Subject: From the Darkness We Rise by not_poignant (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 162,528 words (21 chapters)
Author Website: AO3, Tumblr

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Twenty two years have passed since the defeat of Pitch, and Jack lives alone, touch-starved, with only the company of a solitary Nightmare. One evening the Man in the Moon sets him on a path that will lead him to unexpected relationships, draw the attention of the Guardians to a new coalition of villains, and challenge Jack's every notion of what it is to be good, evil, and what it is to live in the shadows.

And here's my absolute last rec for the month, because it's my absolute favorite work! not_poignant aka Pia is an amazing author. This is a very angsty fic, and at more than 150,000 words, it's got even more angst than its fair share. But it's also a recovery fic, and not just of Pitch after the shadows leave him, but more importantly and subtly of Jack as we see what his 300 years of solitude and one night stands have done to him.

Pia does an amazing job with characters' inner turmoil (numerous commenters have said that she brought them to tears). She also writes some of the hottest smut I've ever read, like EVER, not just in fandom, because it's driven by the characters. And it totally breaks your heart at the same time as it brings a grin to your face when she does both (inner turmoil and smut) at once. Her Jack is fragile underneath his tough exterior, but over the course of the book (and the sequel, Into Shadows We Fall, which will be finishing next week, so if you start FtDWR now she'll be done with ISWF before you need to worry about it) he begins to find the inner strength to match his outer. Her Pitch's snark is to hide his own frailties which result from his ages ago training as a Golden Warrior, compounded with his ages of possession by the shadows. Her Nightmare King is even more terrifying than that of the film and the books combined. Her other Guardians slowly come to realize they did wrong by leaving Jack alone so many years, and even more slowly attempt to fix their errors, despite Jack's reluctance to accept their offers of help. Pia plans ahead like few published authors do.

There's Seelie and Unseelie fae. There's a rich world of other spirits. Jack has a new sidekick and she's a friendly nightmare. There's character death. There's discussion of centers, and changing centers. There's fight scenes and conversations. There's magic and hope. There's fear and despair. There's companionship and rivalry. This fic has everything, and it's always the best I've ever read.

( Excerpt 1 )

( Excerpt 2 )

From the Darkness We Rise by not_poignant (Explicit)

Subject: On Top of the World by Settiai (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: N/a
Length: 2:44
Author on LJ: settiai
Author Website: AO3, YouTube

Why this must be watched:

It's from Vividcon! If I really need to say more, this's a great look at how Jack's been up and been down, and came out on top in the end. As the lyrics (by Imagine Dragons) say, "I coulda gave up then but // Then again I couldn't have 'cause // I've traveled all this way for something."

On Top of the World by Settiai (G)

Subject: Millennia of Experience by Aluxra (Mature/Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 6,177 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Jack seeks out Pitch as in many other Blackice works for a little taste of the darkness (in bed). What makes this different from others set up like this is that Jack isn't the first to have done so. In fact all the other Guardians have slept with / used Pitch at one point, as have many other spirits throughout the millennia, and Pitch has no qualms about sharing this with Jack after they finish. And in the sequel, Millennia of Suspicion, when Jack returns Pitch even throws it in his face to drive him off. There's also a WIP sequel to the sequel, which chronicles Pitch's encounters with the other Guardians/spirits before Jack (the Mother Nature one is best IMO).

Aluxra rates this work as Mature, but IMO if you know which appendage goes in which orifice it should be Explicit.

Millennia of Experience by Aluxra (Mature/Explicit)

We're coming into the home stretch now! I want to warn folks, I'll be posting my absolute favorite RotG fic on the last day of the month, which is this Saturday, and I know lots of people don't check LJ on the weekends, so if you want to see this one as soon's it's posted then make sure you're looking on Saturday! :)

Subject: The Darkness of Spring by Kalorii (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 16,002 words (5 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jealousy is an ugly emotion and Bunnymund is no stranger to it. Rather than holidays, he looks on during a Christmas party as the one he cares for more than he lets on seems to flirt with one of their friends. For a Guardian, always being under the cloud of such a strong emotion can be dangerous and fighting the demons can't be done alone.

I've mentioned dark!Bunny Jackrabbit stories before, and this is a prime example. Bunny becomes infected with jealousy, turns dark, and then kidnaps Jack. Smut ensues, Jack eventually saves Bunny, and there's a happy ending.

