The Old Straight Track by J. J.
My Chemical Romance
AU where Frank is a ghost. Gerard moves into his old apartment, and stuff starts to happen. The sequel, Living with Ghosts (31,826 words), follows directly from the first story (to the extent that you will probably be confused, as I was, about whether the first story is actually over.) The author is still working on the third story as of May 2011, but it isn’t finished yet, and the stories do not stand alone in any way. Be warned if you start reading this before the third story is posted that there is no resolution of any kind at the end of the second story.
AU // Character Death // Horror // Mature // Romance // Sci-fi/Fantasy // Words: 30,198
Illogical series by Waldorph
Reboot
A slightly AU series which is mostly true to canon, except that Kirk gets to Starfleet by a slightly different route. Don’t be fooled by the first story in the series – it’s good, but not as amazing as all the others.
More than anything, this series is excellent because it adds a depth and breadth of character development and world building that the movie never touches. Many, many pairings that I didn’t bother to list because they aren’t central to the series.
Action // AU // Character Death // Explicit // Het // Romance // Sci-fi/Fantasy
Pieces Tossed Aside by Ana
Firefly fandom comes up with some of the scariest stories I’ve ever read.
Character Death // Explicit // Gen // Sci-fi/Fantasy
Another Life by Rheanna
AU. What if Cordelia never started working for Angel after they met at the party in City Of?
AU // Character Death // Darkfic // Explicit // Extreme Violence // Het // Non-con // Rape // Romance // Torture
Angel: No Limits by Ladycat, The Brat Queen, Jane Davitt, Just Human, Kara, Kita, Mad Poetess, Ros Fod, Soundingsea, Stakebait, Tracy, WesleysGirl, Wolfling
Yet another Angel S6 series, this one the collaborative effort of a number of authors. Angel, Spike, Illyria, and Gunn survive the last battle, and a few other old friends show up in the course of the season. And in lieu of the Hyperion, the AI team is now living in an old movie theatre (which actually would have been pretty cool-looking if they’d done it on the show. And so perfect for the L.A. setting…)
Action // Character Death // Gen // Mature // Mystery // Sci-fi/Fantasy
The Uninvited Guest by Yahtzee
When I started reading this, I didn’t think I was going to recommend it. And then I got to the Connor POV section, and I fell in love. I wish more people wrote first person Connor as well as Yahtzee does. (Well, okay, I wish more people wrote Connor, period, but that’s not important right now.) At first this story made me kind of angry, and then it made me want a sequel. One narrated by Fred, Connor, and Angel.
AU set after Angel S3, where things went a little differently, and BtVS S6, where things went a lot differently.
Snow has begun to fall from a few clouds in the sky, but there is a patch in the distance that shows stars. Winifred points toward it. “See that?” she says. “That’s Andromeda.”
“Andromeda?” I do not know this word, or why she would be pointing at the sky. So for the next several minutes, I stand and listen to her as she tells me the legends of the people she sees in the stars. Winifred is always patient with the things I don’t know. She remembers what it’s like to be different in the world, not to know all the rules. I don’t have to explain things to her; Winifred just understands, without words.
As she gestures at the heavens, she tells me about the princess chained to the rocks, and the horse that could fly. And she teaches me the name of Orion, who was a hunter, like me.
AU // Character Death // Explicit // Gen // Het // Mystery // Romance
Night-blooming Heartsease by Julad
Written as a prequel to Resonant’s Transfigurations (see my recommendation.) It would probably be better to read that story first, but this will still make sense even if you don’t.
It was A.J. Hall’s Lust over Pendle which first made me fall in love with Neville, and he’s still one of the most underused characters in HP fandom. Yay for Neville fanfic!
Action // Character Death // Explicit // Romance
Nessuno by Two Ladies of Quality
AU. In Rome during the time of the Borgias: a young priest, a band of mercenaries, vampires, and the Holy Inquisition.
Action // AU // Character Death // Explicit // Historical // Mystery // Romance
Swing Time by Bambu
A disowned and dishonored Draco Malfoy has been given refuge by the Order of the Phoenix at the Burrow. The only time of the day in which he’s granted any privacy is during the swing shift, tea time to midnight, which he spends, appropriately enough, in the Weasleys’ garden.
There are a lot of great things to be said about this story; unfortunately, I’m too tired to say them. Read this anyway.
Character Death // Explicit // Het // Romance
Twilight by One Person
Good Duo backstory is hard to come by. This is the best I’ve read so far, and it’s pretty amazing. It’s not at all how I pictured it, but the story makes so much sense and has such emotional resonance that by the time finished it, I was completely convinced. And completely hooked.
This is the story of Duo, Solo, and the L2 plague, which is used so often to create Duo-angst but rarely explored in any depth. I love Duo’s narrative voice in this fic, especially the way he juxtaposes the story of his first weeks on the colony with the account of the early progress of the plague. Lovely, lovely writing.
