Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Length: 4,754
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers for season 2
Author on LJ:
Author Website: SunriseinSpace on AO3
Summary: "You don't have one, do you? A daemon," Stiles asks, followed by, "Did Kate do it?", and Derek's not sure he's ever been more speechless in his life. They rebuild the Hale House. They try to rebuild each other.

Why this must be read: So many daemon fusions focus on how not having a daemon could affect someone. SunriseinSpace twists this idea. Derek's wolf is his daemon. His soul is inside his body. He feels complete, but in a world where everyone's souls are displayed publically, he also knows something is missing. Stiles' curiousity over this leads to the major plot arc of this fic.

This fic is very subtle. The tension in it comes from a retelling of canon as well as the presence of daemons. Characters focus on daemons as a means to discover something about themselves and others. This leaves Derek out of the loop in an odd way. He's their Alpha, but the topic is so uncomfortable for him that he can't address it without behaving weirdly or lashing out. So Derek's awkward behavior in canon is given a cause, which worked out really well for me as a reader. I'll rec this with a note, though: Derek and Stiles don't really get together in this one, it's more of a promise of things to come. Even so, the psychology between them is delicious. Still, this fic is more about Derek's ability to accept and understand his own soul.

The Only Sentimental Thing I Could Think Of

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Gen, canon Arthur/Gwen
Length: 46,732
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

Summary: "As Arthur struggles to prove himself worthy after Agravaine's betrayal and Gwen tries to get used to being Queen, a band of professional thieves plot to steal from Camelot with the help of a foreign magic, and Merlin, naturally, is right smack in the middle."

For fandom that is large as Merlin, it's surprisingly difficult to find gen stories, especially lengthy ones which makes this story a pleasant surprise.  This fic reads like a Merlin episode and does an excellent job of conveying both the show's strength (the depth of Merlin and Arthur's friendship) and flaws (avoidance of the logical magic!reveal).  The author does a great job of capturing Arthur's fondness for Merlin hidden by his bullying, arrogant attitude towards Merlin to Gwen's wisdom as well as Merlin's single-minded devotion to Arthur and fulfilling his destiny.  The plot and the "villains" are interesting and ties well into rest of the series as well as cleverly connecting the Arthurian legend to Greek myth.

While I would argue that the fic feels uncannily like the show, some readers may find it "too young" and it does feel like it is aimed towards a much younger audience.  But IMHO, that is part of it's charm.  At times the characters feel a little naive, but it's a fairly accurate portrayal of the characters in the earlier part of the show.  Either way, whether intended or not, this fic does an extremely great job of highlighting a lot of the issues I had with the show while still celebrating the best aspects of it.  And much like it, this fic made me equal parts frustrated and happy.

Daughter of Erebus

Fandom : due South
Pairing : Benton Fraser / Ray "Ace" Leary
Author on LJ : soundslikej
Author Website : on AO3
Additional Tag : AU
Length : 6,979 words

Why this must be read : Because this fic is totally for the win when it comes to taking canon (in this case, the "Dr. Longball" episode) and giving it an AU twist (in this case, Ray really is a baseball player on the Willison team). Perfect Fraser and Ray voices, good featuring of Diefenbaker. And it gets hotter than a home run on a summer day!

Ray left the locker room thinking of a big juicy burger from the Main Street diner and found a wolf instead....looked up at him with these big blue eyes and made a noise that was way too pathetic to come out of something that big.

"What?" he asked, and decided not to think too much about the fact that he was talking to a dog. "What'a you want, mutt?"

"I expect he wants you to feed him," came the reply from behind him. "Although why he would think that you had food is anyone's guess."

Ray turned and wasn't entirely surprised to see the Mountie crossing the parking lot. "Well I was thinking about a burger. Maybe he's psychic. He yours?"

"In a manner of speaking, although I'm sure he'd take exception to the notion. As for his psychic abilities, I'd venture to say you're probably not too far off the mark."

Ray grinned and turned back to the dog. "Ok, mutt, what am I thinking now?" The dog let out a low growl. "Hey," he said, turning to Fraser, "he's right. Pretty smart dog."

"Oh, he wasn't answering you," Fraser corrected him. "He was simply expressing his displeasure at being called 'mutt'. He's half wolf, and tends to be sensitive about these things. Oh, and also, he can't hear you. He's reading your lips."

Ray raised his eyebrows. "You have a lip-reading wolf."

"Or he has me. I fear that's a debate that will never be satisfactorily resolved."

"Does he like burgers?"

Fraser raised an eyebrow. "Dief likes anything that's edible. And many things that aren't."

"Because there's this diner on Main Street that's got the best burgers in Illinois. And probably in the whole damn country."

Fraser looked a little confused. "Well thank you for the recommendation, Ace. Maybe we will stop in there for dinner later."

"Ray," he heard himself saying without really knowing why.

"I'm sorry?"

"Ray. It's…my name is Ray."

"Oh, I apologize. I was quite sure I heard—"

"Ace. Yeah. That's what…it's what people call me. But my name's Ray."

Runaway American Dream

Fandom: NEWSIES
Pairing: Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Length: 2500
Author on LJ: carolinecrane
Author Website: carolinecrane
Why this must be read: This is the sequel to Nothing Says I love You (Like Blackmail) which I recced here. This follows up beautifully on the events in the previous story. It's just a small interlude between Race and Spot but both of them know that something is different, that this isn't just a casual thing anymore. Race is the only person Spot can trust when his "King of Brooklyn" veneer slips a little. I love the continuation of the characterization here and the ending is so hopeful and sweet without being saccharine. It's a lovely sequel to one of the best pieces in the fandom.


And Then You Say