current recs | definitions | buffy/angel | doctor who | farscape | firefly | gilmore girls | harry potter
justice league/batman | the magnificent 7 | smallville | stargate atlantis | stargate sg-1 | supernatural | veronica mars
the west wing | the x-men | crossovers | books | movies | random fandom | authors | archives

The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down by Merlin Missy
[Who Framed Roger Rabbit/Miscellaneous]
This is sick, twisted and utterly brilliant. Words cannot express.... Jessica Rabbit is accused of the murder of 'digi' Lara Croft, and Roger, with the help of young Freddie Valiant, swings into action to clear her name and catch the killer. A fabulous update of the movie, incorporating modern characters and animation and twisting it all together. A must-read. (References to all kinds of adult material, but seriously, they go by so fast you'll just snicker, throw popcorn and move on.)

Honor Amongst Thieves by Cleo the Muse
[Stargate SG-1]
I love this story. I want to hug it and snuggle it and feed it cookies. A more than novel-length AU of a Daniel Jackson who wasn't returned from Ascension to SG-1, but was instead found on a world in the middle of nowhere, where he meets up with one Vala Mal Doran. Plotty and funny and romantic and awesome -- Daniel the Pirate is almost as cool as the author thinks he is, his partnership with Vala is great fun, and there's lots of SG-1 in the background (including Jonas!). Daniel/Vala all the way.

Numb3rs 1 Through 30 by jennamajig
[NUMB3RS]
"He was nine when his three-year-old brother could do his math homework." Don's life, the pieces that we have woven together beautifully enough that it works as my personal canon.

Walk Like a Man by hkath
[Supernatural]
Dean gets cursed to the mental age of 10, but it takes Sam a while to notice. < snerk > It all kind of snowballs from there: the virgins, the breading, the space ninjas.... KikiRec

The Presence of Absence by Holy Lulalicious
[Gilmore Girls]
"'I love you,' she says simply. She doesn't know if it'll matter, doubts that it will fix anything, but she's learned tonight that she can have the strength she's always thought she had if she's willing to be weak for just a moment." Very good, if quite angsty, L/L.

Face in the Crowd by saestina
[Heroes]
Saestina made a logical leap on the consequences of Claire's powers (well before it played out on-screen), then spun the story out with power and poetry.

A Whisper to the Living by Xparrot
[Psych]
Certainly not a happyfun!Psych fic, but a thoughtful, sober futurefic, nicely executed. Character deaths, don't read if you can't cope, but they happen offstage.

Day Has Gone Down by Izhilzha
[NUMB3RS]
Megan after Colby's confession, looking for something that hasn't changed on her. A beautiful Megan piece, with Larry used very well.

Hop, Skip and a Jump by Nestra
[Stargate Atlantis/Doctor Who]
If your team was trapped on a Wraith ship, would you want to run into The Doctor and Martha? Yeah, I'm not sure, either. But it'd be interesting :)

Tradition! by bellatemple
[Supernatural]
Oh, you actually expected the Winchesters to have normal Christmas traditions? Yeah, not so much with that.

Unspoken by Sally Reeve
[The West Wing]
A painful, serious, thoughtful, excellent Josh/Donna novella -- it's the Santos administration and Josh and Donna do a lot of talking, but not much listening, until everything implodes. Absorbing, but way angsty.

Where Ever I May Roam by irenak
[Doctor Who]
Silly dialogue-fic of phone calls and text messages between the Doctor, Martha and half the population of Cardiff. Very giggly with awesome voices. KikiRec

The Fugitive by Zubeneschamali
[NUMB3RS]
Novel-length AU -- Don Eppes winds up on the run for a murder he didn't commit, chased by a determined FBI agent. It's not at all a rehash of the Fugitive movie or series (although there are homages); the plot plays out relentlessly and logically within the NUMB3RS universe, with Don's family and team at home doing their best to clear his name. Javier is a well-drawn original character and Don is beautifully portrayed. (I didn't care for the epilogue, but YMMV; you'll probably be able to see it coming and can decide for yourself whether you want to go there.)

last beautiful girl (in the world) by mardia
[Ugly Betty]
"The first time Daniel sleeps with Betty Suarez is in his office. No, not like that." This is a lovely fic that encapsulates everything I adore about Daniel's friendship with Betty.

