Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Gwaine
Length: 63,400 words
Author on LJ: angstslashhope
Author Website: AO3 author page
Why this must be read:

This post season 3 story is set immediately after Arthur and his new knights take back Camelot from Morgana, Morgause, and Cenred, who leaves his kingdom without a king and vulnerable. Arthur sends Gwaine and Lancelot with his envoy to take over. What follows is Gwaine's journey into foreign territory to keep the peace. While he's away, he and Merlin write and with each letter their romance blooms despite the distance.

What this fic really has going for it is its worldbuilding. This is a post-war Camelot that you can touch. Every OC is a person, and since the story is told from Gwaine's point of view you get to know him and the knights as fully fleshed out soldiers, trying to be better people and make a better world. This story is as much about Gwaine learning to be the knight he wants to be as it is with how to move forward in a changed world. Plus, this has my favorite version of Gareth as Gwaine's squire and a gorgeous reconciliation of magic back into Camelot.

Along a Wandering Wind

Fandom: due South
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Length: 31000 approx
Author on LJ: secretlybronte
Author Website: unknown

Summary: A seriously well written story, spanning several years, involving undercover work, and humongous amounts of angst. All from Kowalski's point of view, three quarters of it has you either weeping into your handkerchief, or biting your knuckles. When we finally get to Fraser he is so deeply (and believably) fucked up that you can hardly see how things could work out... Warnings for character death (OK, not much of a spoiler since it is obvious from the first paragraph) Ray's Mom, and a very realistic depiction of human trafficking, including children. (Nothing graphic.) Oh... and a bad guy getting on the wrong end of Ray.

In four parts. I can't imagine anyone not wanting to follow the links to the whole thing... here's the first part, and I'm sure you'll want to find out what happens next. (Links at end  of each section.)

http://secretlybronte.livejournal.com/14902.html

Hey folks, I'm going to be out of town without a computer from Friday through Monday, so I'm trying to rec one thing a day before I go to make up for it ahead of time. :)

Subject: Little Boy Blue by Kayasurin (Teen)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 112,168 words (43 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:

He needed someone to love, to care for, to see him. The fates saw fit to give him a baby Pooka. Jack didn't intend to be a father, it just ended up working out that way.

Have I mentioned that I like long works? At over 100,000 words, it's more than double the "official" length required for a novel (as defined by NaNoWriMo, at least). I've been trying to re-read fics just before I rec them to make sure I write a good description, but this one I didn't even bother trying... However, this is probably the only parent!Jack fic I'm going to specifically rec here, b/c all the other ones I'm reading are still in progress. (Though if anyone really wants recs on those WIPs, let me know.)

Jack finds a baby rabbit and decides to take care of it, names him Desmond, realizes he's not a normal rabbit, and slowly puzzles out what an infant needs. Jack's attempt to attract Bunny's attention to get his help goes awry, and he's is left as a single parent raising a young Pooka for decades, until Kayasurin gets up to the events of the film. These are revisited and revised based on Desmond's existence in this story, but all while preserving his wonderfully snarky sense of humor (which of course he imparts to Des). There is of course, the Jackrabbit to this fic (post the movie chapters), but in the end it revolves so strongly around Desmond that it's a really unique take on the Jack/Bunny relationship.

Little Boy Blue by Kayasurin

Fandom: PSYCH
Pairing: Shawn Spencer/Carlton Lassiter
Length: 25K
Author on LJ:trixietru
Author Website:trixietru on AO3

Why this must be read: There's mystery, danger, humor, a bit of romance, some sex, Shawn, Lassie - all bundled in a nice 25k story. I love "old dark house" stories, and I love case fic. This story has elements of both, and mixes them with good voices and the kind of humor you'd expect with Psych. It's well-written, it's something of an homage, and it's just plain fun.

Lassie is invited to a weekend retreat at an isolated cliffside hotel. Supposedly the other invitees include the finest minds in California law enforcement. But the invitation arrives only a few days before the event is due to begin, and that makes Shawn suspicious. So he decides to show up, as well - and finds that things aren't quite what the invitation implied.

( Excerpt )

Murder by Something Something on trixietru's lj

Murder by Something Something, on AO3