Labyrinth

Perchance To by PurpleRhino
In the incredible slush pile of Jareth/Sarah shipper fic that is Labyrinth fanfic, I found one or two gems. The author takes the Labyrinth's arrogant, obnoxious, control-freak Goblin King and places him in the larger context of the Sidhe and the entire Fae world. Drop Sarah into the mix, add a kick-ass kitsune and a Sidhe lord that makes Jareth look restrained and well-adjusted, and you've got an intricately plotted story with incredible characterization. This, I buy. It'll probably never be finished, but I'll still read it. This has disappeared. Always hoping it will be reposted.

Dark Labyrinth by Helen Fayle
Helen's story returns to the Labyrinth, but this time, Jareth is on the wrong side of the game. Deposed from his throne, his only help comes from an old friend (the hugely entertaining OC Devin) and an old enemy -- Sarah Williams. Oh, and a bunch of really funny little goblins. The Goblin King is nicely characterized, arrogant and irritating, but more mature and infinitely cooler; the villains are real and threatening, and the writing is top notch, with dialogue you can hear the actors delivering.

A Forfeit of Dreams by K.L. Morgan
Sarah returns to the Labyrinth to save a friend, but as Sarah has changed, so has the Labyrinth, and the price for failure may be too high to pay. The compelling plot owes much to the movie, but only in homage -- the elements are original and intricate. Familiar characters are solid and strong, new characters take on life the moment they're introduced, and Jareth is as enigmatic, intricate, arrogant, and seductive as ever.

Alice [SyFy]

Crumbs in the Butter by Spatz
Jack and the Duchess' wedding is a bit more exciting than anyone bargained for. Lots of Alice/Hatter, and a very cute adventure. Yuletide 2010

Phantomwise by Fahye
Alice and Hatter are called back to shore up Jack's reign. Then the Tweedles escape and all hell breaks loose.

Phantomwise by Fahye
"Hatter's tried to explain the problem that Wonderland folk have with standing between two mirrors, but none of it makes a lot of sense. It's something that you don't do, something to do with memories, and Alice can't quite tell if it's anything more than superstition." Solid adventure.

Lord of the Rings

The Mushrooms by Baylor
I'm not much for LotR fic, Baylor's work is too sweet and entertaining to resist. A Word of Caution Regarding Hobbits got me started, with it's wonderful Legolas voice, but everything she's written is worth a few minutes of your time. Such a relief from all of the angst!

As Sunshine Falls on the Wretched by KivrinEngle
A very young Bilbo finds himself unexpectedly forced to take in a even younger Dwarf who's been separated from his family. Beautiful and heartbreaking and wonderful au. NomadRec

Snowdrops and Bluebells by Regina L
Lots of good stuff got left on the cutting room floor, including most of Faramir and Eowyn's story. Regina supplies it to us, in a convincing and gorgeous journey through Eowyn's heart, along with a touching look at Merry and Eowyn's relationship after the battles. One of my favorite fics ever. (For an outside POV, try the companion story A Spring Faire in Minas Tirith.)

The Owner's Guide Series by Theresa Green
Just got a new Legolas? Worried how to keep your Aragorn at the peak of his performance? Not sure how to get the most mileage out of your hobbits? Theresa is here to help, in this series of hilarious manuals that will let you get the best out of your fictional men! (Heavy slash references, but don't let that worry you -- you'll be laughing too hard to care.)

Return on the King: LOTR: Breadbox Edition by Evadne
The short and hilarious version of the movie, with all of the snide comments you know you wanted to make when you were watching it, no matter how much you loved it! Read in public at your own risk -- there's a real danger of falling off your chair laughing. Many other Breadboxes also available.

