2. Switch by Ceres_Libera. [Star Trek, Kirk/McCoy]

So. Fate sat his tired ass down on that shuttle next to the only other out of place, too-old Cadet on that goddamned ride.

The rest of them were all too shiny, too young, too fucking uniform in their cute red outfits. Their innocence was almost as terrifying as the mortality statistics for shuttle accidents, and he’d felt the despair rising as he looked around the cabin, before he’d gotten up and locked himself in the bathroom. Those cadets -- they'd never seen death, never watched bodies bleeding out on the table, never seen the disappointment in the eyes of someone they loved but couldn't do right by, never had to do something against all of their basic principles because it was the right thing to do, even when it was the exact wrong thing, as it turned out.

Most of them had no fucking idea that Fate was a capricious, mean-spirited bitch.

Look. Just: look. This is, objectively, the best piece of fanfiction ever created. LOOK NO FURTHER. SEEK NO MORE. This fic has everything you could possibly want in a Star Trek fic, in a Kirk/McCoy fic, in a fic in general; it is perfect. It is a perfect work of fanfiction and if you have not read it you must, immediately, do not waste time. WHO ARE YOU, CERES_LIBERA??? You are a hero and a saint and I would like the chance to tell you. 

3. Compound a Compound by whiskey_in_tea [Teen Wolf, Lydia/Stiles]

Lydia’s code involves never disappointing anyone, ever, for any reason. If I’m really so good, she sometimes thinks, I should be able to do it all. And mostly she can: she can be quiet and pretty and presentable for her parents, she can make perfect grades for her teachers and play the role of ice-queen bitch so that her friends have someone to flock around, someone to be nicer than, if they can’t be prettier. She figures that boys want her to be mean; they don’t want to get up close and have to figure out how to kiss her, how to make her laugh, how to make her come. They want to idolize her and that’s fine, she can do that. It’s just stupid, stubborn Stiles who insists on more, who makes her feel like a failure for the parts of herself she doesn’t want to share.

In addition to being beautifully written and heart-wrenchingly painful, this is, in my opinion, a really important fic: it's a story about a teenage girl who becomes overwhelmed by what is wanted from her and of her, who loses track of who she is and has to find it again. It's a story about consent (mind the author's notes if that's an issue for you), and it's a story I wish had existed, for me to read, when I was 16. I genuinely believe everyone should read this fic; not just Teen Wolf people or fandom people but everyone, every person, all humans interested in having romantic relationships with other humans now or ever. I would make it required reading in schools if I could. 

4. A Passage That Sings by Rave. [Star Trek RPF, Pinto]

"Top five," Zach says. "Writers you'd bang."

Chris quirks an eyebrow. "Different from 'writers you love.'"

"Very different. Hemingway, for instance, would be a bad call on this one."

"Dude," Chris says with dead certainty, "I would let Papa do anything he wanted to my body. Anything. Spank me, diaper me, dress me up as a human badger, I don't give a shit. If you write like that, you get a free sex pass forever with everyone. That's the rules."

HILARIOUS. SCREAMINGLY, SHRIEKINGLY, MADE-MY-POOR-DOG-THINK-I-WAS-HAVING-SOME-KIND-OF-LAUGHTER-INDUCED-DEATH-EVENT HILARIOUS. The dream fanfic of the lit nerd we all were in high school, this story is whip-smart, sweet in all the right places, and did I mention hilarious? If you enjoy podfic at all, do yourself a favor and listen to pennyplainknit's incredible version of it; it is the only thing on earth more hysterical than the written one. 

5. The Care and Feeding of Lost Causes by maskedfangirl. [MCU, Clint/Bruce]

Bruce slouched low in his seat, drumming out a rhythm on the car door. He’d have to have a talk with his brain about the inappropriateness of crushes again. Romantic involvement with another man had been off the menu since that tryst with his doctoral advisor’s son had gone catastrophically south, and the menu at large had been torched once the Other Guy showed up anyway. Even setting aside the destructive potential of his greener half, the probably-bisexual closet Bruce had happily made a home in for the past fifteen years, and the fact that those strong hands and expressive lips were attached to a guy with a SHIELD spending account, Bruce just wasn’t the sort of person who did physical relationships. A firm handshake with a colleague? Sure. Pokes and prods in a scientific manner? Fine. Getting fired on by an army? Of course. But affection, sex, and all that business? Not safe, not worth it, not interested.

Found families! Negotiated consent! The aftermath of brainwashing! Dealing with self-loathing and self-harm and depression! The absolute best portrayal of Bruce Banner I have ever seen anywhere, including the comics! Clint/Natasha as codependent platonic soulmates! There is literally nothing I don't love about this fic, excepting the fact that it's not one million words longer with 500 million sequels. 

6. The Pure and Simple Truth by lettered. [HP, Gen]

“I’ve already said I’ve done bad things,” said Malfoy. “I’m trying to make up for them. I’m doing the best I can!”

“There there,” said Parkinson. “You just go on doing them. You’re very earnest when you’re trying to do things you believe in.”

“I’m not earnest,” Malfoy said earnestly.

“I can see why you like talking to Potter,” Parkinson told him. “He brings out the best in you.”

“I’ve barely said anything,” said Harry.

“I know,” said Parkinson. “You’ve let me talk. Most people don’t. The word ‘caustic’ gets bandied about quite a bit.”