That night is my last pure night; the first soft whisper of a greater shadow that hangs over the landscape of my life. The last time the rain really belonged to me.
I never met Mary Lenox. The history-books say she was twenty-three, that she was admitted to Wellspring Hospital on May 15, AC 186 and died two days later of respiratory complications. As I figure it, that was seven days after Solo warned me out of the rain.
Her death passed without comment; she was only the first faceless pebble in the landslide to come.
I hesitated for a long time before adding this story to my Top Ten list, not because the fic itself isn’t good enough to justify it, but because I had a sort of unofficial rule that only novel-length fiction would be added to the list. In fact, I still do, but Twilight deserves to be the exception.
Action // Character Death // Darkfic // Extreme Violence // Gen // Mature // Non-con // Rape // Sci-fi/Fantasy // Top 100 // Top Ten // Underage Sex
Anywhere You Go by Sonya
Set after Wrecked and GOF.
I love Snape and Willow’s relationship, which is pretty cute, but otherwise this story is rather dark. The character deaths aren’t anyone we really know, but they’re still upsetting.
I really, really wish this story was finished, because it’s one of those that I don’t like stopping halfway through, and not just because of my impatience. It draws you in enough that it’s very disappointing, and jarring, to run out of story.
Up to chapter 37 so far, but hasn’t been updated in over 2 years. Caveat lector.
Character Death // Crossover // Het // Mature // Romance // Torture
Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Borders of Infinity [story] is a short story that was originally published (along with two other short stories: The Labyrinth and The Mountains of Mourning) in Borders of Infinity [novel], which is part of the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I’m not sure how much sense this will make out of sequence, but it will still be excellent. Since Borders of Infinity [novel] is now out of print, at least in North America, it’s nice that it’s becoming available online.
“Thanks,” croaked Miles. A week ago, or in a previous lifetime, depending on how you counted time, Miles had dawdled over a selection of wines, dissatisfied with this or that nuance of flavor. His lips cracked as he grinned in memory. He drank. It was perfectly ordinary water, lukewarm, faintly redolent of chlorine and sulfur. A refined body, but the bouquet is a bit presumptuous….
Action // Character Death // Extreme Violence // Gen // Mature // Sci-fi/Fantasy
Night in the Elysian Fields by Trust No One
Alexander
Hephaistion meets someone in Hades.
Character Death // Teen
Behind the Veil by Trust No One
Alexander
Bagoas visits Hephaistion in his sick-room at Ekbatana.
Character Death // Teen
Ash and Iron by Parhelion
Parhelion introduces the paranormal to the brownstone. Good like everything she writes. Unfortunately unfinished; it’s at 15 chapters right now and I don’t know if it’s still being updated or not. Oh, and don’t worry too much about the character death.
And don’t read this at night if you’re home alone and scare easily. Chapter 2 is especially creepy.
Action // AU // Character Death // Explicit // Horror // Mystery // WIP
The Magic in Your Touch by Sara Bell
This story also has a sequel (or maybe a spinoff?), The Way You Say My Name. Both stories are pretty good, although more mystery than romance. Even though the writing isn’t the absolute best, it’s good, and she did some things with the plot that surprised me. She created two genuinely interesting and difficult mysteries; the plots hung together and the solutions made sense.
Action // Character Death // Mature // Mystery // Romance // Underage Sex
Groovy Kind of Love by Pecman
A coming-of-age story set in the late 60′s; the music of the era is frequently mentioned in the story and helps to set the scene. I’m not crazy about the writing, although it’s far superior to most of the things I’ve read at the Nifty Archive, but the plot is interesting and a lot more complex than it seems in the beginning.
Character Death // Coming of Age // Explicit // Rape // Romance // Underage Sex
Messenger by Gloria Mundi
The Iliad/Greek myth
My other favourite Iliad story, because Gloria Mundi is just so talented.
“I will avenge you, when you’re dead,” he’d said to Achilles once.
“You think even Death can part us?” Achilles had murmured, pretending surprise. “Surely I will find my way back to your arms.”
“And leave me waiting for you?” Patroclus had said, laughing. “No! I’ll come to Hades, and bring you out with me.” He’d sealed the vow with a kiss.
Achilles had kissed him back, and let the kiss seal his lips. That was not the fame he had been promised.
The death of Hector, and Achilles sends a message to Patroclus.
Action // Character Death // Darkfic // Extreme Violence // Historical // Mature // Non-con // Romance // Top 100
Follower by Gloria Mundi
The Iliad/Greek myth
My favourite Iliad story. Gloria Mundi writes with such an amazing and unique voice, perfect for the tone of the Iliad:
Neither of them will ever surrender to anyone else. Once Patroclus — in Achilles’ armour, a perfect fit at last — has fallen to Hector’s hand, Achilles will have to find other ways to love.
Like a girl, like a dog, like a ghost.
Action // Character Death // Darkfic // Extreme Violence // Historical // Mature // Rape // Romance // Top 100
