THE AVENGERS:
Pairing: Bruce Banner and Tony Stark
Length: 2502
Author on LJ: pprfaith
Author Website: At AO3
Why this must be read: Watching Bruce learn to read Tony as adeptly as Pepper is beautiful, mesmerizing, and more than a little heartbreaking. Bruce gets it wrong before he gets it right. Meanwhile, Tony just keeps on being Tony, no matter what. No matter who doesn't get *Tony*.


Excerpt

Later, he realizes that’s not what’s going on at all.

Tony pokes him with sticks (big sticks) but he doesn’t do it to be mean.

He tests Bruce, the way he tests his own suits, the way he tests everyone. He drags his feet with Pepper, he gives Fury and Steve lip, he flirts with Natasha and, surprisingly (or not), with Clint. He stays away from Thor, but only because even Tony Stark isn’t that brave. And anyway, Thor just sort of... happens, whether you want him there or not. Tony makes a lot of ‘act of god’ jokes. He is not wrong.

He pushes people as easily as he breathes and Bruce figures that out sometime during the second week he spends holed up in Stark Tower, intending to leave soon, really, soon, tomorrow, in fact, definitely tomorrow.

Tony tests everyone because Tony needs to know where people’s boundaries lie. He needs to know where he’s safe, Bruce thinks, and it’s been a long time since he pitied anyone but himself, but he pities Tony when it finally clicks.

Tony is using scientific methods to determine how far he can trust people.

And Bruce wants to hug him, sort of, because, good lord, a forty-year-old billionaire should not be this fragile, this helpless in the face of social interaction. But he is. Tony is terrified of trusting the wrong person.

Terms of Endearment

Fandom: X-Men First Class
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Length: 26,711
Rating: M
Warnings: spoilers for the movie, child abuse, violence, homophobia, animal cruelty, supporting character deaths (as in canon)
Author on LJ: misswinterhill
Author Website:
Summary: Daemon AU: When he was a child, Erik was forced to split with his daemon. It's only when he meets Charles that he thinks he might have finally found someone who he could safely leave her with. Missing scenes from canon and a few re-written scenes, plus what happened after. Somewhat loose interpretation of Pullman's ideas.

Why this must be read: I'm a sucker for stories that explain why characters act how they do, and winterhill has written a very believable backstory for why Charles and Erik are so different yet still connect on a basic level. The addition of daemons really allows several interpretations of how everything comes together and falls apart. This fic had me really questioning Erik's actions, even moreso than the movie did, because we see things from Erik's daemon's perspective as well. I can't say much without spoiling it, but I will say I stayed up all night reading this one (and sobbed at more than one point).

One last note, the details given to the social and political background of the world are incredibly well done, natural, and the strain the characters feel from their circumstances is also felt by the reader. Absolutely fantastic.

I, We, Us

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: gen
Length: 11195 words
Author on LJ: Not known
Author Website: http://www.wolfpanther.com/
Why this must be read: -

There are probably about as many TSbybS follow-ups as there are TS writers. In some Blair does get his academic career back; in some he becomes a cop. In some he leaves Cascade in an attempt to make a new life for himself. The various permutations make fascinating reading.

This is one where Blair starts off by going to the Police Academy, but after an incident there he decides that staying in Cascade is no longer an option. He leaves and ends up in Boston, working in a small diner. Meanwhile Jim has decided to go public about being a sentinel.

Stories that show Jim's remorse over Blair's sacrifice are always satisfying, and I always find this one to be among the better ones; it shows some of the problems Blair would face if he accepted the badge, it shows him trying to make a new life for himself; it shows Jim finally deciding that Blair has to get his life back.

Processing

Hello everyone, I'm  jainamac   and I'll be driving the Newsies van this month.  I've been obsessed with this movie since I was 8 years old, but I just got back into the fandom when I saw the new musical on Broadway.  My favorite pairing is Spot/Racetrack so that'll be the main bulk of the fics, but I'll throw in some Jack/David as well as some new pairings from the musical.  I'm working on a new overview that includes the Broadway musical as well.  Hope you enjoy!

Fandom:  NEWSIES
Pairing:  Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Length:  1100
Author on LJ Unknown
Author Website: Sterlingsuspenders
Why this must be read: This piece is short but I love the author's use of language.  There's no dialogue just a collection of Racetrack's thoughts about each encounter with Spot.  Each time they meet there's a different emotion, a different way that it plays out that shows him more about Spot's character and feelings.  I really loved this so go and enjoy.  

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