I have decided that the most useful thing to leave in this space is a list of my top recommendations in fan fiction. This is the best stuff I've read in my long time on the scene. Yes, I know we're all issued a Favorites List, but while I've read many "very good" fics, most of which I'm unfortunately leaving out, I feel that the true test of a "favorite" is something that made a huge impact on you, and something you can recall the details of even at a seriously long temporal distance. Also, this way I get to make comments about what makes these pieces awesome. (-: So, here are my top recommendations for works in all the major fandoms I've been involved with. (The phrase "major fandom" indicates a fandom in which I've contributed more than one fic and/or have done a lot of reading.)

The X-Files

Unnatural Disaster, by Michaela. I remember being blown away by the slick style and expert handling of this piece at the beginning of my work as a writer. Plus, bonus, there was a lot of excellent dry humor laced throughout, for which I am a total sucker. :D It is archived at www. annex-files . com / annex / Story4 . shtml

From here on, everything mentioned can be found on FFN.

Samurai Jack

The finest author I encountered in the Samurai Jack fandom was YT1, who made a huge impact with a fic called The Code Warrior. The fic was so good that it got me to read Snowcrash, the novel that inspired the style of YT1's fic and also provided a few of the main characters. The Man in White, which effortlessly shows us Jack's world through the eyes of a terrific original character, was terrific. I also recommend YT1's outstanding Batman Beyond fic, The End of the Beginning, which is rather epic, and very brilliant.

X Men: Evolution

Two words: Kurt Wagner. Yes, I know, the German ideal is a man with yellow-colored hair and blue eyes. But I've always come at life a little ass-backwards, so the fuzzy dude with blue-colored hair and yellow eyes, not to mention that adorable smile - which shows off his lil' FANGS! LOL! - stole my heart. Plus he's funny. He had me at "Hallo." I also really liked Kitty Pryde, and found the idea of them hooking up to be awesome and hilarious and beautiful, on many levels. I was rooting for them really hard. Therefore, it is my distinct pleasure to recommend the four-part "Kurtty" series by ParkerFloyd. Excellent writing, happy ending ... you can't ask for much more than that.

It is also my pleasure to recommend Kismet's Day by Day, an outstanding piece about the daily struggles of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (particularly Lance Alvers), teenagers in the world of Evo who do battle with the X men and constantly teeter on the edge of homelessness. While the X Men are living in a mansion, these kids are living in a former crack house that ought to be condemned, with water that shuts off whenever it feels like it and a disconcerting lack of food. The daily, gritty reality of their lives is rendered in amazing detail, and the plot is excellent.

Iron Man (the Movie)

I'm for Tony/Pepper all the way, even if it's just a close friendship. What they have is very difficult to pin down.

In that spirit, I recommend anything by the very talented VR Trakowski, who writes a lot of Tony/Pepper romance. The most amazing, epic thing I read by this author was a piece called Mnemosyne's Lock. Terrific writing, great characterizations, excellent on-target Pepper/Tony relationship ... very well done.

And the funniest Iron Man piece I ever read, which I also highly recommend, is a fluffy, deranged nugget of brilliance by A.j. called Tony and Pepper Go to Target. It's fantastic and hilarious and it brilliantly captures, among other things, the sizzling chemistry and rat-a-tat conversation that characterizes Tony and Pepper's quirky relationship.

Sherlock Holmes (the books)

I was, am, and will forever remain too chicken to write anything in this fandom, but that didn't stop me from devouring "the canon" - all the stories and novels - and then delving into the fan fiction on this site. Having read a lot of it, I hereby recommend the works of Westron Wynde and mrspencil.

Westron Wynde, hands down, is one of the finest authors I've ever encountered on this site. The stories written from Watson's perspective are fantastic and not to be missed, but the crown jewels in this author's large body of work are the stories that show us the progression of Sherlock Holmes from a young detective to the middle-aged man we know and love. The series begins with The Curious Case of the Prestidigitator's Python. Holmes's world is populated by wonderful original characters, some of whom are related to him, and with their behavior offer us the frequently hilarious reasons he's gotten so incredibly screwed up. His world is also full of exciting action, puzzling mysteries and crackling prose, and everything is written with a massive amount of joy and good fun. This author has literally taken Holmes from "cradle to grave." At this moment (April 5, 2011), in The Haunting of Dr. Watson, he's a ghost helping Watson with an investigation. In anyone else's hands this idea would be disastrous, but in the hands of WW, it is a masterstroke. The fact that this loopy concept works, and so brilliantly, is a testament to this author's writing ability.

As for the other author, I had read a lot of bad poems on FFN, and had given up hope for the genre. Then I encountered the work of mrspencil, who is a very fine poet, and certainly the finest I have come across on this site in 10 years. Her passion for poetry is equalled only by her interest and passion for the Sherlock Holmes stories. A lot of her work tends to be Kipling-esque, with strong rhythms and rhymes. Consdering when Kipling was working, it is perfect for the era she's writing about. An ongoing project, which will undoubtedly be finished at some point, is a collection of poetry that deals with every genre available on FFN. At the moment she is experimenting with different forms of poetry, and I applaud her for doing something so individual, academic, and interesting.

