneck pace, like an old screwball comedy. And Bottie's so perky and clueless that I just loved her.
Title: Tara Incognita
- Author: HonorH
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: A portal to the Wishverse is opened and Tara comes through. Seeing her alive causes problems for the Scoobies, and things get worse when the Wishverse Giles and his slayer come through. The Master is attempting to take over both worlds, and both groups have to work together to stop him. I like seeing this alternate Tara, who is much harder than the Tara we knew. I also enjoy seeing the reactions of each group to the other. Good plot, good pacing.
Title: A Few Small Repairs
- Author: Prophecy Girl
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Horror
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: The author states that this story is based upon a what-if. What if Dawn, not Buffy, had died at the end of Season 5, and Willow and the rest of the gang had brought her back? And what if Tara realized that she came back wrong? A very creepy, disturbing story. Not for the squeamish.
Title: Miss Ghost
- Author: Minim Calibre
- Fandom: Angel
- Genre: Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: A short vignette featuring my favorite "Angel" couple - Wesley and Lilah. Lilah is haunting Wesley, Wesley is...being Wesley. Hard to say more without giving it away. A nice story that says a lot about their relationship.
Title: Lines of Communication
- Author: Christina Kamnikar
- Fandom: Buffy/Smallville
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: This is actually a sequel to Runaway Trains at 3AM, in which Dawn and Clark both run away from home and meet up at a bus station and spend an evening becoming friends before being dragged back home by Spike and Lex, respectively. In this story, their attempts to maintain their friendship lead to some trouble. Love the dialogue and characterization here, and it's a very fun (and funny) story. I mean, any story that opens with the line "Holy mother of cellphones." has to be fun, right?
Title: The Power, the Glory and the Everafter
- Author: Christina Kamnikar
- Fandom: Buffy/Angel
- Genre: Humor, Gen
- Why I liked it: Set in the afterlife, this is a humorous story about Glory and her tantrums, Ben, and various other characters who have moved on to another realm. But Glory and her tantrums are great.
Title: The Quality of Mercy
- Author: Yahtzee
- Fandom: Buffy/Angel
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A story of redemption. A broken Riley lands in LA and is found by Angel. Neither one is happy with the situation, but they both have to struggle forward toward redemption.
Title: Of Shadows and Demons
- Author: Mackie
- Fandom: Buffy/The Sentinel
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A crossover between Buffy and the Sentinel. Which, when you think about it, kinda makes sense. They're both kinda set in the real world, and they both have supernatural themes. In this story Blair goes on a dig in Sunnydale with an old friend when they find an Incan tomb. Jim starts having nightmares. Buffy thinks something's up. Everyone converges to fight a demon who was released by the dig and wants a new body - preferably Blair's.
Title: Winners
- Author: ins
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: gen
- Why I liked it: A short, nasty little story with a twist. Sometime in the future, Buffy and the Scoobies are still fighting, even though they're hardened and have changed. But the scary part is that they're still recognizable.
Title: Sum
of Parts
- Author: Kawcrow
- Fandom:
Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: This
is an interesting idea. It's a short vignette about Ben, who was a
nice guy with a bad problem. Ever wonder what it was like for him,
living with Glory? This is a little story about what his life might
have been like. Poor Ben.
Title: I-55
- Author: Yahtzee
- Fandom: Angel/Buffy
- Genre: Gen, horror
- Why I liked it: When they started the Darla storyline in S3 of Angel, I cringed. I tried to have faith though, but I wasn't rewarded. The
show has so tanked since then. My honey has given up on Angel and I'm
pretty close. Anyway, I could only think of one way they could
possibly redeem the whole baby storyline. Yahtzee wrote it - they
didn't. This was written before we knew what gender the Thing That
Sucked The Soul Out Of The Show would be, but is still a good,
chilling example of what ME should have done. Buffy, Angel and
Angel's daughter are on the run from the assorted Scoobies, who are
hunting them down to kill the kid. Better than S3 Angel and S6 Buffy,
that's for sure. (Who me, disgruntled?)
Title: All the Rage
- Author: Jeanny
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A short story about what happened to Riley after he left Sunnydale, and how he deals with the news of Buffy's death.
Title: Graduation Day
- Author: HonorH
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: The story of Graduation Day, told in more detail. We get to see how the troops were rounded up, and some of the people who were involved.
Title: Sole Survivors
- Author: Julie Fortune
- Fandom: Angel
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: "Billy" was an odd episode - we saw Fred knocking out Wesley and Gunn, and then we cut to the ending, several days later, when both men were cured. But they never really explained what happened. This story does. Cordelia and Angel return to the hotel to find Fred, Wesley and Gunn, and they have to figure out how to save their friends. Wesley is especially chilling here, and his pain at the end is palpable.
Title:  Messengers of Grey
- Author: SarahT
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Slash (Oz/Giles), horror
- Why I liked it: Set post-Season 5.
Oz ends up in England, looking for help from Giles with his
lycanthropy problem. Giles is still dealing with Buffy's death. The
two of them end up working together to exorcise a house where three
gruseome murders have occurred and their relationship changes.
Title: The Heart's Filthy Lesson
- Author: Mustang Sally and RivkaT
- Fandom:Buffy
- Genre:Gen, with some het romance. Later stories in the series are het (Buffy/Spike)
- Why I liked it:Spike, who owes a large sum of money, ends up hunting down a Nazi demon so that he can pay off his debts. Unfortunately the hunt leads him to a vampire who is an old enemy. And then Spike gets stuck with a soul, specifically William's soul, and finds he doesn't much care for it. Lots of adventure, humor and romance. This is part of a series that includes Serious Moonlight (in which Buffy and Spike go back in time to fight a vampiric Slayer/Mummy and her minions) and Changes, where Spike and Angel are haunted by their mutual past, and Spike finally finds a rhyme for 'effulgent'. The homepage for the series is here.
Title: The Bombs Go Off
- Author: Rowan
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Drama
- Why I liked it: Post apocalyptic fic about Spike pining away for Willow, then finally finding her. Good Spike here, he's able to care about Willow while still retaining his sharp edge.
Title: The Twelfth Sister
- Author: Rowan
- Fandom: Buffy/Angel
- Genre: horror
- Why I liked it: Ever wonder about the whole multiple slayer thing? Ever wonder what would happen if Faith or Buffy were to die and come back again? Just how many slayers can there be? This story shows a fairly horrific take on that concept. It's a story about what might have happened if "Five by Five" had ended a bit differently. I cringed when I read it. There's a second story - I hesitate to call it a sequel because it's more along the lines of an alternate take on the story. Anyhow, it's called The Twelfth Sister Revisited and it's an effectively horrific coda to the first.
Title: The Other Half Lives
- Author: Yahtzee
- Fandom: Angel
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: Odd as it may sound, Dennis is one of my favorite characters on Angel. Yes, Dennis. The ghost. I like him. This is a story about an encounter with a demon that leaves Wesley acting rather oddly, and Dennis very active and upset. It's sweet, but not saccharine, with good dialogue and characterization all around.
