Battlestar Galactica

Five Deaths (Laura Roslin) by Rheanna
Rheanna gives us a series of five AUs here, at turns bleak and beautiful and terrifying and moving, and the amazing thing is how complete and fully-realized each world feels--they are almost frightening in their plausibility. The Roslin characterization is a thing of beauty in all its incarnations, and the prose shines with crystalline clarity. I can't say enough good things about these stories. (No real spoilers past the miniseries.)

Rational(e) by C.L. Kamnikar
Gaius Baltar, king of self-rationalization. Clever, confused, crafty Baltar, perhaps mad, perhaps not. The Baltar-voice here is spot on, and the insights into his character are razor-sharp.

Arithmetic by Halrloprillalar
A short Starbuck character piece, harsh and gorgeous, and so very Starbuck.

Un Eclipse, Binary by hossgal
The aftermath of the S1, seen through the eyes of minor characters, with both the plotty and emotional throughlines connecting the parts together. The lives go on, and we follow their everyday detail and learn of bigger events along the way with matter-of-factness that cuts to the bone. Quiet yet harrowing, and altogether a brilliant fic.

For Whom It Is Reserved by sangga
Spectacular characterizations of Lee and Kara and their friendship, set around "33" and "Water". The gorgeous writing with sparse, fluid lyricism doesn't hurt either.

Calliope by Rheanna
Written in response to the Common People challenge, Rheanna draws a group of OCs so skillfully that she manages to make us care about their fate to the point of tears.

Winter Queen by Julia
Apollo/Roslin. Set post S1 finale, this story paints their complicated relationship with subtlety and grace. Beautiful characterizations, especially of Roslin.

Something Pretty by Kate Andrews
Holy... my brain just shorted out from the sheer hotness of this fic. Kate gets the the banter between Lee and Kara *just right*, and the UST keeps ratcheting up and up to an almost unbearable degree, then... whoa. I think I need a cigarette.

Twelve by Rheanna
A long, ambitious adventure with a kick-ass conceit and all kinds of nifty twists and turns, this story is thrilling from the beginning to the end. Add to that Rheanna's trademark fluid prose and spot-on characterizations, and you've got one hell of a ride.

Iocaste In Waiting by tigerlady
Futurefic, with our four main characters at dinner table, and all kinds of interesting undercurrents simmering beneath the seemingly rosy surface. Short, but unsettlingly resonant.