The Darkness of Spring by Kalorii (Explicit)

Subject: The Agony of Doubt by Nike (Teen/Mature)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 2,292 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
After the events in the movie, North decides to act as mediator and force Jack and Bunny to figure out why their former relationship ended. Jack and Bunny wish he wouldn't.

Unlike some Jackrabbit fics, this time it's Jack who has heats, not Bunny. (Nike uses the idea of Jack being a "Winter Womb" which I've seen elsewhere, that some winter spirits are capable of becoming pregnant regardless of their gender - but don't worry, no detailed mpreg here.) North locks Jack and Bunny in a room with him, plays mediator, and forces them to talk things out. There's some really fascinating reasons for the miscommunication, and of course a happy ending. :)

Nike rates this work as Teen, I'd rate it as Mature for multiple references to sex (without any details) and some strong language.

The Agony of Doubt by Nike (Teen/Mature)

Subject: A Hero to Serve You by Scarecrowqueen (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 6,053 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
North had made sure Jack knew all about Kozmotis Pitchiner; about the man who would one day fail, the man whose fatherly love would eventually be his ruination.

Kozmotis Pitchiner, who would become Pitch Black.

North had built the man in Jack’s mind, shaping him with his words into someone larger than life, imposing, and dignified. But the man in reality? He was nothing at all like that.

Jack knew because he was currently enjoying an exciting bout of Agoraphobia on top of a good long mourn for a lifetime lost in one of North’s extra rooms.

Set post-movie, Pitch Black is discovered severely weakened and with color returning to his body, and they soon realize that he is no longer the Nightmare King but is instead a recovering Kosmotis Pitchiner. Jack sympathizes with him and they begin to cobble together a pidgin language to communicate with each other.

Come (no pun intended) for the slightly less common use of Kosmotis in Blackice instead of Pitch Black, and stay for the entirely unique dominant!Jack in the smut. This work is written from Jack's POV, and there's a sequel from Kosmotis'. If you're the literary sort, look back at the title after finishing and see how it relates to the story.

A Hero to Serve You by Scarecrowqueen (Explicit)

Subject: Sincerity by Kalael (Teen)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 2,088 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
The adrenaline makes it all worth it, the pain and bruising and bleeding and the proof of existence that they both crave. It’s the most honest thing that Jack’s known.

This Blackice seems inspired by the two adelaide_rain pwp pieces recc'd earlier this month, but without the porn due to being rated Teen. It looks more at Jack's non-sexual motivations for seeking out Pitch, and as such is an interesting look at his loneliness.

Sincerity by Kalael (Teen)

Subject: Unmistakable Sound by Scarecrowqueen (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny(-ish)
Length: 1,029
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Here he is himself; he can let down all walls, let the borders be breached. Here he can relax, here he can touch, here he can feel.

Have some Saturday smut! This is a drabble of porn without plot (plot? what plot?), Jack masturbating to thoughts of Bunny, though there is a bit of character introspection.

Unmistakable Sound by Scarecrowqueen (Explicit)

Subject: Jack Frost // Good or bad by DoYouLikeMyNickname (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: N/a
Length: 3:04
Author Website: YouTube

Why this must be watched:

I promised you a second fanvid by DoYouLikeMyNickname, and here it is. This one also rises above its video quality issues (again, it appears to be based on video captured in the theater rather than ripped) to show an interesting character study of Jack Frost. It's definitely Jack POV as he contemplates how he's a worthless waste of time, until Jamie comes along and he suddenly realizes his purpose. The song is an instrumental, I don't know who by, and again there's good use of text overlays (some of which are movie quotes), this time throughout.

Jack Frost // Good or bad by DoYouLikeMyNickname (G)

Subject: To Save What Matters by IcyDeath (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 3,890 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jack Frühling is the Spirit of Hope and Life. The guardians ask for his help when their comrade and winter guardian, Aster Bunnymund, was captured by Pitch in attempt to take over the world with cold and dark. Light and Darkness fight, in the end will Jack’s fear be unearthed by the bogeyman? And will he save Bunny in time? Or fall into the darkness himself?

Notes:
So yeah, this was my fill on JOB SWAP in jackrabbit week. I posted this in my tumblr a long time ago and I just posted it here now, because as I expected, I became obsessed with this prompt and made it into a 'thing'. Now it's an arc for something XD

Another reference to Tumblr, this time the peeps there had a Job Swap day within Jackrabbit week. Pitch Black decides to kidnap the Guardian of Winter, because what goes together better than cold and dark? Only this time E. Aster Bunnymund is Winter and Jack Frost is the spirit of Spring and Hope and Life. In addition to the beautiful depiction of their altered costumes, there's some beautiful insight into Jack's mind.