Title: When She Was Bad
- Author: Julie Fortune
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: AU
- Why I liked it: In this story, Buffy gets sucked into an alternate reality where she meets Drusilla - the vampire slayer. Plus her watcher, Spike. And there's the assorted vamps, good guys and bad guys, the Master, Angel, and lots of adventure waiting for her. And did I mention that the Buffy from that universe has come to our world? And she's a vampire? Well, she's also in for an adventure. Well-written, good dialogue and characterization, and it's hard to figure out exactly who to trust.
Title: Rainmakers
- Author: Lar
- Fandom: Buffy/Angel
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it: One thing that drives me nuts is character bashing. I just don't get it. I mean, it's fine not to like a character, but I don't understand why people feel the need to completely twist them around and mangle and just plain assassinate them. In the Buffyverse, Riley has been twisted, mangled and turned into an evil monster more times than I can count. I didn't much like him when he was on the show until just before he left, but all the Riley bashing has turned me into an unabashed Riley fan. Maybe it's the chivalrous part of me wanting to defend the underdog, I dunno. Anyhow, it's led me to look for good Riley fic, and this is one. In fact, it's Riley and Lindsey together, both showing more depth than they did on their respective shows, and both seen in a good light. The plot is fairly straightforward - after leaving LA, Lindsey goes looking for a change and ends up working on a ranch in a small town in the midwest. Riley, having left the military, ends up drifting into the same town. They connect without knowing who they are. It's a slow story, and I don't want to use the word sweet because it's not quite right. But it is kind of soft, almost sweet, but with a dry edge. I hope Lar continues it, because I found both characters to be compelling, as well as the situation.
Title: Rainmakers II: Southwest of Nowhere
- Author: Lar
- Fandom: Buffy/Angel
- Genre: Slash (NC-17)
- Why I liked it: Dang. I swear, I just finished writing up my rec for "Rainmakers" when I spotted this under the "What's new". Talk about instant gratification! It's a short continuation of the previous story, where Lindsey and Riley kinda sorta start opening up, just a little, each avoiding examining himself too closely. Very nice character study.
Title: Another Peaceful War
- Author: Marina Frants
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it:Another good Riley fic, by one of my favorite authors. Marina is really good at digging into characters and showing what makes them tick, and this is no exception. After the end of Season 4, Riley goes home to visit his family in Iowa. While he's there he comes to realize that being home doesn't change who and what he is, and he really can't go back. He has to deal with all of the things that happened to him as part of the Initiative, including being betrayed by Maggie Walsh and dealing with zombie!Forrest. It's a really sympathetic look at a much-maligned character. I only wish the guy had been written like this on the show.
Title: Splinter
- Author: Rheanna and Yahtzee
- Fandom: Angel
- Genre: Gen with lots of angst
- Why I liked it: Rheanna and Yahtzee are two more writers who just make me want to fall at their feet and worship them. This story is set at the end of Angel's second season - the gang has left Pylea for home, but accidentally stumble into a parallel dimension. They have to figure out what's up and how to get home. Simple enough, except that this dimension is extremely unstable, and the first people they run into are Darla and Angelus. Plus, Wesley seems to be dead while Cordelia is hospitalized. Suppressed fears, especially about Angel, come bubbling to the surface while everyone chooses sides and tries to decide who to trust. Fred is also awesome - I hope to see more of her from these authors. This story has everything and reads like a great episode of the series. There's humor, angst (tons of angst), suspense, thrills, horror, and even some warm fuzzy moments. Here's a bit to tease you into reading it:
Fred was trying very, very hard to be very, very quiet.
This was something she was used to, something she was good at. At the library, she had made it a habit; in Pylea, she had made it an art form. Breathe in through the nose, slow and even, and don't
move a muscle, or the monsters will get you --
Outside the kitchen, in the lounge, she could hear Cordelia talking to Gunn in a tone of voice that left little room for dispute. "You have to change. You smell of funk. Not even good old regular funk,
either. Pylea funk."
"Which bears no resemblance to Sly and the Family Stone, I'm sorry to say," Lorne said. His voice, like Cordelia's, carried into the kitchen where Fred stood alone, hands clasped together so hard her
fingers hurt.
"I don't care," Gunn said. "I like Xena as much as the next leather-bikini-loving man out there. But that does not mean I am ready to wear her face on my chest."
"Wesley's wearing his Sliders shirt!"
"Yeah, well, Wesley actually liked Sliders, so that tells you about the man's taste right there."
"I beg your pardon," Wesley said. "I consider this shirt a sort of ironic joke about our predicament. It's postmodern."
Fred could hear the smile in his voice as he said that. He acted like there was nothing wrong. But then, he was the one who had gone out for groceries in the first place -- he was the one who had
brought it into the house -- and now it was sitting on the counter, waiting for her to show weakness, getting ready to pounce --
"You're not nagging Lorne to change."
"Lorne doesn't smell."
"Well, thank you for that vote of olfactory confidence," Lorne said.
Cordelia persisted. "You just don't care, do you?"
"You just want to have the rest of us looking even tackier than you. Thanks but no thanks on the shirt. We'll swing by the store and pick up some Old Spice or something."
"And that'd be an improvement in what sense, exactly?"
"Me, I find the ladies go mad for Brut," Lorne called back at Gunn as he stepped into the kitchen. Fred gestured desperately at him to be still and quiet, but he just stared at her. "What's the matter,
pumpkin?"
Fred screamed and tackled him, knocking them both out of the kitchen and out of danger. As they landed together in an undignified tangle of limbs on the carpet, Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn rushed
toward them. "What is it? What's happened?" Wesley said.
Angel threw open the door of the bathroom. "Fred? Are you okay?"
She was shaking so hard now she could barely choke out the words, but she managed to say, "In there -- in the kitchen --"
"What? He's not --" Angel began, but Lorne quickly shook his head.
Cordelia put her head cautiously around the edge of the door. "Lemme see. We've got milk, bread, cereal, those bran things Wesley likes, some ham and chee--"
"Don't say it!" yelled Fred.
Cordelia turned around, looking oddly at Fred. "Okaaay. So you're vegan?"
Lorne, however, was nodding understandingly. He gave Fred a sympathetic pat on the arm. "Let me hazard a guess. While on her grand tour of my dimension, I think our young friend here had a nasty
encounter with some Pylean attack cheese."
There was a long silence.
"...Pylean attack cheese?" Gunn repeated disbelievingly.
Lorne nodded. "They mature it for five years in total darkness. That stuff is vicious."
Cordelia looked at him. "Your dimension is a strange and disturbing place."
"No argument there."
Title: Glorious
- Author: Tara O'Shea
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A Spike-centric piece of Buffyfic set during "Fool for Love". It shows Spike's softness and vulnerability, but doesn't forget that he is still a vampire. Lots of blood, and some really good Drusilla moments.
Title: Kiss Me Deadly
- Author: Jennifer-Oksana
- Fandom: Angel
- Genre: Adult, some het sex
- Why I Liked It: Because it's awesome. I swear, there are so many good writers in the Buffy/Angel fandom that I just want to curl up in a little ball and cry for my lack of talent. Jennifer-Oksana is one of them. This is a story told from Wesley's POV. It starts out rather simply - a woman is being terrorized by a hideous demon that won't let her have sex. It's the result of a curse placed on her by her spinster cousin. The gang sets out to lift the curse and Wesley finds himself dealing with more than he realized, including demonic STDs. This has a great, interesting plot, engaging OCs who I'd love to see again, and a wonderful mixture of humor and horror as well as adventure and suspense. Just read it. You won't be sorry. Really.