DM of the Rings by Shamus Young
Okay, this also doesn't actually count as fic, but it must be read! Picture the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a D&D campaign, run by a cranky Dungeon Master, in charge of players only in it for the treasure, and illustrated using screamingly appropriate screencaps from the movie. Shamus pokes fun at every single hole in the movie, mocks the hell of every D&D player ever, and adds notes from a long-suffering DM that are often the funniest part. Originally run as a semi-daily web comic, but now finished, and words cannot express how deeply necessary it is that you read this if you have ever even had incidental contact with a gaming geek. Warning: It's long, and you will not want to stop once you've started. Make time for this one.

Pirates of The Caribbean

The African Star by ErinRua
When Elizabeth is kidnapped (again) by a vicious slade trader, Will must go against his instincts (and better judgment), and turn pirate to find help from an old friend. Good, long novella, with excellent characterization all around, note-perfect dialogue, poetic language, all the main characters getting time in sun, good, believable plot and villain -- and it's period. ErinRua totally did her homework, and my god, it shows. Everyone I've recced this to has loved it as much as I do.

Breathing Underwater by Nekare
Lovely post AWE fic, following the 10 years of WIll's curse -- Elizabeth is not just sitting around waiting.

Crossing Paths by hereswith
A lovely post-series meeting between Elizabeth and Jack.

Fortune and Favor by firesignwriter
Jack and Anamaria are picked up after being shipwrecked, but their savior is the last person they want to see. One of those priceless pieces of fic that does justice to Jack, Anamaria and Norrington, without sacrificing character in the name of plot. Although it's got that, too, and it's a good one.

The Final Fate of Bootstrap Bill: Jack Sparrow Remix by CL Kamnikar
Jack's hysterically funny version of what really happened to Will's father. Go. Read. Take rum. Tip your bartender. (There are two other versions of Bill's Final Fate available as well.)

Letter of Marque by Dee
Jack shows up in Port Royal all legal and proper -- obviously, this is Norrington's worst nightmare. A fun caper told with a dry and hilarious Norrington POV.

Gamine @ Fanfiction.net
Wait for No Man is well-written PotC fic, with excellent characterization, fun dialogue, and a fast-paced plot. Gamine's bias for a character or two really shows (as does her indifference to another), but it contributes effectively to the plot, and one original character is an utter delight. Run, don't walk, to read this one (and the sequels).

A Taste of Misery by EstelWolfe
If you're looking for Pirates fic that swashes and buckles, I assure you, this ain't it. Angst-o-rama is the word you're looking for. But it's also an excellent, absorbing and largely unflinching look at friendship, betrayal, torture, true madness, and redemption. Lovely characterization on everyone involved, when Jack Sparrow is set to hang for something he truly, honestly didn't do -- and as he must deal with things he has actually done. (There are two sequels (one still in progress), equally as solid and equally as angsty, but with considerably more buckling of swashes, and some solid original characters.)

Random

Far Across the Stars by Lizzen
[Aliens]
A far, far, far better sequel for Ripley, Hicks and Newt than the creators saw fit to give us.

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.

Maggie Fitzgerald and the Saltwater Drip by antistar_e (kaikamahine)
[The Amazing Spider-Man]
"Google politely tells her there are no poisonous spiders in Manhattan. Judging by her symptoms -- fever, superstrength, newfound desire to shove herself into small dark spaces, and sudden reputation as a masked vigilante -- Gwen would beg to differ. [Spider!Gwen AU.]" This is epic, stunning and completely brilliant.

Hide, Stand by EndlessBlue
[Bourne Trilogy]
Set after the movies; two people trying to run from themselves run into each other. Slow and gorgeous pacing and great Nicky POV. Nicky/Jason.

offered me a shade of blue by topaz
[The Bourne Legacy]
Sweet and hot first-time fic. Aaron/Marta. NC17

Lead Me Astray by chinaink
[Bourne Legacy]
"They move like ghosts through city after city, day after day, and Marta learns to look ahead. She's made her choice, forty-two days ago when she looked into Aaron's eyes and took a burning match from his outstretched hands." Post-movie Marta POV.

Some Unexpected Properties of Wood by Fahye
[Brave]
"Sometimes the story elbowed its wild way into your real, comfortable, unmagical existence, and then set about breaking the crockery."

