Fandom: MERLIN/ DRESDEN FILES (Books)
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Length: ~6,000 words
Author on LJ: ras_fic
Author Website: ras_fic
Why this must be read:

So, in this reincarnation, Merlin can't find Arthur. So what's a wizard to do? Hire another wizard to find him of course! This is a fun little crossover between Merlin and the Dresden Files, told from the point of view of Harry Dresden who is none to pleased to find a really powerful wizard on his doorstep, much less a cheerfully cryptic one. It's a delightful and funny outside pov on Merlin.

Don't worry if you're not familiar with the Dresden Files. This story can be read without knowing it.

***
Excerpt

I couldn't help but boggle at the kid. First he had broken through my wards with no problems, had batted aside my (admittedly impulsive) attack without any visible effort, and now he was claiming to have helped make an ancient, powerful sword rumored to be Excalibur itself. I couldn't figure out if he was a really good liar or just batshit insane. It was too much to even try to understand, and I still didn't have an answer to the simplest question I'd asked from the start. I repeated it again, this time feeling even more frustrated and out of my depth than before. "Who are you?"

A strange smirk spread over the kid's face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I felt my hands ball into very frustrated fists and said through clenched teeth, "Try me."

And the kid's face lit up with a smile brighter than the glow of the sword currently cradled lovingly across his chest. "I'm Merlin."

I blinked. "You're right. I don't believe you."
***

The Once and Future Pain In My Ass

Fandom: HOCKEY RPF/HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews
Length: 111,000 words
Author on LJ: staraflur
Author Website: Staraflur's hockey rpf at AO3
Why this must be read:

All fandoms must, of course, have a Harry Potter AU, and Hockey RPF is no exception. I find that they're often pretty great fics as well, and, again, no exception here.


In this case, magic is an alternative for Hockey, and it does not (gasp) take place in Hogwarts, but in a magical school in the US, which is quite unusual but works brilliantly. There's a North American Triwizard Tournament, which our hockey players take part in. Kaner is his somewhat less than serious/studious self, and Captain Serious is Captain Serious.

It is incredibly well-written, I was continually actually laughing, and glued to my screen for 100k+ words.

Bring it if you really want it

Fandom: BANDOM - FOB/PATD & Blue Crush
Pairing: Jon/Cassie, John/Spencer, Anne Marie/Eden
Length: 35,525 words
Author on LJ: Not anymore
Author Website: The fanfiction of flyingtapes
Summary: When Jon is twelve, his parents move the family to Hawai'i.

Why this must be read: MCR was my main love in this fandom, and yet somehow this is one of my favourite fics. It's almost a character study in Jon Walker, since the main story never deviates from his life and his POV, but character studies sometimes get a little dull and this one doesn't. Full disclosure: it takes a bit of time to get going and the beginning is somewhat descriptive and can get frustrating, but I promise you: it gets better.

It's a realistic portrayal of how sometimes things can go wrong and your dreams can be gone in the blink of an eye. But it also tells of how when one thing in your life disappears, something else more often than not takes its place. For me, my favourite thing about this story is the pacing. It feels a bit like ebb and flow, which is funny considering the amount of ocean in this fic, and the story (and Jon in this story) feels so laidback and nice and steady and just... It makes me feel good. :) It's perhaps a bit unrealistic in that everything ends up so nice and tied up with a bow for Jon, but, well, we all love our happy endings, don't we?



( Everyone in their neighborhood is really friendly and no one locks their doors, and Jon learns quickly who he can beg rides to the beach from and who he can’t. )



A Brokedown Melody

Subject: A dream of shadows by adelaide_rain (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 11,105 words (9 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jack Frost's thoughts are full of Pitch. About Pitch tying him up and making him shiver and gasp. About a very adult kind of fun that's a little scary as well.

And just because I can, here's some more Blackice smut, and moreover another adelaide_rain offering. Written before "Like Drowning" and unlike it, this one focuses much more strongly on Jack's motivations for seeking Pitch out in the first place. Where "Like Drowning" surveys quite a few sexual encounters between Jack and Pitch and explores the final outcome of a relationship between them, "A Dream of Shadows" focuses down on their first encounter (a different one, it's not the same story) and their emotional reactions to each other. Rather than ending with the final outcome of their relationship, here adelaide_rain leaves things speculative after a start to things, leaving the reader wondering how things will turn out in the end, and if Jack will manage to maintain his sense of self. I have to say I don't rightly know which of the two I like better.

A dream of shadows by adelaide_rain (Explicit)