Title: [email protected]
- Author: Perri Smith
- Fandom: Buffy/Angel
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: I love humorous fic, and envy those who can write it well. I especially envy those who can write humorous fic that has a good plot and maintains characterizations, not to mention having some great lines. This is an Angel story, told in the form of email from various characters, that does all of the above, and does it well. Here's an example:
Date: Thurs, 8 June 2000 19:17 PST
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Faith
Hi Kate,
I don't know if you want to talk to anyone associated with Angel anymore, but a friend of ours wanted to know about Faith -- you know, Jr. Psycho Girl that you arrested Angel
over a couple months ago? How is she doing? Wasn't she supposed to be transferred somewhere?
Oh, look, Angel just came out of his cave. He wants to know if there've been any suspicious deaths in the last couple days. More suspicious that usual, he means, like with blood
and entrails and sacrifices and stuff. Wow, don't we have the best job? :P He'd ask you himself, but I think he's scared you'll try to stake him over the phone, and we really need
to know. He says.
Thanks,
Cordelia Chase
Angel Investigations (or what's left of it)
Title: In Harm's Way
- Author: Yahtzee63
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: Another story that mixes humor and horror (and plot!). Buffy is abducted, the Scooby Gang and Spike have to figure out where she is and try to rescue her. Spike tries to come to grips with his new morally ambiguous nature and goes shopping. A call to LA results in unexpected help. Hilarity ensues. Read it.
Title: I Didn't Know It'd Be Like This
- Author: Kate Bolin
- Fandom: Buffy
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it:Not to get into pet peeves or anything, but I've seen so many stories that are about how Buffy gets pregnant and it's wonderful, and I always wonder how she's supposed to do her job when she's pregnant. I'm decidedly jealous that Kate Bolin wrote this story first. It's a very dark, realistic look at what would happen if she were.
Title: When Hellmouths Collide
- Author: Kimberley Rector and Martha Wells Wilson
- Fandom: Buffy/Hercules
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A Buffy/Hercules crossover. Really. And it works. It's funny, exciting, well-written, and just plain lots of fun. All of the characters act like themselves, and the dialogue makes me green with envy. The plot, in a nutshell - Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles get sent through a dimensional gateway and run into Hercules and Iolaus. Turns out Ethan Rayne is responsible, and he's teamed up with one of Herc's old enemies. Our heroes meet up with Jason, Xena and Gabrielle for a fateful final battle, while Buffy et al (including Ethan) try to adjust to a world where gods are real and magic is much stronger than they are used to. There really aren't enough superlatives for this story. If you don't read it, you'll hate yourself. Now go and click on the link.
Title: False Gods
- Author: Deborah Wright
- Fandom: Hercules/Stargate SG-1
- Genre: Crossover
- Added:August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is another crossover that actually kind of makes sense. SG-1 go through the stargate and meet Hercules and Iolaus. As if that weren't enough, the stargate they came through is missing a DHD and the symbols are different than those found on their Stargate.. Plus, there's a goa'uld on the loose. The story is a good blend of action and comedy, much like a good episode of "Hercules". It reminded me of When Hellmouths Collide.
Title: Payment in Kind
- Author: Semiramis
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is kind of an AU. It was written after Gabrielle and Hope supposedly died at the end of whatever season it was on Xena. The gods decide to punish Ares by making him mortal. He is tortured and left by some of his former followers, and found by Hercules, Iolaus and Xena. They aren't happy to help him and he isn't happy to be helped. This theme is not uncommon in this universe - it's usually handled badly, with Ares turning into a weepy sap while Hercules bonds easily with him. Not so in this story. Ares is angry and bitter, full of hate, refusing to let anyone know he's suffering. Hercules loses his temper, and Xena nearly kills Ares. It also says a lot about the relationship between Ares and Zeus, making its point more eloquently than most. It's a powerful, sometimes brutal story, but a good read.
Title: The Helmet and the Plume
- Author: Ellison Wonderland
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash, Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it:This is an interesting idea. The Fates get into a fight and decide they don't like each other. The tapestry of life is completely messed up, people don't die and reality itself is threatened. Ares and Hephaestus are sent to take care of the problem by chaining Atropos to the loom, but Ares doesn't know that there may be more going on. There are several twists and turns in the story, and it also has a sharp, dark sense of humor to it.
Title: On Ice
- Author: Pythia
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is a science fiction Hercules story, not a mix you see very often. A few centuries in the future a well-preserved frozen body is found in Siberia and brought to the Smithsonian. When they begin thawing him, the cryo-techs are brought in to see if he can be revived, and he is. The man speaks an ancient form of Greek and claims to be Iolaus, companion of Hercules. He is kept in a zoo-like environment as an exhibit until two of his curators, a pair of archaeologists, find out that the exhibit is to be terminated - along with Iolaus. This is a good fusion story that works well. There's magic, technology, good characters and an intriguing premise.
Title: Iphiklos
- Author: Isos Arei
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash (Ares/Iphicles)
- Why I liked it: In the modern world, an academic is researching the myths about Iphicles and Ares. He has strange, disturbing dreams about the pair, and he decides to visit the archaeological dig at Corinth in search of answers and inspiration. He finds more than he bargained for. Interesting story, with an interesting POV and take on the relationship between the two.
Title: The Best Revenge
- Author: Toridon
- Fandom: Xena
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: Xena, Ares and Livia drop in to visit Ares for the first time, ten years after he became mortal. They're surprised by what they find, and everyone deals with how they have changed, and yet not changed, with time. An interesting view of what a mortal Ares would be like, and how he retains many of his old ways of thinking.
Title: Love and Death in the Trailer Park
- Author: Vivian Darkbloom
- Fandom: Xena
- Genre: Slash (f/f), Comedy
- Why I liked it: I like uber stories. I like humor. Therefore I like Vivian Darkbloom's White Trash series. This is the first of them and introduces all of the characters. In a nutshell, this is Xena fanfic set in the modern world. Gabrielle goes to community college while dodging calls from the Jerry Springer Show (they want her to appear on the show because her boyfriend knocked up her sister). Xena is a fire fighter and former arsonist. Poor Ares is a storefront preacher, while Callisto is still a nutcase. This is just plain fun stuff.
Title: I've Been to Pocatello but I've Never Been to Me
- Author: Vivian Darkbloom
- Fandom: Xena
- Genre: Slash (f/f), Comedy
- Why I liked it: This is the fourth installment in Vivian Darkbloom's White Trash series, and probably my favorite. In this one, Zina's dark past comes to haunt her in the form of gasp Boris, her old figure skating partner, who wants their dog back. This throws a monkey wrench into Gabrielle and Zina's relationship, not to mention making Zina relive her traumatic past, including skating to Debbie Boone songs and dealing with Alti, the coach from hell. Also featured in this story are Lao Ma, another of Zina's conquests, who runs the local Chinese restaurant, and Eli, aka Hippie Video Store Guy. And if that didn't make you want to just click and read it, here's a small outtake:
The firefighter sighed in defeat, and her beautiful countenance hardened into a spiteful sneer. "You wannna hear about it? All right, Gabrielle, you asked for it..." Her jaw shifted defiantly.