Never Gonna Be Like All Those Fools by lowriseflare
[Clueless]
Lovely Cher/Josh first-time adorableness.

Unreasonable Degrees of Happiness by catie56 (catharsis)
[Clueless]
Adorable 10 years with Cher and Josh.

Moves in the Field by icepixie
[The Cutting Edge]
"Walter Dorsey isn't quite sure what his brother sees in Kate Moseley, but he suspects her magnificent slapshot may have something to do with it." Very cute time after the movie from Walter's POV. Excellent Kate and Doug characterization.

From Degas to Vegas by mollyscribbles
[Despicable Me]
Hilarious; a perfect capture of the movie's tone and heart and general disdain for lawfulness. Yuletide 2010

Sweet Villainy by Amatara
[Despicable Me]
Gru considers quitting his career of villainy. The girls talk him out of it. Sweet and silly, and captures the movie beautifully. Yuletide 2010

Fix It, or McClane Scale of Annoyance by Cala
[Die Hard]
"It was possible that Matt had an entirely separate scale on which he rated McClane's annoyance, ranging from "it's Monday" to "Lucy decided to date again" to "I'm going to kill you with my pinkie". Not that he would admit to it, mind you, he had far better survival instincts than that." Yeah, this is pretty close to what Matt and John would be like as friends.

A Watcher's Duty by jedibuttercup
[Die Hard/Buffy]
What life would be like if Lucy McClane was a Slayer. I am ded from squee. There are sequels.

A Real Grown-Up Name by fairy_tale_echo
[Dirty Dancing]
A gorgeously-drawn future for Frances and Johnny, that plays out just like you wish it would. Serious in spots, happy in others. KikiRec

A Princess and a Warrior Walk into a Tower by Frea_O
[Disney]
"Things are not all that they seem when Mulan and Jasmine find a strange tower on their travels." Lovely crossover and au. I would have loved to have seen this.

we must strive for perfection by jonesandashes, pollyrepeat
[Emperor's New Groove]
"It figured that the week Kronk decided to really concentrate on his baking would also be the week that everyone decided they wanted to see him." The entire plot whizzing around behind Kronk's well-meaning obliviousness is truly hysterical.

Enchante by lovepeaceohana
[Enchanted]
AU; coffee Shop owner Giselle enchants a divorce lawyer and his daughter. SOOOOO much cuteness, your heart may explode. Yuletide 2010.

Public Interest by Apathy
[The Fifth Element]
A reporter really wants an interview with Leeloo and Korben, but they won't make it easy. (Special guest appearance by Ruby Rhod, eeeee!)

Shadows Taller Than Our Souls by Troll Princess
[Frequency]
John Sullivan still has trouble keeping track of what happened then, and what happened in the other Then.

Wings of Winter by Aris Merquoni (ArisTGD)
[Frozen]
"Once upon a time there was a family with thirteen brothers who were put under a powerful curse. Once upon a time there was a tiny kingdom far to the north, ruled by a young and lovely queen who took in a traveler who did not speak. And once upon a time, inconvenient family history and a certain someone's bad decisions made solving everyone's problems far more difficult than it should have been." Fun crossover between Frozen and one of my favorite fairy tales, The Wild Swans. F/M and F/F pairings, which both totally work.

Secret Lives of the Cast of Galaxy Quest by Fox
[Galaxy Quest]
Really, really neat little snapshots from inside the heads of the 'cast' of Galaxy Quest. A very nice job making real people out of parodies, quite up to the standards of the movie itself.

Long-term Memory Loss by Omorka
[Ghostbusters]
After the second movie, the Ghostbusters attempt to answer the question that you just have to figure Dana was asking herself: "Why does this keep happening to me?" Great story with great voice that makes Peter Peter, without him being Bill Murray. [NOTE: the ending was abrupt enough to feel like crashing into a wall. YMMV.]

