uncertainty can be a guiding light

Harry Potter

Cooler Than Frogs by penknife
"Everybody has secrets," Remus said. "Nobody tells everybody the whole truth. Not you, not me, not James, not Peter. We're all lying. That's how we get by." *sniffle* Sirius learns Remus's secret. Wonderful.

Glass Houses by penknife
Remus tries not to be jealous of James. Lovely, achy and full of pining. *sigh* Nobody pines quite like Remus.

~*~

you want it, you take it, you pay the price

Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel

Never the Twain Shall Meet by liz_estrada
Brilliant, sweet, heartbreaking AU where Cordelia and Faith meet as high school students in Boston. Really well done.

You Think She's An Open Book (but you don't know what page to turn to) by spuffyduds
Lorne, in what's become of LA, finds someone who looks familiar. Utterly heartbreaking.

~*~

throw light on the walls and the scars

Battlestar Galactica

Jealous Gods by rose_griffes
She didn't say it anymore, not after Zak (and Lee). She was afraid to let the words slip out. Too much happiness would invite the jealousy of the Gods. Kara and Sam and making their marriage work on New Caprica. Lovely and heartbreaking. Really gets Kara's voice and character right.

~*~

The Dark Knight

Origin Story by minim_calibre
It becomes her private hobby, scanning each face she sees for signs of the Batman. Fantastic look at how young Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl. *hearts* I wish the movies would go there.

~*~

Sarah Connor Chronicles

Turing Test by soundingsea
unlike everyone else in Sarah's life, [Cameron] doesn't need to be protected. There's something breathtakingly appealing about that. Sharp and smart look at Sarah watching (wanting) Cameron.

~*~

it's a love that has no past

Friday Night Lights

Summertime by queenzulu
Heartbreaking Julie/Tyra story that nails Julie's voice, and what it's probably like to be a teenager who's different, in Dillon. lovely.

~*~

Homicide: Life on the Street

White Hats by Laura Smith
Frankentim, circa season 3, with Bayliss drunk and full of self-pity, and Frank being Frank. *heart* "All I ever wanted to do was be a cop." / "That was your first mistake." / "A good cop." / "Yeah. That was your second."

~*~

we carry in our hearts the true country

Narnia

Queen of Morning by Sister Coyote
Lovely, lyrical look at Susan. "King Peter's courage and King Edmund's wisdom and Queen Lucy's boldness I would have," Reepicheep said, "but for a keen eye and a graceful hand, I could find no better, my archer queen."

~*~

Sandman

The Taste of Desire by curry_fish
Desire does not want. Really sharp look at Desire, making it almost sympathetic, yet still retaining that razor edge that makes it so dangerous.

~*~

quench my thirst with gasoline

Crossovers

Iron Man/Sarah Connor Chronicles

Breaking the Shell by serrico
"I think all machines are pretty. I just don't say it very often because they're already so easy to get into bed." Tony Stark meets Cameron, and is completely unaware of the implications. Excellent.

*

Iron Man/Burn Notice/Alias

Spies > Superheroes (Or Not) by hackthis
Michael Westen goes to work for Tony Stark. Also, Sark shows up for a threesome. Hilarious, with spot-on voices.

*

Iron Man/James Bond/Batman (movieverse)

Celebration by quigonejinn
Three billionaires, James Bond, and a hyper-efficient personal assistant walk into a room. Who walks out? Fantastic.

*

Supernatural/DCU

Then You'd Better Not Stay by dotfic
Achy and hot and note-perfect story in which Dean hooks up with Wonder Woman. He's Batman, indeed. And written for ME. *hearts*

~*~

more than just a little misunderstood

Iron Man

And Innocently, Sideways, the Way We Always Fall by splash the cat
"I thought you weren't nostalgic." / "I'm not. But maybe I am a little sentimental." Brief but gorgeous. Tony and Pepper, a year later.

