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The FOP Job by Mara G
[Leverage/The Dark Knight]
Two cops walk into bar.... A completely awesome conversation between Jim Gordon and DC Bonanno re: dealing with highly effective vigilantes and how to cope.

graven with diamonds in letters plain by angelqueen04
[The Tudors]
Another of the Anne Bolyne AUs I adore -- what if Anne had simply stepped aside after the miscarriage of her son? Written in epistolary form; the language isn't quite perfect, but it works, and I prefer this version of history (okay, technically it's The Tudors fanfic, but it's close enough). :) KikiRec

From the Last to the First by hiddencait
[Aliens]
Post-Aliens, sequelwhatsequel, Hicks/Ripley fic. Marines vs Weyland-Yutani -- my money's on the Marines. NC-17 at the end.

Lunch, amongst other things by seren_ccd
[Primeval]
Probably my favorite Jess/Becker fic -- very cute, very sweet and quite hot at the end, with lovely characterization all around. NC-17 eventually.

Movin' Right Along by serenelystrange
[Leverage]
Road trip with Eliot, and Hardison and Parker tag along for the ride. Great Eliot characterization, crackling dialogue and charming little bits of business, as well as an end line that should make you laugh a lot.

Survivor by Sholio
[White Collar]
Survival story with El as the heroine of the day, when a bad guy runs El and Peter's car off the road in the wilderness. Really good El, obviously.

The Stars My Destination by Mad_Maudlin
[Stargate: Atlantis]
A phenomenal fusion of the Stargate Atlantis charcaters into the Star Trek: AOS universe; the Atlantis characters mirror the Trek characters without ever losing themselves, and the twists and turns of the plot are familiar without being predictable. KikiRec

Clint Eastwood's Best Move by OnYourMark
[White Collar]
A good story on its own, but even better as a set-up for the really good sequel Sign Language for Cops (aka, Neal Goes to Quantico). KikiRec

Smoke on the Water by ratherastory
[Burn Notice/Supernatural]
"Former spy Michael Westen has enough problems of his own not least of which is figuring out who burned him and why. Now, on top of that, his mother is accepting jobs on his behalf. He really doesn't have time for this, but when he starts investigating the unsolved deaths of young people in Miami, he finds himself crossing paths with an unlikely pair of brothers." Fiona is woefully underused, making this very much a "Boy's Day Out", but Michael's POV is dead-on (and makes it easier for non-SPN fen to get into the story). KikiRec Please note the corrected author!

RE: Fraternizaton Regulations by boosette
[Star Trek: AOS]
A screamingly funny Day in the Life email fic, with bonus!Rand. KikiRec

Not Always by Miss Yetigoosecreature
[Discworld]
Sam and Sybil's "courtship". Sam is just about exactly as incompetant as you'd think. Poor Sam.

The Prudent Motive by Malini
[Pride & Prejudice]
A fascinating AU: Elizabeth accepts Darcy after The Most Insulting Proposal in History, then has to live with her decision. Written nearly to Austen's standards, with lovely twists and a wonderful dose of romance.

Nothing Says "Feel Better Soon" Like Grand Larceny by OnYourMark
[White Collar]
When a bad guy takes a shot at Elizabeth to scare Peter off of a case, he gets way more than he bargained for -- Neal and Mozzie proceed to rain holy hell down on him. Amusing, sweet and altogether awesome. KikiRec

Tilted by alyse
[Primeval]
"There are only three of them now, although some days it feels like two and one. Her and Connor, and then Cutter, lost out there on his own." Lovely Abby POV in the aftermath of series 2.

Five Days That Were Difficult and One That Wasn't by Fahye
[How to Train Your Dragon]
"These days Stoick liked to clap Hiccup heartily on the shoulder, and then, once Hiccup had picked himself up off the ground and stopped wincing, declare that not even impossibility could stop his son." Post-movie goodness.

Time Is Out of Joint by jesterlady
[Doctor Who]
"Rory has lived many lives and their memories clash and splinter and flow into one another and it can be very hard to remember who he really is." I love fics that address Rory's centuries of memories, and this is a good one.

The Five-0 Job by Tassoss
[Leverage/Hawaii Five-0]
Another fun tassoss crossover. Do not try to make the plot make sense, because it doesn't (which is fine, because H50 plots almost never make sense), but enjoy Danny being driven absolutely nuts by events out of his control and a bunch of thieves telling him to relax. :)

Flicking Switches by Shane Vansen
[Haven]
Lovely slow Audrey/Nathan fic. AU from Season 2.

Contractions and Split Infinitives by P.I.D.
[Tangled]
Adorkable Rapulzelness, with Flynn and lots of princesses.

Noticing by niftywithanN
[Dresden Files/Batman]
"In which Gentleman John Marcone is bored, a disturbance at a Chicago charity ball catches the attention of a certain Dark Knight, and Harry Dresden is late." Crossover-y goodness! KikiRec

Rowing in Eden by ancarett
[Thor (2011)]
Lovely long fic: Jane works to repair the Bifrost Bridge before Midgard is once again cut off -- with Thor on the other side.

 

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 -- used here to indicate a story's 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 often 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 -- used here to indicate a story's 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.