"Boris and I were semi-professional ice skaters. We spent years-well, I guess maybe only one-trying to make it big at the Pocatello Ice Follies."
"Pocatello...?" echoed the poet.
"Da," Boris affirmed. "It's a town in that-ahhhh, what do you Americans call your potato state?"
"Idaho," Zina supplied curtly. "Anyway, the Ice Follies...It's like a dry run for the Ice Capades."
Gabrielle backed up away from her beloved, and gripped the arm of the decrepit couch. No. Totally uncool! My big, tough macho dyke girlfriend...a figure skater?
"And we made Tonya Harding look good," Boris added glumly.
"Yeah, Boris is right. We were the worst of the worst. The lowest of the low. I wore a pink chiffon bodysuit. And Boris made Rudy Galindo look butch." The Russian scowled at this. "We
performed to 'You Light Up My Life'..."
"And that cute song from Cats. What's it called, Zina?" Boris started to hum "Memory." Without thinking, Zina picked up the melody and did the same.
"STOP!" shrieked Gabrielle. Pink? Ice skating? Debby Boone? Eyes staring blankly, she sank numbly into the depths of the couch.
Title: The Novitiate
- Author: Mithica
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash (m/m)
- Why I liked it: Speaking of vampires... this is a vampire fic featuring my favorite, Iphicles, as a vampire who is set upon seducing a not-so-innocent virgin who looks a lot like young Iolaus. I love the gothic mood, the lush details, the lyrical descriptions, and the characterizations.
Title: Extraordinary Day, With King
- Author: Foxmonkey
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash (m/m), incest
- Why I liked it: Another Hercules fic, this time pairing Hercules and Iphicles. It's a nice little story about their relationship, and one that always gives me warm fuzzies. Foxmonkey is good at showing the love between the two brothers. Even when they don't say that they love each other, their actions speak for them.
Title: Regency Fuck
- Author: Jen
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash (m/m)
- Why I liked it: This is uber-fic, a piece set in Regency England. While it uses versions of the characters from H:TLJ, it's given them a unique twist. It's also a lovely, moving and deeply romantic piece that I think everyone in the world should read. You don't even need to be familiar with H:TLJ to enjoy it.
Title: The Chancellor
- Author: Candace
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash, AU, incest
- Why I liked it: Set in the AU world, this is a nasty little tale about the Chancellor, the Sovereign's warped brother. It's got a lot of interesting psychology and character development, and I found it a fascinating read. I was especially intrigued by trying to figure out which of the brothers is more warped.
Title: Leather Night
- Author: Aly
- Fandom: Hercules/Queer As Folk
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it: Believe it or not, this is a crossover between Hercules and Queer as Folk. A very hot little piece that's also lots of fun.
Title: Lovers and Other Strangers
- Author: Rusalka
- Fandom: Hercules/Highlander
- Genre: Slash (m/m)
- Why I liked it: This is a crossover between H:TLJ and Highlander, where Iphicles and Methos meet. It's kind of a prequel to her "Emotionally Yours" and its sequels, which can also be found at her site.
Title: An Unkind Intention
- Author: Thamiris
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: Slash (m/m)
- Why I liked it: Iphicles and Ares make a bet about seducing Hercules and Iolaus. But it's about more than that, and a wonderful read that kept me guessing until the end.
Title: Our Man In Blue
- Author: Narcissus
- Fandom: Hercules
- Genre: slash (m/m)
- Why I liked it: This is a H:TLJ story set in the modern world. Ares, doing a favor for Aphrodite, discovers a man who appears to be the reincarnation of his lost love, Iphicles. This one is at turns funny and sad, but it's deeply romantic.
Title: Bargains
- Author: Rusalka
- Fandom: Supernatural
- Genre: Gen, horror
- Added: March 4, 2006
- Why I liked it: As usual, Marina has produced another brilliant story. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll keep the description to a minimum. In a nutshell, Sam and Dean are investigating the disappearance of a hiker when they run into trouble. Marina has a great way with description, so I could visualize everything. She also did a brilliant job with Dean's voice, and balancing humor and snark with the fear here. The way she draws upon mythology makes it a seamless blend of fairy tale and modern life, and I could really see this as an episode of the series.
Title: Decomposure
- Author: Paperbkryter
- Fandom: Supernatural
- Genre: Gen, horror
- Added: March 4, 2006
- Why I liked it:This story examines the relationship between the Winchester brothers in terms of how far they are willing to go for each other and what the consequences are. The story begins with Sam being killed and a desperate Dean taking him to a necromancer to be revived. Problem is, Sam comes back wrong and Dean has to balance his love for his brother with his desire to make sure Sam doesn't hurt or kill anyone else, not to mention his guilt for causing the situation in the first place. His desperate desire to save his brother has put him in a position where he may be forced to kill Sam himself. In addition to the emotional hits, the story has a solid plot involving John and tracking down the demon that killed Mary and Jessica. It's a good, tight plot that also has a lot of emotional anguish and doesn't have any easy answers.
Title: #435, The Atlantis Local Stitch'n'Bitch Chapter
- Author: Rageprufrock
- Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
- Genre: Slash (rated G)
- Added: March 4, 2006
- Why I liked it: I liked the fact that this is the kind of romantic story that gets to me. It's sweet, but not saccharine. The basic idea is that a group of knitters form a local chapter of Stitch n' Bitch, and Rodney is excluded. This drives Rodney nuts, especially since the group has adopted Sheppard as a mascot. I liked the small details, the hints, and Rodney's obliviousness. I also loved the image of Kavanagh knitting a molecule into a sweater. Yes, I'm trying to learn to knit, so that's another attraction.
Title: Transcendental
- Author: Shalott
- Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
- Genre: Slash (McKay/Sheppard), Comedy, Drama
- Added: May 29 2005
- Why I liked it: Another excellent story from Shalott. In a nutshell, Elizabeth is almost killed. While she's out of commission, McKay is handed the reins of power. The idea of Rodney in charge should send chills down anyone's spine, and seeing him react to it, and seeing others react to it (especially Sheppard) is great fun. The story has a good plot, excellent characterization and dialogue, and a good mix of drama and comedy.
Title: The Big Picture
- Author: Speranza
- Fandom: The Dead Zone
- Genre Slash (Johnny/Walt)
- Added: August 25, 2005
- Why I liked it: First, there just isn't enough written for this fandom, especially when it comes to slash. I mean, both Johnny/Walt and Johnny/Bruce are practically canon. It makes perfect sense. And this is a story that works well with the established Johnny/Walt dynamic. In this story, Sarah finally admits that she's having trouble coping with the stress of being a cop's wife after wha she went through with Johnny. She asks Walt for a divorce. Walt is terrified of losing JJ. Johnny offers Walt a place to stay, and then the whole vision thing happens and the two bond as they try to stop a serial killer. The plot is solid, the pacing good, and both are kind of awkward when they finally do the deed. I'm impressed that no one made any cracks about JJ really having two daddies now. That took a lot of self control (which I obviously lack). But the plot is front and center, and the relationship builds with the plot. Very well done, interesting read.
