Princess Tutu: Fakir/Ahiru (G)

[slr2moons.livejournal.com]

Fandom Category: Princess Tutu
Pairing: Fakir/Ahiru
Fic Title: Aimless Words
Author: Stariceling
Link: http://stariceling.livejournal.com/147090.html
Rating/Warning(s): G, spoilers for the end of the series
Genre: Drama
WIP?: No, a oneshot.

Why This Must Be Read: This fic very powerful, and its bittersweet tone fits the ending of the anime perfectly. It's rare for a short fic to impress me, as I tend to prefer involved epics, but this little fic completely grabbed my heart and refused to let go.

Fade Away [Bleach, Gin x Rangiku]

[darklight90.livejournal.com]

Fandom Category: Bleach
Pairing: Gin Ichimaru x Rangiku Matsumoto
Fic Title: Fade Away
Author: Annie Sparklecakes
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6146549/1/Fade_Away
Rating/Warning(s): None
Genre: Drama
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: A poignant oneshot detailing Gin and Rangiku's relationship in reverse chronological order. Not a style you see everyday but with a couple this tragic, it works.

We gotta make ends meet before we get much older, by Anuna81 (PG-13)

[spazzticity.livejournal.com]

Fandom Category: Castle/Stargate Atlantis crossover
Pairing: Elizabeth Weir/John Sheppard, Richard Castle/Kate Beckett, mostly USTish
Fic Title: We gotta make ends meet before we get much older,
Author: anuna_81
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/head_on_home/5452.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Genre: Crossover
WIP?: no

Why This Must Be Read: This fic is surprisingly deep for a crossover between two such light-hearted shows. There's actually a lot of crossovers with SGA where Elizabeth stars front and center; her fans are awesome writers. This one, in particular, I love. I came in expecting something different, something lighthearted perhaps? But I was moved by the way this story moved. Castle's POV shows that same caring, funny guy that we know, and his interest in an old friend and her sudden change in demeanor is of course a very Castle-thing to do. But the thing I love about this is the subtlety of the narration, the quiet acknowledgment of Elizabeth's change, and how Castle's interest in solving this mystery is part-writer, part-friend. And the Castle/Elizabeth friendship is wonderfully highlighted in a unique way, and one that of course compliments the Castle/Beckett and Sheppard/Weir shippy tones well.

I really recommend this a lot.

( Snippet )

seeing your world from the outside by Northlight (PG13)

[anr]

Fandom: The Little Mermaid
Pairing: Ariel/Eric
Fic Title: seeing your world from the outside
Author: anenko_fic
Link: http://anenko-fic.livejournal.com/15152.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG13
Genre: Character
WIP? No
Special Rec: 19/31

Why This Must Be Read: While there's something to be said for a Disney ending -- the hero and heroine riding (swimming?) off into the sunset, good vanquishing evil, happily ever after's for all -- there's also something refreshing about reading a story about what what came after the after. In this story, Northlight shows us an Ariel who's beginning to realise that while she may have got everything she wanted, maybe she didn't quite understand what those wants were. Well written, this story will make you think about what happens when the music stops.