To Save What Matters by IcyDeath (G)

Subject: Frozen Winter by IlloustriousTaco (Teen?)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch, Jack/Bunny, bits of North/Tooth, Pitch/Sandy
Length:
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
When Pitch Black happened up on something wondrous, the birth of a new spirit, he knew he had to interfere. When he realized that this creature was the blood of his oldest nemesis, he knew he had to turn him into his Fearling Prince. And if he didn't quite get what he wanted... well, his new pet would still be quite useful against his ancient enemies.

This one starts off as a classic "Pitch got to Jack first", and in this case he turns him into Jokul Frosti, Pitch's Fearling Prince. But Aster can't just let a child suffer in the hands of Pitch.

blueraccoon, you wanted more Blackice, well here's a nice one. This story might not be everyone's cup of tea, as there are a couple scenes with mostly non-consensual sex and references to mpreg. What I really like though is that even though this story has its dark moments, it's hopeful overall and has a somewhat happy ending. It also shows that even at his weakest, Jack is still a BAMF. There's also a sequel with lots more Jackrabbit.

The author rates this work as Teen, but with the references to non-con sex I'd probably rate it Mature.

Frozen Winter by IlloustriousTaco (Teen?)

Subject: Walking the Circle by Kayasurin (Teen)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 31,516 words (15 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jack would just like to take the time to remind everyone to hang onto their weapon of choice when accidentally going through the experimental snow globe, because otherwise you'll end up who knows where without a staff and only snowballs to help you.

Or: Jack doesn't know where he is, he sure doesn't speak the language, and he just knows talking to those giant rabbits will go badly. The little one, however... That works out just fine.

North experiments with creating some new snowglobes and then Jack disappears. All Jack knows is that he's up shit's creek without his staff, there's a bunch of rabbit people, and a particularly runty little one is being picked on by other kids. They may not be human, but Jack protects all kids, even without his staff.

Meanwhile, young Aster is an orphan trying to take care of himself in a new Pooka village, when some of the other kids try to mess with him a little too much. He is saved at the last minute by a strange monster who does not speak his language, and Aster realizes this is the goddess of Winter and names her Tarnaske after the Winter Smith goddess.

It's worth keeping in mind for this fic that throughout the RotG film, Bunny is only ever called Bunny, Bunnymund, Cottontail, Kangaroo, or other nicknames. As far as the audience knows, Jack doesn't actually know Bunny's full name. Because of the age differences we don't get full Jackrabbit smut here, this "pairing" is a friendship/mentorship, but it's got the classic trope of lots of misunderstanding between Jack and Bunny as they get to know each other without even knowing they're doing so.

Walking the Circle by Kayasurin (Teen)

Subject: Karma's Helper by Nike (Mature)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: N/a
Length: 1,427 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
There were millions of people who had been in, would be in, and were currently in this horrible situation. Jack couldn't help them all. He couldn't be everywhere, after all. But this one? This one he could do something about.

AKA the story where someone learns it's a bad idea to try and rape someone in the presence of the Trickster Spirit of Winter.

Trigger Warning: attempted rape

There are many stories out there where Jack tries to help the good and punish the wicked. This is one of them. Rated Mature for attempted rape, but Jack saves the day and plays a trick on the perp.

Karma's Helper by Nike (Mature)

Subject: Of Heart(h) and Home by Scarecrowqueen (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 14,279 words (6 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Aster blinked. Then blinked again. A third blink however, did nothing to dispel the dish-washing mirage that had taken up residence in his kitchen. He was tempted to back out and try opening the door again to see if that worked when the mirage turned around and smile a brilliant ivory smile.

In case you needed another pick-me-up after yesterday's dreary offerings, here's a beautiful Jackrabbit fic. Jack inadvertently courts Bunny when he helps to clean his house during the Easter ramp-up. This's a bit of a stealth 5-and-1 story, as Scarecrowqueen describes it elsewhere as "Five time Jack gatecrashed Aster's burrow and made himself useful, and One time he didn't have to leave." Even if you aren't into Jackrabbit, read it for the image of Jack in an apron doing air guitar.