Title: Able to Succeed
- Author: Brown Betty
- Fandom: DC Batverse
- Genre: Gen
- Added: June 1, 2005
- Why I liked it: Lovely bit of characterization here. Bruce gives Tim a number of assignments that leave Tim conflicted. In the end, he definitely comes up with the right answers. Shows Bruce's paranoia as well as how Tim has come to understand it. Great ending.
Title: Proof by Contradiction
- Author: Shalott
- Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
- Genre: Slash (McKay/Sheppard)
- Added: May 2, 2005
- Why I liked it:A wonderful SG:A Sheppard/McKay story. Shalott gets the voices just right, and there's much snark and bantering between the two. Not only the dialogue but the characterization resonated with me. In a nutshell, thanks to an alien device, John and Rodney have what Rodney describes as "embarrassing public sex". John is pissed because Rodney copes better than he does. John and Rodney then have a series of misunderstandings, some deliberate, and miscommunications. But it's all fuzzy at the end. A good comedic story with an actual plot and characterization that are wonderful to read.
Title: Nine Men and a Little Lady
- Author: Kielle
- Fandom: Lord of the Rings
- Genre: Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: A brilliant parody of all the "girl joins the Fellowship" stories, as we watch them fall under Mary Sue's spell. Will the Fellowship survive, or are they doomed?
Title: The Secret Diaries of Cassandra Claire
- Author: Cassandra Claire
- Fandom: Lord of the Rings
- Genre: Slash, Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: Bridget Jones' Diary meets Lord of the Rings. A selection of diaries from members of the Fellowship, as well as a few other characters. Very funny, best if you start with Aragorn and work your way through in order. Here's a bit from Aragorn's diary:
Day 33:
Orcs killed: Countless thousands. V. good.
Boromir killed by Orcs. Bummer. Though he died bravely in my arms, am now quite sure that he was very definitely gay.
Not so sure about Gimli either.
RIP Boromir.
Still not King, but at least Boromir seemed to think I was. Might however have been blood loss.
Day 34:
Frodo went to Mordor. Said he was going alone, but took Sam with him. Why?
My God, is everyone in this movie gay but me?
Not so sure about me either.
Still not King, goddammit.
Title: Mercy
- Author: Koi
- Fandom: Smallville
- Genre: Slash
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: Whoa. Reading this story is like being punched in the gut, and I mean that it a good way. We have Lex, barely clinging to sanity, who falls into the abyss when he learns from Lionel that Clark is an alien. We have Clark, beaten and broken, struggling to survive. And through it all they reach for each other. Very disturbing, very well-written story.
Title: Prophet of Eden
- Author: Destina Fortunato
- Fandom: Smallville
- Genre: Slash, Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: An interesting story about time travel and changing the future by changing the past. It's hard to say much more without giving it away.
Title: Tetchy
- Author: Debchan
- Fandom: Firefly
- Genre: Slash, Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: Simon and Jayne get into a practical joke war that keeps escalating. I like how Debchan shows us a bit of how Jayne's mind works, the way Simon snarks at him, and the UST that heats up between them that's obvious to the audience but not to these two.
Title: Scrabble
- Author: Martian Housecat
- Fandom: Harry Potter
- Genre: Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is a whimsical, clever look at how wizards, particularly the Slytherins, play Scrabble. The story features an attack bag and a hostile board, plus wonderful bits on the history of competitive Scrabble in the wizarding world. It felt very much like the books, with lots of wonderful details and descriptions.
Title: After Never Too Late
- Author: Sunshiner
- Fandom: Farscape
- Genre: Adventure
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: After the end of Season 3, Crichton goes looking for Aeryn. He's lost and more than a bit cynical, hopeless and insane. He runs into trouble, as usual, and has several discussions with Harvey about Earth culture. Love the Harvey moments, the dispirited cynicism, the way both Harvey and Crichton are written.
Title: Actualize This
- Author: Helena Handbasket
- Fandom: Stargate SG-1/The Sentinel/The Invisible Man
- Genre: Crossover/Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This story made me laugh out loud repeatedly. Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, Danial Jackson, Jack O'Neill, Darien Fawkes and Bobby Hobbes all get stuck going to a government-sponsored program designed to help them improve their communication skills and become better partners. All are there against their will. All get stuck in the same "sharing module". All are very unhappy. Then someone tries to poison them. They don't know which of them was the target, and each has their own suspects that they're unwilling and unable to share with their new partners. All six have to work together to figure out what's going on. Here's a bit to tempt you:
Once they had been relieved of their footwear, the pair began crossing the room, making a direct line for their table. Jim watched closely as the flyboy's nerd leaned in with a wry smile to whisper something to his companion, who exercised great restraint in refusing to laugh. He felt a sudden pang of jealousy as he cast a dubious sideways look at Blair; he was busy chatting up the harpy with a barrage of New-Age buzzwords. Sighing, he looked longingly back at the flyboy's nerd, who was inclining his head towards another Sharing Module that had already been induced to hold hands and chant. The poor bastards had been broken in less than fifteen minutes.
The flyboy couldn't help but laugh at the indicated spectacle and he clapped a hand on his companion's shoulder. Jim sighed, ruefully admitting that this was a totally different breed of nerd than he was used to. This was a nerd with a certain level of decorum. This was a nerd who was not going to deliberately embarrass his partner. This was a nerd that probably picked up his goddamn wet towels and hung them neatly on the rack when he was done in the shower.
Title: The Return of Darkness
- Author: Sandra McDonald
- Fandom: Highlander
- Genre: Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This story ignores Archangel, which is fine by me. About eighty years from now, Richie is married, living in Africa and running a hunting lodge. He gets word from a Watcher that Duncan's been behaving erratically and it may be another dark quickening, and Duncan appears to be heading his way. When he arrives, Duncan tells Richie that he's been stalked by someone who has killed his friends and tried to kill him. Richie has to decide if he wants to believe Duncan and help him or not. Richie's relationship with Duncan is at the heart of this story - he's torn between fear and loyalty, between wanting to believe and the evidence against Duncan. His pain and confusion are very well done, and I found myself wondering what would happen and if it would have a happy ending. A very gripping story.
Title: A Pooka for Two
- Author: Gonzai
- Fandom: Farscape
- Genre: Drama
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is a really interesting idea. Moya's crew finds out that Braca is on the same planet they are, and without much of a guard. They're apparently waiting for a transport to take them to Peacekeeper High Command. Since he doesn't have much of an escort and is keeping a low profile, our heroes deduce that he must be on some sort of secret mission. Naturally they decide to kidnap him and find out what he and Peacekeeper High Command are up to, plus they get the satisfaction of possibly intercepting sensitive intel and disrupting the PKs. There's just one small hitch - Braca's actually a prisoner being taken back for trial. He's been hearing voices and seeing things, and his symptoms strike a chord with John. The plot unravels slowly and easily, letting the reader find things out with Crichton and the crew. The dialogue is great, as is Crichton's reaction to Braca's predicament. I also thought the idea was interesting (I don't want to give it away) and one that I could easily see being done in the show.
Title: Big Damn Zombies, Sir
- Author: Shrift
- Fandom: Firefly
- Genre: Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: The crew goes on shore leave and Jayne comes back a bit the worse for wear. Here's a bit:
"Oh my god," Wash said in mock horror. "Jayne's been zombified!"