The canon of Sherlock Holmes, despite Conan Doyle's poo-pooing it as being lesser literature, is a truly amazing bunch of writing. It is no accident that this material has inspired not only one of the best authors I've ever read on this site, but the best poet. Both of these people are extremely talented, and I recommend anything they write without reservation.

Harry Potter

You'd think this would be difficult for me. I was a "Potterhead" for a long time, and I did a lot of reading and writing. But the fact is, I've read nothing better in the extremely large HP fandom than the work of GreenGecko. GreenGecko has proved her skill as an author by taking the nuttiest concept ever - the idea that Snape might adopt Harry, which was presented as a joke in the books, and running with it. She stated at the beginning of her first work that she knew this was a joke, but she was conducting an experiment to see if she could treat the concept seriously and get it to work. The result is a series of three epic novels, Resonance, Revolution, and Resolution, all of which are absorbing, incredibly detailed, and complex, and none of which are afraid to take their time. She lets things breathe, and in doing so, she breathes life into every scene. It's beautiful. The original characters are memorable, realistic, and fit perfectly into this expanded world she's created, but the most remarkable part of this series is the control she has over J.K Rowling's characters. Harry is unmistakably Harry. Snape is unmistakably Snape. And yet, they come to an understanding, and both of their lives are forever changed for the better. I was particularly pleased that she continued this series after the end of Book 7, because I was not happy at how things turned out for Snape, and I'm relieved that this talented author continued to forge ahead and grant him a "real" life. I highly recommend the "triple R" series, and anything else GreenGecko writes for Harry Potter.

Numb3rs

This show was proudly intellectual, mostly bloodless, and wonderful. It wasn't afraid to showcase old-fashioned values like teamwork and the importance of family. I loved Charlie Eppes' shining genius, social cluenessness and adorable tousled curls. His brother Don's handsome face and hard-ass exterior shielded a warm, soft center and a very big brain. I cheered for the well-oiled machine of cheerful Megan Reeves, wise-cracking Colby Granger and hardworking David Sinclair at the FBI, and the vivacious, scary-smart professor Amita Ramanujan, who FINALLY figured out how to love Charlie (yay). Alan, head of the Eppes clan, caretaker of their awesome craftsman house, made everyone in his sons' lives feel welcome, alternately dishing out food and wise advice with an awesome New York accent. Godspeed, y'all. I had a great time.

The finest works I've read in the Numb3rs fandom come from Zubeneschamali, or "Z." Z wrote the award-winning story The Fugitive, along with the most excellent Shifting Ground and Blood and Gold. I highly recommend all three of these works. They are action-packed, insightful, intelligent pieces. Z has mastered the art of translating the excitement and suspense of this show to the page in an appropriate, respectful way. The characters are spot-on, the little details are perfect, the tone is dead center, never overly dramatic or overly comedic, and the work moves along at about a hundred miles an hour, which keeps you hungrily turning pages (figuratively speaking).

And finally ... White Collar.

My final recommendations for this fandom are the works of five separate authors.

One: LithiumDoll's That One Time, With That Thing. Don't let the vague title fool you. This ingenious imagining of how Peter caught Neal the first time (obviously written before the episode "Forging Bonds" aired), showcases this author's mad writing skills and an exceptional sense of humor. The pace never flags, the dialogue always sparkles, and the story doesn't disappoint in any way.

Two: the pitch-perfect Signs of Life, by nicedisguise, which takes you from point A to point X in a dizzying display of technical virtuosity. This author bravely took the "never apologize, never explain" route and let the readers puzzle things out. The results were mind-bending, heart-pounding, and jaw-dropping. The piece is terrific.

Three: two works by Mojave Dragonfly. The first one, Working Lunch, must be read for no other reason than the fact that Peter Burke says flatly to Neal Caffrey, like he can't get over this, "You ate Ruiz's lunch." Okay. Personal story time. A friend of mine works with young children. One child came running up to her to complain about the behavior of another child. The kid began, "He tripped me during kickball! He drew on my homework! He..." This litany went on for a little while, and the child ended his tirade with ... wait for it ... "He ate my sandwich!" The style of this piece alone is worth the price of admission, and when you hit the turnaround, it's heartbreakingly hilarious. Highly recommended. Thumbs up. The second recommendation is Five Missing Pieces. Particularly noteworthy is the chapter entitled "The One Where Neal Expresses," because it offers the best imagining I've ever read that details Peter and Neal's escape from the clinic in "Vital Signs." They're all wonderful, though.

Four: the most excellent An Inconvenient Intervention by HlysComment. HlysComment seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to Haley's Comet, because I have no idea if this author is seriously considering writing more in the WC fandom, or if she's doing the whole "blow by once every hundred years" thing. LOL However, whatever she decides, her writing is very strong, and this flagship piece is an excellent introduction to the rest of her work.

Five: finally, a very strong recommendation for a work by Rainey13. Everything this author writes is Grade A, but At What Price? is Rainey's finest contribution to the fandom to date. It is a model novella. As in, if you're considering writing a novella, read this piece first to learn how it's done. She has a lot of love for this show, and her confident writing is enhanced by her attention to detail in every aspect of the narration and the dialogue.

So, there you go. It's all quality work, I assure you. I hope this helps you find something good to read, or leads you to something else you might enjoy. (-:

Goodnight and thank you,

Kiki Cabou (December 16, 2000 - April 12, 2011)