Five Times Jack Harkness Never Interfered With Rose Tyler's Timeline (and One Time That He Did) by travels_in_time
[Doctor Who]
Pretty much just what the title says; Jack in London, watching Rose grow up. Bittersweet and so very Jack. KikiRec

Pieces of the Dead by David Hines
[Transformers (Movieverse)]
A buddy roadtrip with Sam and Optimus Prime on the surface, but with deeper, poignant themes running underneath. Perfect voices on all of the characters, and a lot of relationships are addressed very nicely.

Take a Long Line by Derry
[NUMB3RS/Supernatural]
Don Eppes arrests Dean Winchester, but there's a lot more to the story. The universe integration works by not trying too hard; Charlie's math does some of the thinking that you've always wanted the FBI guys on Supernatural to do, and everyone's voices are spot on.

Plumber's Helper by Sholio
[Stargate: Atlantis]
The earliest days of the Atlantis expedition, and McKay and company struggle with that most essential element of survival -- getting the bathrooms to work. As usual, Sholio's touch with character voices is right on; drama and humor are interwoven nicely.

Misappropriation of Lives by Milena D
[Stargate SG-1]
SG-1 is kidnapped by Ba'al, but things get worse when the Goa'uld who once captured Vala wants her back. Dark fic in many ways, but also a strong Daniel/Vala story; there's a few authorial choices I mildly disagree with, but overall, it's a good read.

Alone by DawningStar
[NUMB3RS]
Surreal, but with a purpose -- a drugged Colby hallucinates, before and after his rescue. But he's got Charlie to tell him what's real or not. Well, sort of. The style and mood will draw you in, and really capture Colby's probable mental state.

While We Tell of Yuletide Treasure
A few of my favorite stories from this year's Yuletide ficathon. It's by no means all of the good stuff -- go read!

Q&A by Medie
[Batman Begins]
Vicky Vale doesn't believe Bruce burned down Wayne Manor. Actually, there's a lot Vicki doesn't believe.... Really nice -- someone with a brain picking apart the holes in Batman's cover.

Not a Cat Person by googlebrat
[Discworld]
Tiffany gave Granny Weatherwax a kitten, even though Esme isn't a cat person. No. Definitely not. Uh-uh.

The Accordian Makes All the Difference by Mousapelli
[The Dresden Files (books)]
Murphy gives Harry an unexpected present, but Harry suspects that Thomas is really behind it. Murphy/Harry, awesomely so.

Familiarity by Marien
[The Dresden Files (books)]
Awww! Mister teaches puppy Mouse how to hunt (with a little help). So adorable!

Auld Lang Syne by Irena K
[The Dresden Files (TV)]
Harry gets an urgent phone call from Murphy that ends in gunshots -- and takes place 11 days in the future. Nice characterization and plotting, and a particularly lovely use of Bob.

Festival Day by Lys
[Fall of Ile-Rien]
Tremaine's first festival in Cineth, and she's going to bake the bread. Ilias finds this much funnier than he should, really.

A Vote for Survival by Mara
[Liaden]
After the events of "I Dare," Miri's got something to say to Val Con. And boy, will he be surprised.

By No Miracle or Majestic Means by Riko
[Vorkosigan]
Ivan foils a terrorist plot. Well, sort of.

 

AU -- alternate universe. Stories which diverge from the show's canon in one way or another (a character doesn't die, a character does die, the setting is different, etc).

Babyfic -- A main character is either pregnant, had a baby, or found one on their doorstep. I have a sneaking fondness for many of these, but I'll warn you first.

BDM -- Firefly fandom shorthand for the Big Damn Movie (ie, Serenity). Not the other thing you were thinking; get your mind out of the gutter!

Canon -- facts, settings and relationships verified by what has actually aired on the series in question. Jack O'Neill was a POW, Chris Larabee's wife and son were murdered, Max, Michael and Isabel are aliens, Josh Lyman and Sam Seaborn met long before the campaign -- that's all canon. Anything that fans have inferred without direct evidence or have completely made up is non-canon (and often AU).

Crackfic -- a story with a premise so out there, that it's obvious the author must have been smoking some serious monkeycrack. Crackfics tend to be crossovers or AUs; they will be either brilliant or appallingly bad.