"C'mon, Wash, that's just --" Mal started to argue, then stopped right quick when Zoe quirked an eyebrow. "Zombified?"
"Don't rightly know," Zoe said, watching Jayne raggedly turn the corner that led to the crew quarters. "Could be he's been zombified."
"Ain't no such thing," Mal scoffed.
"Braaaiiins," Jayne said, and fell down the ladder leading to his quarters.
Mal stood over the ladder and looked down, his head tilted in sympathy. "Okay, so maybe Jayne got himself zombified. Is his neck supposed to bend like that?"
The rest of the crew has to figure out what happened and how to fix it and get their favorite man-ape-gone-wrong back to what passes for normal for Jayne.
Title: Assessment
- Author: Ana
- Fandom: Firefly
- Genre: Slash
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: After the events of Ariel, Simon figures out that Jayne betrayed them. He devises a plan to keep Jayne happy, believing that if Jayne is happy he won't betray them again. Simon seduces Jayne, but it looks like maybe he's done a bit too well.
Title: Etched
- Author: Sean Smith
- Fandom: X-Files/Alien
- Genre: Crossover, Horror, Action, some MSR
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is an idea that hasn't been explored enough. X-Files meets Alien. It's set early in the series (written in 1995) and explores the idea that the aliens from Alien have landed on earth. Luckily for us they're on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean. When the oil company loses contact with the rig they send out the Coast Guard. When contact is lost with them, Mulder and Scully go out with a bunch of marines for a search and rescue operation that soon goes bad. I personally found the MSR to be annoying, but it's not too bad. There are several files, the link above is just the first. You'll need to read Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
Title: Advanced Masochism 101: How to be Oblivious to the Obvious
- Author: Jenn
- Fandom: Smallville
- Genre: Slashy comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: Jonathan and Martha are out of the house, and Lex and Clark are spending some quality time together. Actually, Lex is trying desperately to remember that Clark is jailbait, while Clark is pining over Lana and driving Lex insane. Very funny story. Love the snark in Lex's voice.
Title: The Very Secret Thoughts of Clark Kent
- Author: Viridian5
- Fandom: Smallville
- Genre: Slash, Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This one is hilarious. Clark Kent, angsty teenager, decides to become a goth so that his exterior will reflect his tortured, brooding, angsty soul. Here's a bit of it:
Life sucks. It sucks more than... some great big sucking thing. When I walked into the kitchen this morning, Dad gave me a great reaction, just totally paralyzed with shock, but Mom said, "Oh, honey, your eyeliner's...." Then she came over to me and smudged it a bit with her finger. Mom!
Still, it looked better afterwards.
School started out well, with Whitney saying that he never would have strung me up in a cornfield if he knew it would lead to this. Lana stared at me with wide eyes and looked more confused than usual. What did I ever see in her?
But Chloe and Pete just died laughing. Pete ragged on the leather pants and ripped-up shirt. At least the eye makeup just made him speechless. Chloe got even bitchier. She kept staring at my eyes and checking out my butt, though. I will never understand girls.
Still, it feels great getting all the oppression against me out in the open instead of pretending. People should stare! I'm an alien, darn it!
And it goes on from there, with everyone reacting to Clark's new look with humor, except for Lex, who thinks it's hot. And funny.
Title: Chicago's Most Wanted
- Author: Speranza
- Fandom: Due South
- Genre: Slash, Comedy, Romance
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: The idea seemed like a good one. They'd put Fraser in jail, undercover, with a known mobster. Fraser, pretending to be a con artist, would get information. But there's a problem - Fraser gets hit on the head, loses his memory and believes he really is a con artist. He breaks himself and his cellmate out of jail. Then, Fraser takes over the gang and becomes a criminal mastermind who robs corporations and gives the money to charity. Meanwhile, RayK has to catch him and help him regain his memory, and Fraser becomes convinced that Ray is actually his lover. The story is hilarious, the plot and characterization and dialogue are all great, and it has the same quirky feel as the series.
Title: Growing Season
- Author: Kathleen Anne
- Fandom: Good Omens
- Genre: Comedy
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: This is a sweet, funny little story in which we find out that Crowley is able to terrorize houseplants into growing well, while Aziraphale actually has a bit of a black thumb. The story shows the friendship between the angel and the demon, and has some wonderful lines in it. I laughed more than once. Great fun. And it's nice to know that even angels have black thumbs, because I've done the same to the poor plants that have fallen into my hands over the years.
Title: The Not-So-Secret Thoughts of a Bored Kourier
- Author: Selena Ulrich
- Fandom: Snow Crash
- Genre: Slash
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: I really love the book Snow Crash by noted cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson. And I always wondered about the relationship between Vitaly Chernobyl and Hiro Protagonist, and it looks like I'm not the only one. This is a short little vignette where YT wonders what the two of them get up to in their spare time.
Title: Lovely
- Author: Martha
- Fandom: Stargate SG-1/The Sentinel
- Genre: Crossover, drama, horror
- Added: August 20, 2003
- Why I liked it: Another story with Lovecraftian overtones from Martha. This story takes place in SG-1's universe shortly after the episode "The Light". Six months after the team returned home, Daniel disappeared without a trace. He's found by Blair Sandburg, who rescues him from mysterious attackers and takes him home. He and Jim quickly find out that not only are the Air Force, FBI and NID looking for Daniel, but so are some other, much scarier folks. It's interesting seeing Daniel through Blair and Jim's eyes. It's also interesting to see Teal'c interact with Blair. I thought the characterization here was great, and the plot was interesting and new. Plus, how many times do you get to see the Hounds of Tindalos?
Title: Affirmations
- Author: Viridian5
- Fandom: X-Files
- Genre: Slash (Mulder/Krycek)
- Why I liked it: An old favorite. Psycho!Krycek decides to play with Mulder. Great dark humor through the story, especially from Krycek, who is offended at the quality of the killings he's assigned.
Title: Stuck in the Muddle with You (Slytherin Study Group #2)
- Author: Rabbit and Jinx
- Fandom: Harry Potter
- Genre: Humor
- Why I liked it: This is part of a series about the adventures of the Slytherin Study Group, led by (naturally) Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, and their battles with their arch-rivals the Gryffindors, particularly James Potter and Sirius Black. The series is hilarious, but I think this one is my favorite. In this story, the Slytherin Study Group are having problems preparing for their final in Transfiguartions, which involves turning a footstool into a sheep. They decide to cheat - they'll get some sheep, turn them into footstools, then "transfigure" them into sheep again. Problem is, the Gryffindors thought of the same thing. And the sheep really don't want to cooperate. This is followed up by the hilarious Ramifications, in which both groups have to face punishment for their actions. Among other things, we get some great scenes of a stoned Snape, who messed up a potion. Great fun.
Title: Aberforth's Folly
- Author: QuizzicalSphinx
- Fandom: Harry Potter/ Cthulhu Mythos
- Genre: Horror/Comedy
- Why I liked it: Well, I hate linking to fanfiction.net because their interface sucks so badly, but that's where most of the HP stories appear to be, unfortunately. This is a very short, humorous story written in Lovecraftian style about Albus Dumbledore's brother and his adventures with a goat. If you're familiar with Lovecraft you'll find it hilarious. If not, you'll still find it funny. So go read it. And if you find it elsewhere, let me know.
