Pirates of the Caribbean The Truth About Mermaids by Mary Borsellino. A story in the spirit of the movie, which captures Elizabeth's voice (among others) perfectly. Elizabeth and Will have children now, and Norrington decides to pay them a visit. And there's Captain Jack Sparrow. Light-hearted, sweet and frolicsome.

Lord of the Rings The Straight Way and sequel Envinyatar by H.F. An author who lets me see the beauty of Tolkien's imaginings with sensual and lyrical prose and an eye for the heart of the characters. Faramir and Aragorn, the last of the Numenor, come to an understanding. A deep and touching A/F story.

Lord of the Rings Each Separate Dying Ember by Lullenny. A strongly woven Eomer/Boromir story set before Fellowship. Boromir visits Rohan and goes on a scouting expedition with Eomer. A story filled with a shivery sense of impending doom and vivid characters, and which treats the Eomer/Boromir relationship with care. I particularly liked the light touch with Tolkien's language and the look at Riddermark culture.

Harry Potter Stealing Harry by Sam. A long and well-built alternate universe story in which Lucius got to Peter Pettigrew first and Harry, aged eight, meets Moony and Padfoot. Intricately plotted, with lots of familiar characters seen in novel ways (and still in-character) and subtle and cleverly-wrought references to canon. My favourite features are the Remus and Sirius relationship, the use of magic and the interesting look at werewolf physiogeny.

Harry Potter The Man Who Lived by Beth H. Snape is exhausted and, with nothing to live for, seeks an end. A maudlin story about Snape's role in the final days of the war, and also about love. Elegant and well-characterised.

BtVS Seeing Africa by Huzzlewhat. Xander looks for slayers in Africa, post-Chosen. A lovely extension of the myth, which sees Xander grow and change and points out some of the things he's better at than the other Scoobies. It's also an interesting portrait of Africa. Grief and happiness and Xander.

Tour Of Duty A Difference Between Sensuous and Sexy by Witchbaby. A Johnny/Myron PWP about fear and need in the dark. Sweaty.

Tour Of Duty Murphy's Crew Series by Miss Molly. A series of unconnected vignettes (slash and gen) based on Murphy's Laws of Combat. Full of gritty atmosphere, character, humour and a sense of army and Vietnam War reality. I liked A Lifer's Brief, Berkeley Blues and Ten-HUT!.

The Sentinel Segue by Spyke. A story with three radically different sections, but all connected. Part fairy tale, part scary, scary scientific exploration of Sentinels, part romance, each facet is a fascinating exploration of the Sentinel myth and Jim's background. My favourite part was the science though. I was feeling intelligent for a while there.

The Sentinel Revelations by Kass. A brand-new story from Kass (otherwise an ex-TS author) celebrating the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Blair goes to an all-night study session and considers his place in life, and Jim. Illuminating, sweet and also educational if, like me, you're not Jewish.

The Sentinel Waterfall by Betty Plotnick. (Part of an excellent collection called Sixteen Instinctive Behaviours). Set after Blair's drowning, this is an intimate (no, not that kind of intimate) truck conversation between Jim and Blair from Blair's POV which treats them both as reasoning adults. Clever, very witty, brilliantly characterised and universe-expanding.

The Sentinel/Invisible Man/Stargate Actualize This by Helena Handbasket. A story that actually lets me use the word "hijinks". This makes me happy. Jim/Blair, Bobby/Darien and Daniel/Jack are forced to go on a partnership counselling course and wacky, niftily plotted and fantastically characterised hijinks ensue. Farcical, with too many great lines to count. The funniest story I've read in a long time.

Magnificent Seven The Hour of Separation by TrueEnough. An Old West set, lyrical, gentle and unforced relationship story which focuses on Chris and Vin but includes all the others of the Seven. A story about love and grief and need. Beautiful.

due South Water Everywhere by Zahra. Mostly Ray K jittering monologue as he tries to cope with his raging need for Fraser, and fails. Funny, fast, very Ray, and an endearing Mountie. Greatness.

Firefly Means of Expression by (Unannounced). A beautiful and sad remix of Pearl-o's Milk and Ash (which should probably be read first), this features Zoe (and the crew) coping with the loss of Wash, and a new child.

Firefly Utopia by Salieri. The Serenity encounters Reavers, and darkness ensues. A Jayne focused story about unimaginable horrors and strength and fear. Memorable and powerful.

Firefly Thicker Than Water by Pandarus. A Simon-centric story which also features a River who is not impenetrably loopy, which makes a refreshing change. Simon considers the changes in his life since he joined Serenity, and holds actual conversations with River.

Firefly Scavenged by Salieri. A strongly plotted and thoughtful gut-punch of a story with all the crew wonderfully in character. Mal and Kaylee must go on a scavenging mission. Dark and sad.

The Faculty My Kind Of People by A Gentleman of Virtue. A short but punchy Zeke/Casey story, in which they stop off for gas, and certain realities are made known.

LA Confidential Payback by Shalott. A diverging AU of the movie, which gives White and Exley an alternative path to figuring out... what they figure out. Brilliantly in character, gritty and neatly plotted. And it's slash.