Pastrami and Particles aka Winston's Third Day on the Job by seren_ccd
[Ghostbusters]
"Considering Winston's first day as a Ghostbuster included a crash course on the containment system and how to use a proton pack and then his second day involved three back to back busts which left him covered head to toe in slime, Winston wasn't sure what his third day on the job would bring." Nice insight, great Winston POV.

Complete Blank by rivkat
[Grosse Pointe Blank]
Martin and Debi's wedding would absolutely be like this.

Into the Woods by Nerissa
[Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters]
"How do you go from killing one witch to killing two?" Pre-movie adventure.

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.

The Seventh Rule by winterhill
[How to Train Your Dragon]
Astrid's view on The Rules and how to be a Viking.

Through His Iron Fingers by dotfic
[The Iron Giant]
"Hogarth watches, and waits." A truly lovely, heart-wrenching, beautiful epilogue to the movie. Yuletide 2010

Escape Velocity by miss_pryss
[Lilo & Stitch]
"Lilo had been training for the life of a space adventurer since she met Stitch, though David once told her he'd thought she was destined for weirdness -- "I mean greatness" -- even before he came into their lives. "You would have found a way somehow, no matter what," he said."

You Know You Have a Permanent Piece of My Medium-Sized American Heart by tricatular
[The Martian]
"'Hey Hermes!' The ambient suspicion level in the Rec ratcheted up significantly. Kapoor was disturbingly cheerful. 'We've sent you some mission updates in the data dump, but Mitch and I wanted to personally let you know--' Mitch visibly rolled his eyes in the background. '--That thanks to some... strong suggestions from the White House, and on Annie and Director Sanders' recommendation, we've started releasing Watney's Mars logs to the public.'" Lots of great little details and wonderful crew interactions, plus priceless Earthside reactions.

The Most Important Meal by Dira Sudis
[Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day]
A beautiful coda to the movie, as Joe takes Guinevere to breakfast. Short and sweet and oh, so lovely.

A Sense of Freedom by Fyre
[Mulan/Aladdin]
Mulan and Shang are called into diplomatic service, escorting an Agrabah princess and her husband on a Quest. Big fun. KikiRec

Never Spellbound by a Starry Sky by Eve
[The Mummy]
Exceptionally good fic sent shortly after the first movie; the trio is still in Cairo and have once again found some trouble to get into, which is severely interfering with the activities Rick would prefer to be getting into. Written in alternating first-person POV, which I normally hate, but Eve captures the voices and dialogue so perfectly that it all flows together seamlessly. A fun semblance of a plot, and some wonderful shippy (and reasonably period) scenes for the soon-to-be-married Rick and Evie. (also try A Long Night's Journey Into Cairo for the marriage proposal the way you know it happened.)

Take That, Bembridge Scholars! by seren_ccd
[The Mummy]
"The world has been saved and there's really only one thing left to do. Evy writes a strongly worded letter to the Bembridge Scholars. Oh, she gets married, too." Solid post-movie fic. Rick/Evelyn, obviously.

The Boys in the Band by willowbough
[Music & Lyrics]
"On the night PoP is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Alex confronts his former bandmates, including the one who betrayed him." I love this story; Sophie and Alex are very well written, and the reunion with Alex's old bandmates (not counting the one we hate, although he's there) is touching and completely perfect.

All in Splinters by hereswith
[Peter Pan]
No one ever believes me about Captain Hook being totally hot until they see the movie for themselves. Then they understand, and some of them write fic. hereswith gifts all of us more interested in Hook than Pan with this gorgeous series of vignettes; they actually start with By Moonlight and The Darkened Night, but the bulk are in All In Splinters, as a grown-up Wendy is drawn back to Neverland in dreams, by someone entirely different this time around. Both Wendy and Hook are beautifully written, in a way that is very true to the movie, but with a different kind of ending that fits it all together perfectly. Kikirec

To See the World in a Grain of Sand by dress without sleeves
[Prince of Persia]
Beautiful Tamina POV of Dastin and all the things he seems to know that she doesn't, and Dastin POV of the aftermath of the events that no one else remembers. Romantic and full of banter and nice callbacks to the movie.