The author Scarecrowqueen is part of the AO3 RotG group affectionately referred to as the Evil Authors Club (along with Kayasurin, Nike, IlloustriousTaco, and CleverCorgi, most of whom I believe I've already recced at least once), but this work is pretty opposite of evil. :)

Of Heart(h) and Home by Scarecrowqueen (Explicit)

After yesterday's string of depressing stories, I figured we needed a little bit of fluff.

Subject: Relaxation by IlloustriousTaco (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: N/a
Length: 560 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Fluffy petting ficklet.

Prompt

An entirely smutless fluff ficlet here, North helps groom Bunny. It's warm and feel-good, and shows a nicer side of their friendship than just the rivalry. ^_^

Relaxation by IlloustriousTaco (G)

Subject: A Cacophony of Children by SummerLeighWind (Gen/Teen?)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: N/a
Length: 299 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Not a child will be without nightmares tonight and many after; a jagged smile slicing across his face, Pitch closes his eyes and listens to the cacophony of children. He has work to do.

Trigger Warning: 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes, harm to children

And closing off my inadvertent Dark Day is this piece that some may think is in poor taste and offensive, but I personally think is an interesting way of the author dealing with the aftermath of a real-world tragedy. This is a short vignette of Pitch's reactions when he is drawn to the Oklahoma schools which were hit by a tornado earlier in 2013.

Regardless of whether you like or dislike this one, it will get a reaction out of you, and in the end, isn't that the point of art?

Subject: Breeding Doe by KS_Claw (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Bunny/Pitch
Length: 34,912 words (16 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Post-movie, Bunnymund finds a comatose Nightmare King. And he exacts his revenge in a way that leads to slightly unplanned, but not entirely unwanted results.

Prompt

Trigger Warnings: rape/non-con, drugged sex, hate sex, brainwashing

Apparently today's a Dark Day, because here's another dark one. As mentioned in the fandom overview, in the books it's revealed that Pitch killed all the Pookas, Bunny's race. Bunny's dark side comes out when he finds Pitch after the events of the film and decides to forcibly right the wrong that Pitch did at the end of the Golden Age and repopulate the Pooka species using magic to get Pitch pregnant. Yep, it's an mpreg (and for a wonder it's not Jack).

This work's most distinguishing feature is its unique pairing (I haven't even seen a name for the Bunny/Black pairing, it's so rare Rotten Eggs! see comment below), but its depiction of Bunny is also interesting. In most dark!Bunny stories, it's essentially a different Bunny - maybe it's an AU version of Bunny, or Bunny gets infected with something and isn't in his right mind. Here Bunny *is* in his right mind, and it's a really dark side that comes out.

Breeding Doe by KS_Claw (Explicit)

Subject: The Dark Shepard by dildarium [Unrated - Teen/Mature]
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: N/a
Length: in the ballpark of 1,000-2,000 (no wordcount included)
Author's LJ: widowing_powder
Author Website: Tumblr

Why this must be read:

Trigger Warning: depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts

This is a human!Jack AU where Jack is deep in depression because instead of saving his sister Emma, she fell through the lake and died. Most of this work is Jack's introspection about his own emotions. There's some reference to other people in Jack's life (Piki and Proto), and these are AFAIK dildarium's OCs from hir other works (I haven't read much else by this author though) OCs from this AU, which I think is shared across a few people on Tumblr? (The author is correcting my errors with this in the comments...) This work is really dark, but really powerful, especially for such a short work - if you can make it past the trigger warnings, and you like feels, this is going to give you a lot of bang for your buck time.

Part of why I included this work is not just its awesomeness on its own, but also to represent the vibrant Tumblr community which I am not fully plugged into myself - I don't fully "get" Tumblr I have to admit. However, I follow Tumblr just enough to know there's a lot of RotG stuff going on there, lots of fan art, role plays, and AO3 authors metaing about their process. There's less of actual works on Tumblr, but there are some. If you're into Tumblr, you can probably find this stuff more easily than me, but try searching on RotG as well as the nickname of your favorite pairing (such as Blackice or Bennefrost).

If you're planning to read this work though, don't ignore those trigger tags. This is probably the darkest work I'm going to rec, and I put in those TWs for a reason. Author dildarium doesn't rate this work, but I rate it as either Teen or Mature due to potential triggers.