Okay, so technically I lied up there because technically, technically, this is a Harry/Draco fic. But I marked it as gen because the Harry/Draco is done with such a light touch that you could easily ignore it if you wanted to and the piece, the actual piece, is about Wizarding politics and morality and adulthood, and letting go of the people you were in school, and the assorted Serious Questions Of The Type That Might Come Up Over Drinks At The Bar of the Potter universe. And, indeed, this fic is about that: drinks at a bar. Just. Ugh. I'm not explaining it right but it's one of the best pieces of fiction I've ever read, fan- or otherwise; wildly creative, poignant, beautifully crafted. Just read it. You won't be sorry. 

7.  Flight Risk With A Fear of Falling by febricant. [Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles]

“Got a curse I cannot lift,” Derek grinds out, jaunty beat completely at odds with his murderous glare.

Doctor Deaton does a much better job of keeping a straight face than Stiles, who’s still holding in the occasional high-pitched giggle.

“That’s a new one,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“Some nights I stay up cashin’ in my bad luck,” Derek agrees, shaking with rage.

SCREAM. SCREAM, SCREAM, SCREAM. DEREK HALE, FORCED TO EXPRESS HIMSELF IN SONG. If you can think of anything better than this, in the world, on this earth, please let me know, because as it stands I have tried and failed to do so; this thing? Is the best thing. Plus, Nat did a podfic of it, and her voice is amazing and I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to listen to it, because being able to actually hear the singing really, really drives the beautiful hilarity of this story home. 

8. Find My Way by Brenda. [MCU, Steve/Bucky]

This poor man, though, he didn't look much like he had anyone in his corner. It looked like he'd gone at least a week without a decent shave and much longer since he'd had a haircut. And his clothes, while still in decent shape, no holes or tears or stains that she could see, carried the air of someone who'd slept in them more than once. His trucker hat was pulled low on his forehead, but she could see the disoriented, empty look on his face and the gleam of a metal hand peeking just under the sleeve of his jacket when he picked up his water glass.

A war vet, maybe, served in Iraq or Afghanistan? That would explain the robotic limb and the vacant stare, and even the homeless vibe. It was sad and downright criminal the way society and the government treated the brave men and women who sacrificed life and limb to serve their country, the way they were left high and dry without any help or resources or a way to integrate back into the world. And maybe she couldn't change the system, but she could at least offer this man a hot meal.

Literally a fic about a good Samaritan sitting Bucky Barnes down, post-CATWS, and feeding him meatloaf and pie. That's what this is. And readers, I have to tell you, it fills a place in my heart that needed this so badly after I got out of that film -- that still needs it, truth be told. In fact, if I'm going to be honest, this is a rec of three fics, not just one, that I have labeled in my head as the Kind People With No Real Reason Other Than Their Own Decency Help Bucky Barnes (Who Needs So Much Help) Collection: it's the fic linked above, Neery's That Kind Of Day, and galerian_ash's The Smithsonian Guard. I know some people -- perhaps even most people -- are in it for the agony when it comes to Bucky Barnes, and while I too have enjoyed a good cry or 70 since CATWS happened to me, I am really in it for the stories like this, where someone just gives the dude a sandwich or a hug or SOMETHING, for the love of god. BRING BUCKY BAKED GOODS 2014.

9. (Sacred) In The Ordinary by idyll. [Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles]

Derek goes back to ignoring the customers, so Stiles makes his way over to an armchair near the counter. It's half-burned and smells like charred polyester, even this many years after the fire at Hale House, and is sadly bereft of stuffing but defiantly in possession of springs. Stiles arranges himself in the only position that won't result in him being gouged bloody and sips his coffee.

Another customer, some guy this time, is appalled. “You're sitting on art!”

Stiles glances over in time to see both of Derek's eyes twitch simultaneously, and his short supply of patience come to an abrupt and inevitable end. He vaults over the counter, sneers at the customers, and barks, “Get out.”

Forget everything else, the greatest tragedy of Derek Hale's life is accidentally becoming an infamous and surprisingly sought-after metal working artist.

If someone asked me, under oath, if I regretted watching Teen Wolf, I would have to say no. And if someone responded with "WHY?!" (the only natural response to such an admission), I would then have to explain that if I had not watched Teen Wolf, I would never have read (and reread, and read again) this fic, and this fic is wonderful. You know how Teen Wolf is kind of like the TV show version of a blanket that's got holes all through it, and that wasn't even that good of a blanket to begin with, but you can't quite bring yourself to throw away because it still keeps you sort of warm, kind of, ish, on nights when it's already pretty warm anyway? Yeah, this fic is like a down comforter from one of those ridiculously expensive home goods stores that someone bought you as a gift, so you don't even have to feel guilty about the extravagance. Future fic, richly plotted, well characterized, gorgeously written, treats werewolves like werewolves. So. Good. 

10. Life of Crime by neveralarch [Hawkeye, Clint/Natasha, Clint/Carol, Clint/Bucky, Clint/Bucky/Natasha, Natasha/Bucky, Kate/America]

It's weird, sometimes, when Clint realizes that he isn't the only one with some heavy shit going on. Yeah, he's an ex-carnie and an ex-con, currently the best marksman in the world, with about thirty warrants out on him for everything from grand theft auto to shooting that one senator in the leg. But Bucky was Captain America's sidekick, and then a brainwashed KGB assassin, and now he's a security consultant for supervillains. That's real drama.

If they made a movie about everyone's respective lives, Bucky and Natasha would get blockbuster thrillers with lots of sex and explosions. Clint would probably get some indie movie with a lot of angst and some weird dream sequences. Maybe a few seconds of full frontal nudity. It actually sounds kind of nice.

Captain Marvel tackles Clint from behind, and he starts paying attention to his job again.