Crossover -- a story based on the characters or universes of two separate fandoms; i.e., The X-Files/Due South, The West Wing/Stargate SG-1, Angel/The Dead Zone, Hercules/Buffy (I'm not making any of these up; in fact, I wrote one of them).

Episode Continuation -- just what it sounds like. A story that fills in a missing scene or continues on from the end of an aired episode. Also known as a tag.

Fanon -- any 'facts' about a character or series that are not supported by the series canon, but have been floating around for so long, or have been used in so much fic, that the majority of the fandom accepts them as truth. Examples: Daniel Jackson's coffee addiction; Duncan MacLeod living in Seacouver.

Gen -- used here to designate a story in which romantic relationships play a minimal to nonexistant role in the plot. Everything I rec may usually be assumed to meet this definition of gen unless otherwise stated.

H/C -- hurt/comfort. Beat your characters up emotionally or physically, then let them make each other all better. See Whumping.

Het -- focus on a romantic relationship between two people of opposite genders (ie, non-slash). Anything with a ship that I rec may be presumed to be het unless otherwise stated.

Jossed -- a story (or writer) has been jossed when it has been made AU by events in canon after it was written. Named for Joss Whedon, who made a habit of declaring earthquake in Buffy canon so often that writing fanfic within that canon was an exercise in willpower and frustration.

Kidfic -- 1) One or more main characters are reduced to physical childhood (mental/emotional is frequent, but optional). 2) One or more main characters find themselves with custody of one or more small children, ala "Three Men and a Baby". 3) The story centers around the children of one or more main characters (parentage usually depends on whom the author ships). Any of these can be fun/WAFFy/cool if done correctly (your odds drop sharply with 3, but I've seen it pulled off). They can also be appallingly bad; approach with extreme caution.

KikiRec -- don't just take my word for it; my sometime partner-in-crime recommended these fics, too.

Mary Sue -- the most hated woman in fanfic. Essentially an original character who is the personification of the author -- only more perfect, beautiful and lovable than the author could ever hope to be. (The male version is thankfully more rare, and known as Gary/Marty Stu.) It can be done well, but 98% of the time, it's not. Also known as a self-insertion character. Note: Original character does not necessarily equal Mary Sue; it depends on the author and the story.

Original Character -- a non-canon character created by, and belonging to, the author.

Pre-slash: In many slash-heavy fandoms, this categorization is often sooper sekrit code for 'gen'. Anything with this heading may be worth a shot if you're a non-slasher. POV -- point of view; the character(s) through whose eyes we see the story.

Schmoopy -- containing emotions bordering on the treacly; perhaps a tad overly sweet for the educated palate. But WAFFy as all hell, nonetheless.

'Shipper -- a person or fic dedicated to a particular romantic relationship; i.e., Sam/Jack, Josh/Donna, John/Aeryn.

Slash -- emphasis on a non-canon romantic relationship between two characters of the same gender. Usually labeled m/m or f/f.

Smarm/Swarm -- emphasis on friendship between two or more guys (hugging, h/c, moral support, etc.) without implications of slash.

Smut -- used very affectionately to refer to stories containing NC-17/explicit sex.

UC -- unconventional couple; a romantic pairing not explicitly supported by show canon, or not usually accepted by the majority of the fandom; i.e., Tara/Spike, Carson/Teyla, Chloe/Lex.

WAFF -- warm and fuzzy feeling. That glow of happiness/idiotic grin carried around after reading a particularly sweet/touching scene.

Whumping -- gratuitous physical or mental abuse of a character for the sole (or nearly sole) purpose of setting up H/C (i.e., so everyone else can angst interminably about it). Go read Sarah B's hilarious poem Gunga Dunne to get the real meaning of Whumping.

Willow Sue -- a particularly virulent form of the Mary Sue, in which a canon character is warped beyond all recognition to fulfill the needs/desires of the author, who is severely overidentifying. Named for the most prevalent iteration, but present in most fandoms. (Male form usually known as the Xander or Harry Stu, or a similar variation.)

WIP -- work in progress.

YMMV -- your mileage may vary, which is pretty much the motto of this page. Opinions presented by the reccer don't necessarily reflect yours, and I'm okay with that.