Title: Conspiracy of Silence
- Author: Nomad
- Fandom: Harry Potter
- Genre: Drama
- Why I liked it: This is actually a series of stories following the life of young Severus Snape. It begins his first year at Hogwarts, and each story is a new year. Severus may be one of the good guys, but he's definitely morally ambiguous here, even willing to let others die if saving them will mean exposing himself. He's a very interesting, layered character. And his relationship with semi-sidekick Lily Evans is a great deal of fun as well.
Title: East of Hezmana
- Author: The Whole Brain
- Fandom: Farscape
- Genre: Gen/Adventure. Script format
- Why I liked it: Set during the time that John, Aeryn, Rygel and Stark were on Talyn with Crais. Stark goes crazier than usual after eating fruit, and odd things start happening aboard Talyn.
Title: Disruption
- Author: Huzzlewhat
- Fandom: Farscape
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: Set after "Fractures" but before the final four of S3. Remember Jenavian Chatto? She was the Peacekeeper Disruptor from the "Look at the Princess" trilogy? She's back, and Moya and Talyn's crews have screwed up one of her missions. So she ends up with them, in a position where she's somewhat liked and somewhat trusted, but still not. She has to draw her own conclusions about what's happening around her, and she's often off the mark. Still, it's an interesting POV. Especially when members of the crew are captured and Janavian must fight her fellow Peacekeepers to help rescue them.
Title: Identity Crisis
- Author: Alara Rogers
- Fandom: Farscape
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A short little vignette about what it's like to be Harvey. He's not quite Scorpius, he's not quite John. He's a Sebacean/Scarran/Human psychological hybrid and even he's not quite sure who or what he is. He's not even sure if he's real.
Title:  Shadow Over Westchester
- Author: Kerrie Smith
- Fandom: X-Men
- Genre: AU, Horror
- Why I liked it: This is an odd AU - a crossover between the X-Men and H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. We have mutants as well as Great Old Ones, Elder Gods and Deep Ones. Very creepy story, and quite effective. Set when young Bobby Drake first comes to the school and meets his fellow students in 1966. He soon begins to suspect something is wrong, and boy is he right!
Title: Merv Pumpkinhead's Night Out
- Author: Michael Berry
- Fandom: Sandman
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: This is actually profic, kinda. It was written for an Sandman anthology that was killed or something. So the author posted it on the web. It's a simple little story about what Merv (the handyman around Dream's castle) does on his night off. Merv is a great character.
Title: Gehenna
- Author: Maayan
- Fandom: Farscape
- Genre: Drama
- Why I liked it: I think Farscape is a great show, but there's very little fic out there for it. And most of the fic is pretty awful. So I've been looking all over for something to rec from this fandom and finally came up with one. This story is set ten cycles in the future, and Crichton and Chiana are the only ones left. It's a very dark look at how they could evolve and what they could become. Considering how Crichton moves further from who he was the first season, I can see this happening.
Title: Unsleeping
- Author: Martha Taylor
- Fandom: The Sentinel
- Genre: horror
- Why I liked it: I've just been in a mood for horror lately, and really good horror is hard to find. But this is it. It's got a definite Lovecraftian influence and I'm a big Lovecraft fan, so I really enjoyed that angle. The story starts out with a bang - literally. Blair is taken hostage by a college student trying to smuggle a book out of the library and Jim is forced to kill the kid. Then Blair learns the student may have been part of a cult and encounters a girl who is being stalked and harassed by her classmates, and it just goes downhill from there. The action is nonstop, and it's got a major creep factor. Good dialogue and characterization too. Yeah, Blair gets to play the boy hostage, but he's not femininized at all and manages to get in more than his fair share of punches.
Title: Snake Oil
- Author: Martha
- Fandom: The Sentinel
- Genre: Horror
- Why I liked it: Another horror story from Martha, and one that's creepy and spooky enough that I had to stay up all night to finish it. And after I finished it I was still freaked out enough that I wanted to sleep with the lights on. The plot's rather simple - after a vacation to California, both Jim and Blair begin having nightmares and Jim starts acting strangely. Blair has to find out what's going on before he ends up dead. The plot definitely held my interest, the characters were very real, and the dialogue was right on.
Title: X-Manson
- Author: Benway
- Fandom: X-Men
- Genre: Horror
- Why I liked it: An interesting idea - what if the X-Men were a cult? This is a very dystopic view of the gang, told as a special report on the goings on at cult headquarters in Westchester. This is a world where Charles Xavier is a cross between Charles Manson and Jim Jones, and the rest of the X-Men are equally twisted. Very effective, hard-hitting story.
Title: Snow, Glass, Apples
- Author: Neil Gaiman
- Fandom: None
- Genre: horror
- Why I liked it: This isn't fanfiction, but it is a short story by Neil Gaiman, who is pretty much a god, and it's available for free on the web. It's a retelling of the story os Snow White, from her stepmother's point of view. A completely different take on the fairy tale, one that's both creepy and disturbing. Good Halloween reading.
Title: Elementary Biology
- Author: Siubhan
- Fandom: ST: Voyager
- Genre: Slash, mpreg
- Why I liked it: Those who know me are probably passing out at the thought that I'm reccing a mpreg story. But there's a reason - it's a parody that hits every godawful cliche in the genre and neatly skewers it. Chakotay and Paris want to have oodles of babies, while the rest of the crew acts as the voice of reason. It can easily be read as readers confronting those who write this sort of story, not that they're likely to pay any more attention than Paris and Chakotay here. One of my favorite parts was here:
A month later, Chakotay stepped into the turbolift to find Tuvok already there, glaring at him.
"Is there a problem, Mister Tuvok?"
"What you and Mister Paris have done defies all logic."
"We have love. We don't need logic," Chakotay countered.
"On the contrary. From what I have observed of Human love, logic is sorely needed by your species, especially when it comes to breeding."
"Love isn't complete without children!"
"And why, pray tell, is that?"
"Well...just because!" Chakotay thundered.
"So true love requires breeding for completion."
"That's right."
"What of infertile couples?"
"They're tragic and should be pitied."
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. And what of people who choose not to be parents."
"I'm sure they'd change their minds if they had children."
"I take it you do not see the logical flaw in your argument."
"I already told you, we have love! We don't need logic!" The turbolift doors opened, and Chakotay stormed out.
Tuvok raised his eyebrow once more and suppressed the urge to swear.
Title: Ender's Game
- Author: Orson Scott Card
- Fandom: None
- Why I liked it: I know, I know, it isn't fan fiction. But still, it's online at long last. This is the short story that OSC wrote years and years ago. He later expanded it into the novel Ender's Game , which currently has four sequels. It's one of my favorite books, and I really enjoyed reading the original short story online. The story takes place in the future. Years ago, Earth was attacked and nearly destroyed by a mysterious alien race. Now it's time for the final battle. The best and brightest children have been selected and sent to Battle School, where they are trained as soldiers and learn tactics, strategy and survival skills in order to prepare them for the battle ahead. The original story focuses on Ender Wiggins, while later novels focus on his team as well as his family.
