Smallville Day by Ballistic LizOne of the billion discarded SV wips on my harddrive is a Groundhog Day scenario, but this fic has satisfied that craving in me. It's *long* and detailed and plotty and romantic with dark and light touches and an interesting villain, and it's a S3 AU as well, set in that time between Belle Reve and Clark discovering the Room - that last stretch of SV where Clark and Lex were could truly have been called friends, where everything was fragile but still... had potential to turn out well. I love, love, love the Clark in this fic.
Everything by
tasabian, but especially
The Hinge Momentbecause, well... it touched me and it hits straight to the centre of Clark and Lex and their tragedy. And it's long, gorgeous hurt-comfort futurefic, and what more can you want? Also, it hits my weird story kink of taking two characters and putting them in a room together until they work their issues out. I read it twice and smiled blissfully through every sentence.
averaird is another totally cool new SV author. I especially love that she includes so much comics canon in her fic and her Lex is often reminiscent of old-style comics villain Lex, which fills me with unholy glee. I can't really decide which of her fics to rec, so if you have been living under a rock, go check her writing out!
Also, everything by
romanyg and
mskatej but, duh. The things they do with current SV canon! So damn good authors both of them, I get excited everytime I see a new story by them.
Buffy
My Life Closed Twice by anarossSpike/Buffy. Spike as a college teacher and Spike and his love for poetry are both tropes of Buffy fanfiction, but this is far, far above that. It left me yearning for a poetry class like that and I really hope that the author is a teacher herself because, well, anything else would be wasted talent. Spike's teaching is so great that even Buffy becomes enthusiastic about poetry.
It's a post Buffy and post Angel fic, and Buffy is completely herself, with all her character flaws and so very iconic, and incredibly likeable and bitchy and lonely and tragic. And Spike is brilliant, and amoral except not, and an asshole and a woobie. The setting, a enchanted small town and a college and a hidden demon community a just plain wonderful.
If you love poetry read this. If you love Buffy, read it. Oh, go read it anyway. It's educational.
DCU
If you ever wanted to know what comics!Lex is like, or what he could be like if comics were smart and clever and awesome to infinity, then read
__marcelo's
entries for Lex in the philosophy_20 challenge.
20 short philosophy themed fics that encompass the brilliant, terrifying, evil glory of Lex. Of course there's a lot of Lex and Superman in there, too, because Lex isn't Lex without Superman. (Only a couple of them are slashy, but, well, the lines between slash and obsession are blurry). __marcelo is one of the smartest writers on LJ, if I may say so, and his Lex will make you want to clap and cheer and cover in fear and slap him and headdesk and just stare in awed terror.
The Mask Behind the Man by damo_in_japan, Superman, Batman.
This is a short futurefic for the DCU and it's incredibly clever and painful and well... iconic. The main focus is on Bruce Wayne, on Batman and Superman, and it's sort of an "Interview with the Vampire" kind of story in which Bruce is interviewed about how he killed the Man of Steel.
But Clark isn't just dead. Clark died as a modern Christ figure should die, all symbolic and beautiful and as a martyr for all other superheroes - and for the world. And Bruce is broken, but still so smart and still such an ass and still... a hero.
I won't say this is how I want the comics to end, but if they did end that way... I wouldn't complain.