HP: untitled by rhoddlet (Harry/Hermione, Harry/Draco)

I think this story by rhoddlet isn't so much a story, in the sense that it isn't polished and reads more like snippets of things just posted to LJ. But I'm recommending it anyway for the feel of it, the seemingly effortless poetry of rhoddlet's writing, and the idea that death doesn't leave the Potterverse even after the bad guys are gone.

XF: Living with the Dreaming Body by Punk Maneuverability (Mulder/Scully)

runpunkrun's Living with the Dreaming Body left me feeling rather sorrowful -- which in some ways is as it should be, given the pairing. I want Scully to be happy, to not suffer anymore, but sometimes stories that give her comfort in Mulder do the exact opposite for me, as a reader. Because there are all these issues of blame and indirect fault and single-minded pursuits and dreams that maybe make more emotional sense as dreams, and outside of those, there is Punk's summary: "the heart is an involuntary muscle." I want Scully to have choices here, and yet she moves through this story which such sadness and emptiness in her heart that it seems like taking comfort in a relationship with Mulder isn't a choice. It's an inevitability.

But hell. Love is pain, sometimes, and it's especially pain when it's these two.

Lost: The Road to Damascus by doqz (Sayid)

The Road to Damascus by doqz is a short look at Sayid's history with family, nation, and belief. It's pretty much stunning, and until the show says otherwise, it's pretty much canon for me.

HP RPS: Visit by Miss Kitty E. (Rupert/Dan)

Visit by misskittye, despite the scary pairing, is so very, very good. It's a first-time story that knows what it means to be a first-time story: awkward, fumbling, unsure, excited mostly by the strangeness and newness of it all. The boys are teenage boys through and through, and everything about their interactions with each other -- especially the dialogue -- feels authentic.

There's also an interesting sub-theme running through the story regarding Rupert's new house and what it means for his family's change in socioeconomic status. It's a touch of reality, on top of the fantastically done Rupert POV, that makes the story seem very intimate and true to life.

PP: A Hundred Years Ago by trifles (Wendy, Peter, Hook)

trifles' A Hundred Years Ago made a splash when it was first posted, with good reason. The style is so Barrie-esque it's like the author stepped into the man's head, and the story it tells is so sad and full of that conflicted longing/loathing toward grown-up feelings that it takes me right back into the book itself.

JoA: Sex and Candy, Bend & not break by Nicola (various)

Two great Joan of Arcadia shorts by iridescentglow: Sex and Candy (Adam/Joan/Grace) and Bend & not break (Luke/Adam). No real sexy stuff, because, um...I'm still not at that point where I want to read sexy stuff about the JoA kids. I'm recommending these mostly for the spot-on characterizations -- especially Grace in the first one, and Adam and Luke in the second.

HP: A Little to the Left, Professor by Resmiranda (Snape/Hermione)

A while ago I recommended resmiranda's Shadows Trilogy, which is this great big gorgeously intellectual epic about arithmancy and magic and damaged Snape and...

And then I stumbled across A Little to the Left, Professor, which is pretty much just about bad sex. It's all rendered hilariously, with wit and cleverness and some sly little nudges at awful Snape/Hermione sex-god fic.