The Biggest Fool by Tiffany Rawlins
[Say Anything]
"Lloyd's manifesto was a masterpiece, an ironic confrontation of the self-deception required to triumph in the marketplace of relationships at the end of the twentieth century, or anyway that's what the money guys said. They didn't care that it was an e-mail he'd written at three a.m. after his twelfth girlfriend in four years had (predictably) broken up with him." A fabulous what-happened-later completely in keeping with the movie.

so you were never a saint. by paperclipbitch
[Skyfall]
"Bond is still looking at him like he's trying to work out if there's something wrong with him. There isn't. He's checked. And Q is fairly sure psychiatrists aren't supposed to write things like "is probably not a sociopath" in people's files anyway." [KikiRec: Marvelously funny Q-eye view on events post-movie; great Eve voice, amusing Bond.]

Walk the Wire by anr
[Speed]
Jack and Annie and the days after all hell broke loose.

Just a Face on a Train by katheryne
[Spiderman]
Months after an unmasked Spiderman saves a train of people from Doc Ock, one of the saved recognizes a face in her diner. A beautiful fic that proves that original character doesn't equal Mary Sue, but can equal a sweet, wonderfully portrayed narrator.

Origin Story by jjonahjameson
[Spiderman/The Incredibles]
Sometimes a superhero has wardrobe problems, and it's up to an expert to fix things.... A silly, hilarious, perfect crossover. (Also try Learning Curve, a fun adventure with dead-on Peter characterization, taking place shortly after the first movie. The dialogue is excellent, the writing clean and fast-paced, and the characterization rocks my world.)

Bridge Across the Maybe Sea by Zara Hemla
[Spirited Away]
The world of Spirited Away begs to be revisited, if only in small, beautiful moments like this. Lin thinks about the train that only goes one way, and the girl who left the bath house. A very nice study of Lin and of her world.

Starflowers by cadhla
[Tangled]
The winter holidays with Rapunzel and Flynn; a sweet and romantic little ficlet.

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

What You Don't Know by Airplane
[Tangled]
The one in which Eugene is Rapuzel's only available sex ed tutor. Long, sweet, hilarious, adorable, and occasionally quite hot. And yes, we should all be ashamed. As we giggle maniacally.... NC-17

The Case of the Missing Martini Olive by icepixie
[The Thin Man]
"It's entirely possible that olive just couldn't stand being parted from you while you were indisposed. And I can't say I blame it." Perfect Nick and Nora banter.

The Hours Between by darkdanc3r
[Transformers]
Mikaela rebuilds after the battle.

Mojo Mayhem by Phoenix13
[Transformers]
"Do you think that if poor Optimus knew he'd be looking after Mojo for a week, back when he was beating the crap out of Megatron, he may have let Megatron kill him?" Fluffy, but amusing as hell.

Pieces of the Dead by David Hines
[Transformers]
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.

Happily Ever After (Every Now and Then by carolinecrane
[Tremors]
"After the graboids, Earl and Val finally make it out of Perfection. The only problem is that Rhonda's still a scientist, and she has to go where the science is." Believable post-movie Val and Rhonda

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.)

Local Man Finds His Arcade 'Turbotastic' by cadavatar
[Wreck-It Ralph]
"Mr. Litwak isn't stupid. He knows more than most would think." Lovely and different POV.

The Day After Tomorrow Challenge
[Various]
Annie Sewell-Jennings started it, some really great authors jumped in, and a fairly lame movie gave birth to some excellent fic before it even opened. The challenge was to take any fandom, however unlikely, and set it in the end-of-the-world situation presented by "The Day After Tomorrow". The result: some damn good fic. The link is to the master list on ASJ's LiveJournal; I particularly recommend Give Me Liberty by cavalaxis (gorgeous and poetic Labyrinth), and Eye of the Storm by Rheanna and Shock by Troll Princess (lovely and powerful X-Men movieverse).