February 28th, 2013 
12:00 am Proceed With Caution by Poison Ivory (R)
Fandom: NEWSIES
Pairing: Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Length: 1800
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Poison Ivory
Why this must be read: Modern AU's are the most prevalent stories in the Newsies fandom. Unfortunately, they're not my favorite thing, but this story won me over. It's a short one-shot but I just really loved the characters voices. The best one-shots don't over-explain scenarios or give complex background information; they just let the characters *be* let's them show what's going on. That's what the author does here and it really works. Spot and Race have a confrontation when Race comes back from college. There's a lot of information to infer and guess about, just by how each of them acts. I thought this was well-written and one of the few modern AU's that I actually like.


Proceed With Caution
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12:17 am Variations by Scribe (R)
Fandom: NEWSIES
Pairing: Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Length: 1500
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Scribe
Why this must be read: This fic is dark, gritty, and harshly realistic. It's a "five ways" fic, but none of these are fluffy. A few are filled with a little hope, but I love the dark feel to them. These five scenarios are more true to the times than to a movie musical. Spot is an adorable, elfin King of Brooklyn in the movie that just so happens to be a scary and intelligent kid, but I love when fic authors make him dangerous and rough - the way he would have to be living on the streets of Brooklyn. This fic is just a fantastic punch to the gut...if that makes any sense.


Variations
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07:05 am Coyote's Sacrifice & Beneath the Bushes, Beneath the Vines by Marion
And before I pass the van on to the next driver, to finish this month I give you a pair of stories by a writer who is not recced as often as she should be :-)

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair (well, sort of...)
Length: 12840 words and 20400 words
Author on LJ: Not known, though she does have an account
Author Website: here
Why this must be read: - This is an absolute AU. Set in Mayan times, captured Guardian Heumac is destined to become a sacrifice; the young priest Mahoute, who is to perform the sacrifice, does not want Heumac to die. And the times are changing...
In the second story they get a warning of danger, and have to protect both themselves and the king from the men who would harm him.

There are parallels with 'our' Sentinel as well as some differences.

Marion excels at writing well-researched historical AUs. Some people who write historical AUs have clearly 'done their homework' on the period, and it shows in the way the facts are presented; Marion's stories are written so that the facts come over naturally as part of the background. With a total of 33,240 words, these two stories make for a very satisfying journey back in time.

Coyote's Sacrifice
Beneath the Bushes, Beneath the Vines
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12:43 pm (my house is) such a sad mile away by moirariordan (PG)
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Length: 856
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Author on LJ:
Author Website:
Summary: Eyes ahead.

Why this must be read: Moirariordan has written a short but powerful piece that smartly comments on Derek's past and how Stiles affects him. The power in this fic comes from the idea of what could be, not what is. I wasn't going to rec this due to the length, but ended up deciding since it drew me in from the beginning and left me wanting more, it was worth the rec. Perfect as a dose of pre-slash.

(my house is) such a sad mile away

Note: I have a short fic as my last rec, but that's only because I'm linking to a post on my own LJ with a list of fics that didn't get recced this month for various reasons (either I didn't read it or I hate the pairing). So, if you're interested in more daemon AUs (specifically Gibbs/DiNozzo, Sherlock/John, House/Wilson, Dean/Castiel, Tony/Pepper, and The Walking Dead), please feel free to check out my LJ post with a few more sort-of recs: the last of the daemon AUs.

It's been a great month, and I certainly enjoyed reccing daemon AUs! I hope anyone who's interested has gotten a good taste of what's out there. Thanks for coming along on this ride with me! ♥
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05:06 pm We Are Stardust by fuzzytomato02 (NC-17)
This is my final Merlin rec for the month and it's another excellent offering from last year's [livejournal.com profile] paperlegends (and today is also the last day to sign up to participate this year if anyone is interested!).

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Length: 43,097
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] fuzzytomato02
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

For the brilliant world-building... )

Excerpt )

We Are Stardust
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06:12 pm Hawks and Hands by Dira Sudis [Explicit]
For my last rec of the month, it's a fic that has already received many a rec, but in light of what's going on with my home-town team, the Hawks, and their 19-so-far winning streak, I just can't resist making this Hawks!fic today's rec.