Title: The Seventh Age
- Author: David Hearne
- Fandom: X-Files
- Genre: Rated R for some sex and violence. Post-Colonization sci-fi
- Why I Liked It: It's hard to find good science fiction, and that's what this story is. It's sort of AU, post-colonization, but the heart of it is old fashioned SF. The story is about a futuristic character who begins a quest for the mythical Fox Mulder. The grammar is a bit jarring, but it's done on purpose. The story is science fiction, thriller and mystery, and does a good job of examining what it means to be human. Here's the opening, which hooked me immediately:
Fox Mulder started out in our life as a hobby.
Before we actually met him, we had spent a year or so at the task of finding
out who he was. It was an investigation done strictly for the sake of
curiousity and amusement. We started our research after seeing "Fox Mulder
Lives" painted on a public wall. This was the hundreth time we had seen such
a thing. A sanitation crew had already arrived to clean it away. As we
watched those words disappear under the applicaiton of a disinfectant, we
wondered about its meaning. Why was it popping up everywhere around D.C. --
on the outside of banks, on the sides of alleys, across the sidewalks near
Stabilizer Headquarters, in public bathrooms, over posters announcing The
Two Worlds Fesitval? Just who was Fox Mulder supposed to be? we asked
ourselves. Did he even exist?
Title: Reveille
- Author: The Lady of Shalott
- Fandom: Stargate SG-1
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it: As you may have guessed, I'm a sucker for good characterization and well-written dialogue. This story has both. The plot is fairly straightforward - while on a mission, Daniel and Jack end up with a telepathic link. Hilarity ensues. But the story goes deeper than that, and tries to show the reality of what it would be like to have an unwanted telepathic bond with someone who is very different from you. I think she got Jack nailed here, as well as Daniel. There are some wonderfully funny moments, as well as bith that made me think very seriously about the subject. Don't get me wrong, the story isn't all doom and gloom. It's mostly fun. But not as fluffy as it appears to be on the surface.
Title: True North
- Author: Crysothemis
- Fandom: Due South
- Genre: Slash (m/m)
- Why I liked it: A Due South story, pairing Fraser and RayK, set after the end of the series. Like the story above, the plotline is fairly simple, but the execution is what makes it special. Ray finds out that Fraser loves him and freaks. He then begins to reexamine their relationship, and decides to give it a try. There are lots of lovely details here, and the author avoids the easy cliches that are often found in first time fic. To me, the relationship felt very realistic, and I also thought she did a great job at making the story feel very concrete and real.
Title: Epiphaneia
- Author: Lanning Cook
- Fandom: The Sentinel
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it: This is a Sentinel story, set after the end of the series. Jim has decided to get Blair his old job back, and also decides to get drunk. Blair, on the other hand, finds out his application to the academy was turned down, and he really doesn't care. He and Jim discuss what to do next. Like the other stories above, this one blends humor and pathos. There were places where I laughed out loud, and some where I sniffled. I thought she did a great job with the characterization, letting both guys be vulnerable and human but not at all sappy. Good dialogue too. Here's the opening, to try and tease you in:
"And then she says, `Mr. Ellison, if you don't leave my office immediately I'll be forced to call Security.'"
Jim rested his chin on the table and pressed his nose to the tequila bottle to share a nasty snicker with his only companion. The addressed party floated with tranquil abandon near
the bottom of the bottle - apparently not amused, if Jim were any judge of invertebrate facial expressions. That was the thing about worms. No sense of humor. But they made
great listeners.
Title: VC-25A
- Author: Punk and Sabine
- Fandom: The West Wing
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: West Wing fic! And one that gets the dialogue down well, to boot. Plus, and this is my favorite part, it features Lionel Tribbey. I'm still upset that he seems to have disappeared from the series. I liked him and his cricket bat.
Title: The Lost Boys Archive
- Author: Misc
- Fandom: The Lost Boys
- Genre: Slash, incest
- Why I liked it: Okay, so this isn't so much a story rec as it is an archive rec. Te has collected some truly awesome slash based upon the movie "The Lost Boys", which is one of my favorites. The movie blends horror and humor, and the combination has always held a strong appeal for me. The stories here are all dark, moody and well-written, and I absolutely adore each and every one of them.
Title: Claiming
- Author: Sleeps With Coyotes
- Fandom: Sleepy Hollow
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it:I've just been in a gothic mood lately. I'll probably have lots of humorous recs ready to go for Halloween at this rate. Anyway, believe it or not, this is slash based upon the Tim Burton movie "Sleepy Hollow." Yes, you heard me right. The one with Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken. The pairing is Ichabod Crane/the Headless Horseman. Again, you heard me right. It's a moody, detailed, beautiful story though, and has an interesting plot to boot. I was intrigued from the very first, captured by the lovely descriptions and the tensions between the characters. I think this fic captures the surreal feel of the movie, particularly the parts that take place inside the tree. I'll leave it at that, hoping I've managed to get you curious.
Title: China
- Author: Torch
- Fandom: Highlander/X-Files
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it:There aren't enough superlatives in the world to describe Torch's writing. She's got such talent with words, with description, with details, with characters, and with dialogue that she's one of the best slash writers out there. I know many people rec her X-Files story Ghosts, and with good reason. But China is just as good. It's an X-Files/Highlander crossover featuring Methos and Mulder. Like Ghosts, it reads almost like an episode of the X-Files, back when it was good, but with an NC-17 twist. The story starts out simple - Mulder and Scully are called to a strange town because of strange happenings, like frogs raining from the sky. Mulder is attracted to a stranger who arrived in town just before the strange things started happening. More strange things follow. It's long, but well worth the time.
Title: Dead Letters Home
- Author: Misc
- Fandom: Misc
- Genre: n/a
- Why I liked it:Again, this isn't really a story, it's an archive. The idea is simple: you kill off a character, then let them write a letter to anyone they want. The letters range from funny to touching, from sad to angry. They're all short, and I've really enjoyed all of the ones I've read so far.
Title: Rapture
- Author: Wombat
- Fandom: Highlander/X-Files
- Genre: Slash
- Why I liked it: Another crossover, this time between the X-Files and Highlander. The pairing is Methos/Mulder (am I the only one who thinks they have the same nose?). And again, it works. A long, in-depth story about a group of Immortals planning the end of the world. I really can't do this plot justice, because it's so intricate and twisty. It reads like an X-rated episode of one of the series.
Title: Done With Mirrors
- Author: Poi Lass
- Fandom: Tales of the Common People
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it:This one is from the TCP (Tales of the Common People) fandom, a splinter of the Marvel Universe. It's short, poetic, dark and disturbing. I adore the imagery and the rhythm of the words, as well as what they're saying.
Title: Nevermore
- Author: queenB
- Fandom: Sandman
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: A story about Matthew from Sandman (the Vertigo comic book). I've always liked Matthew, and this is a nice little story. Well, kind of disturbing, but nice.
Title: Look Upon My Works, Ye Mighty
- Author: DarkMark
- Fandom: Watchmen
- Genre: Gen
- Why I liked it: This Watchmen story is a look at the warped mind of Ozymandias, post-Watchmen. It's an interesting and well-thought idea about what will happen to Adrian Veidt, and how he's haunted by what he's done. I think I'm going to dig out all the old comics and re-read Moore's work, yet again.