that ain't nothing but ten cent lovin'

Angel

Beginning, Somewhere in the Middle by marenfic
Lovely, hot Gunn/Gwen fic.

*

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Lilac City by nwhepcat
Long, engrossing, heartbreaking novel about Xander, five years post-Chosen, trying to find his way back to some kind of life.

***

i don't want my feelings restrained

Homicide: Life on the Street

Make the Man by inlovewithnight
Pembleton, on fashion.

"Pride in your appearance, in yourself, in your job. Your calling. We're not street sweepers, we're detectives. Look like that means something to you, is my point. You come in here looking like you lost a bet, how is anybody supposed to take you seriously? How are you going to take yourself seriously? Look like you come in here for a reason."

***

The West Wing

For Purely Selfish Reasons by smittywing
CJ/Charlie [I know! Just go with it!] that is adorable and hilarious and gets the voices just right.

"I'm like a dirty old man. Except I'm a woman. Is there a name for women who are dirty old men?"

"Yes. We call 'em cougars."

***

the love you need ain't gonna see you through

The Devil Wears Prada

When in Doubt, Wear Red by thelastgoodname
Long, engrossing story of how Andy and Miranda get together. Really good at evoking Andy's confusion and desire as she and Miranda begin an affair.

***

Pirates of the Caribbean

Itinerary by penknife
Will is still learning how to be captain of the Dutchman. Lovely, lyrical, meditative.

***

The Shawshank Redemption

The Ocean of Forgetting by kajikia
Beautiful, lyrical story of Red and Andy, on their beach in Mexico.

***

it's a fool who plays it cool

Gilmore Girls

Five Times Lorelai Married Luke by fairy_tale_echo
Now that the show is over, I can read and enjoy fic that fixes the mess of the last two seasons. Exactly what it says in the title - five ways Luke and Lorelai could finally have gotten married. Lovely.

the sonny & cher comedy hour ended in 1974 by falseeeyelashes
The end of the world, Gilmore style. Excellent Rory voice. Funny and sad, wry and knowing.

***

and it won't last long

Harry Potter

I Know Where The Summer Goes by such_heights
Gorgeous, quiet, heartbreaking story of the summer Sirius decides to leave home. I especially love the relationship between him and Regulus here - it's clear they still love each other, even with the differences between them already pushing them apart.

natural disaster, on the evening news by falseeeyelashes
Pansy Parkinson, after the war. Interesting use of second person that suits the story and the character. Sharp and sad.

A New Alliance by jncar
Lovely missing scene from DH.

"It stands for Dumbledore's Army."

"It seems you've come to the right place. My name just happens to be Dumbledore."

Touch the Face of the Stars by lyras
Lily during the war. Sad and yet full of hope and love. Bring tissues, especially for the ending.

vae victis by virginia_bell
Lovely, sad, hopeful story of Narcissa asking Andromeda to look after Draco after she and Lucius are sent to Azkaban. The letters between the sisters, who haven't spoken in 30 years, ring with hard, poignant truth.

***

gonna let it all hang out

Firefly

Pro Bono by puritybrown
Post-movie, Zoe visits Inara. Gorgeously sensual and heartbreaking. Zoe wants to move, but she's frozen -- and that's why she came here: to thaw the ice out before it breaks, and breaks her with it.

***

Friday Night Lights

The Technology of Silence by jengrrrl
Sweet, hot, achy Tyra/Lyla.

***

don't cry, don't raise your eyes

Crossovers

House/Firefly

A Gentleman (And A Thief) by leiascully
Awesomely in character and adorable story in which Mal shows up at the Princeton-Plainsboro free clinic, and Cuddy takes care of him.

*

Supernatural/Harry Potter

Old Country by astolat
A really fun crossover in which Dean inherits a wizarding estate and wacky hijinx ensue. The story contains Wincest, but the sex has a coercive element I found exceptionally squicky; since it's also completely unimportant to the plot, you can easily skip it, and the rest of the story is worth doing that. Dean + Hufflepuffs + Goblins = awesome.

*

Supernatural/Friday Night Lights

When All You Have Left Is by Molly
Lovely and heartbreaking. It's the end of the world, but Tyra has Sam and Dean Winchester looking out for her. (Tyra/Sam, Tyra/Dean)

*

Supernatural/Sandman

Harvester of Eyes by gwendolyngrace
Fantastic. John is hunting the Corinthian and Sam and Dean slip through a Soft Place into the Dreaming. Excellent use of the Sandman story and characters, and a tight, suspenseful, moving story.

***

there's a lot of people saying we'd be better off dead

Supernatural

( 24 recs under the cut, featuring het, gen and wincest )

***