Fandom : due South
Pairings : Ray Kowalski / OMC, Benton Fraser / Mark Smithbauer, Benton Fraser / Ray Kowalski
Author on LJ : [livejournal.com profile] dsudis
Author Website : on AO3
Additional Tag : AU
Length :  20,2967 words

Why this must be read : Does "eighteen sex scenes strung together with angst and hockey" sound good to you? If so, that's why it must be read. (And note that there are six other fics that Dira has written in this same 'verse, and they are listed at the end of this fic.)

Hawks and Hands
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10:47 pm this boy, half-destroyed by M_Leigh (Teen)
Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Length: 25, 598
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:
I'll admit I was wary of the second-person POV in this fic since it's so hard to do it well, but the lyrical, beautiful writing pulls it off wonderfully. Not only is it gorgeous, the POV really helps the reader connect with Derek's often difficult voice. I really love how the late Hales are present in the fic and in Derek's memories. Though almost all fics reference their lost, the Hales rarely get the level of attention they deserve. Overall, this is an exceptional Derek character study. As well, Stiles's magic is interesting, especially how it reminds Derek of his lost brother.

this boy, half-destroyed
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10:52 pm “The House on 22nd Street” by Lenore (explicit)
Fandom: Person of Interest
Pairing: John Reese/Harold Finch
word count: 2911
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenore/pseuds/Lenore
Why this must be read:

John Reese wants to know where Harold Finch keeps going when he leaves for mysterious appointments. And what he finds out serves to get the characters together.

The house from the title is the location. Inside, men like Finch pay for sex with other men. When Reese realizes this, he asks for “what my friend had” – which interestingly turns out to be a man who very much resembles Reesse himself.

This story is a hot little turn on a somewhat familiar trope. Lenore handles it with excellent writing and keeps the characters true. And that’s why it must be read!


The House on 22nd Street
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11:06 pm “100 Cranes” by Kmmerc (mature)
Fandom: Person of Interest
Pairing: John Reese/Harold Finch
word count: 765
Author on LJ: [personal profile] kmmerc
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/kmmerc/pseuds/kmmerc
Why this must be read:

Kmmerc is a new writer, inspired by the new fandom of “Person of Interest” and she seems to write nearly constantly, taking the reader into history and forward in time, posting WIPs and shorter completed works frequently. This is one of her newest efforts and it’s a sweet little character study of Reese needing something to do with his hands when he’s not using them to hold guns or punch out bad guys. Inspired by the “thousand cranes” legend of making cranes to get a wish, Kmmerc’s Reese starts folding old newspapers that remind him of past pain and moves on to find other types of paper in a journey of healing. The author skillfully weaves the crane folding through well-remembered cases he and Finch have worked on and as hope builds in him, the cranes change from sad and dead looking to cheerful. At the end, we see that Reese’s wish is going to come true. This story shows Kmmerc’s growing skill and is completely enjoyable.


100 Cranes
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11:14 pm Discovery Channel by Kayevelyn (Explicit)
Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Danny Mahealani/Stiles Stilinski, Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore
Length: 127,857 (plus 10,000 more words in related fics in the series)
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] sadatelcontar and [livejournal.com profile] kayevelyn
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:
I was so excited when this epic, epic fic was finished so I could rec it. The basic premise of this fork-in-the-road AU is that Stiles, not Scott, was bitten in the first episode; the changes spiral out from there as Stiles deals with his new wolfiness very, very differently. Much as I adore the series (and Scott), I honestly think Stiles' attitude to the transformation and Derek is better. The end result is a pack-in-waiting ready to deal with the Alpha together.

I liked the Danny/Stiles relationship in this fic. Although Danny is used as a plot device to allow Stiles to grow a little before hopping into a relationship with Derek, the relationship isn't just a plot device. It's a realistic high-school romance that Stiles is committed to; he's not just pinning for Derek. Danny is still pack, even when he decides that he's not willing to be anybodies' second best.

Oh, and definitely read the other fics in the series after you read this behemoth. I really loved reading canon!Stiles perspective on wolf!Stiles when he crosses into the canon universe.

Discovery Channel
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