Benefit Limitation Agreement by quigonejinn
The contract drawn up between Tony & Pepper after they start sleeping together. Hilarious and completely believable.

Can't You See? (I'm On A Losing Streak) by goddesspharo
She hates when he makes her pick sides. (As if she's ever chosen differently.) SHIELD wants Tony to go to Obadiah's funeral. Tony doesn't want to. Pepper's caught in between. Feels true to both of them.

Every Second Song by aj
I guess this is comicsverse, but oh, it works even if, like me, you've only seen the movie. Fifteen years on, Pepper can still surprise him. Oh, Tony.

The Kids Aren't All Right: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com by samdonne
Iron Man is the culmination of our wildest, most urgent fantasies. If only we disposed of a piece of technology that could not only detect and take out the bad guys, but tell the bad guys from the good, we would never have to deal with collateral damage. Incisive story about Tony Stark and Iron Man, done as a Vanity Fair profile. Impressive.

The Priming Game by amonitrate
The time between Tony's rescue and his homecoming, from Rhodey's POV. It's not easy, and Rhodey doesn't know what to do. Heartbreaking.

Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails by hackthis
Tony gets turned into a puppy. Pepper deals. Hilarity ensues.

~*~

gonads are useful for their purpose, but they are no substitute for brains

Supernatural

The Children's Hour by gwendolyngrace
Sam and Dean investigate a haunting at a preschool; Dean fits right in, but the kids don't really take to Sam. Adorable, and shot through with melancholy, as Sam gets to see a side of Dean he doesn't really see much anymore. Written for me! *hearts*

Dimensions and Verticals by bellatemple
Sam finds a way to get Dean back. Just... not how he was expecting. Stickfigure!Dean! *hearts* Cracktastically awesome.

dogs are barking as the kingdom fell by ficangel
He met Bela again by watching her ruined face reform itself into a pair of sparkling hazel eyes. Dean and Bela in hell. Cool.

Five Times Sam Winchester Was Unaware of His Own Hotness by dotfic
Sam doesn't generally turn my crank, but this is a lovely set of vignettes where Sam is all hotass and doesn't even know it. *pets him* Nicely visual.

Good Girl by amchara
she didn’t mean to be bad. It wasn’t her fault. Fantastic look at one of the other casualties in No Rest for the Wicked. Heartbreaking and creepy.

i only sleep with my guns when you're gone by kellifer_fic
Sam gets cursed and Dean has to fix it. Hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure. Oh, boys...

In September by legoline
Heartbreaking story of how Dean starts to speak again after Mary's death. *sniffle*

The Leap Home by pheebs1
Sam gets Dean's soul out of hell, but has some trouble making it stay in Dean's body. This is sweet and lovely and suffused with brotherly love. A little British in some places, but some fun outsider points of view of the Winchesters.

Like the Sea by caelumi
If she was an ocean, he was her beach. Sam's highs had always bolstered him and drowned him. Her lows left him exposed and raw. Hot, gorgeous, bittersweet girl!Sam/Dean, set while she's at Stanford.

Manual Labor by innie_darling
Hot, sweet Sam/Jess. I love stories where they are comfortable and in love with each other. Sigh.

Receiver by dotfic
"When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45...I was nine years old." Fantastic story set in s3, where Sam and Dean face another closet monster, and try to hash out some of the stuff between them. Awesome story.

The Syncretist by newredshoes
Really fascinating casefile with Dean/Cassie moments woven into it, highlighting the way John and Dean are trying to come to some accommodation while Sam is away. Also, I really liked Mindy, the OFC.

The Taming of the You-Know-Who by innie_darling
Adorable AU in which 14yo Sam has a crush, but John won't let him bring her home unless Dean settles down first. So cute!

Ten in One by smilla02
After Sam rescues Dean from hell, Dean finds them a hunt that turns out to be more complicated than they expected. Really well done, but relentlessly heartbreaking.

~*~