The Dark Shepard by dildarium [Unrated - Teen/Mature]

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)

So Loki just called his friend Steve to pick him up after the crash b/c he's too shaken to drive. Of course it's just our luck that apparently Sandy decided to pull a little overtime and the Cap fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into the rest of us. We now have RotG and the Avengers movieverse!

Subject: Old Acquaintances by BlackRook (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians / Avengers movieverse
Pairing: N/a
Length: 1,678 words
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jack Frost and Steve Rogers go way back. Written for prompt on avengerkink, vague spoilers for Rise of the Guardians.

Prompt:
I was just thinking, Jack and Steve probably would have a history together.
Like, Jack making pretty frost designs on Steve's windows, because Steve couldn't play outside, or Jack running into Steve while Steve was in Europe, and being surprised at the changes, but still recognizing him.
Jack finding Steve crashed into the snow, and being frustrated at being able to do anything.
Bonus: Jack talking to Steve while Steve was taking his 70 year nap.
Bonus: Steve ending up believing in Jack Frost, and being able to see him.

Really not anything else to add... If you like Avengers movieverse fic, and RotG, read this. It may also be the shortest fanfic I rec all month. :-P

Old Acquaintances by BlackRook (G)

And this ends our most horrible day of collisions. To lillian_raven who requested a "Big Four" rec (Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons), I'm still working on getting ahold of Tangled and How to Train Your Dragon. After I've watched those I'll see about adding a gratuitous extra collision at the end of the month for you. :)

So when Loki bumped his little Mini Cooper into the side our RotG Crack Van this morning, North got so angry that he jumped out of the driver's seat to yell at Loki rather than pulling the van over to the side of the road like he was supposed to. Unfortunately, Jack had distractedly iced over the road, so when the White Witch came along in her sleigh she wasn't able to stop in time and plowed into the back of the van, and now we have a second Crack Van Collision: RotG and Narnia!

Subject: Always Winter; Never Christmas by Zeebie (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians/Chronicles of Narnia
Pairing: N/a
Length: 7,055 words (6 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Young Jack Frost is still getting used to his new powers when he stumbles into a lovely, wintery country ruled by an imperious queen. She calls herself Jadis, and she can see Jack. Perhaps she can help him.

Jack's only been around for a hundred years or so and is still learning about his powers and invisibility when he accidentally gets sucked into a wonderland where it's always winter. Once there, a beautiful woman in a sleigh offers him some delicious food from a magic bottle she carries while she questions him about his magic powers, his staff, and what he knows of the abominable man in the red sleigh. The woman's name, Jack learns, is Queen Jadis of Charn and Narnia, and she feels Jack's powers can help to stabilize the unpredictable weather of Narnia...

Always Winter; Never Christmas by Zeebie (G)

It seems like I've just gotten the RotG van out of the shop when we've just gotten into a minor fender bender with the Avengers comicverse (Journey into Mystery)! Yes that's right, it's the 15th according to my clock so it's time for Crack Van Collisions!

Subject: In Which Two Creatures of Ice Without Any Friends Find Each Other by Asidian (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians/Avengers: Journey into Mystery
Pairing: N/a
Length: 11,314 words (5 works)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
The next time the boy that comes with the wind settles upon Asgardia’s wall, Loki slips away from bird and dog and brother. He finds his way outside, climbs five flights of stairs until he stands, panting, at the top -- peers through an archway to spy upon the figure that skates over stone slicked with ice. He moves like the wind itself, the picture of unrestrained joy. He wears no shoes, and yet he does not seem to feel the cold upon slim, pale feet.

Loki recalls stories of frost giants, hideous monsters that bring the ice, as he takes in this creature of simple pleasure. He recalls that the people of Asgardia say he is just such a horror of winter – but here and now, watching this boy play upon the walls as though nothing else exists in the world, he does not see how it can possibly be a bad thing.

The "Journey into Mystery" is a storyline from the Avengers comic - while I have not read it myself, I like the Avengers movieverse and this fits into that with only a little explanation: in short, in the comic book storyline, Loki at some point becomes a good guy and then is turned into a little boy in a revamped Asgardia on Earth, and in this fic he then meets a certain little boy of a winter sprite. Young Loki has two companions, a dog (who's just a dog) and a bird (who talks to him and can only be seen by Loki). Jack of course can only be seen by people who believe in him - which apparently includes Loki because in reading Wikipedia he believes everything he sees on there. And why not? Loki himself is a god and he exists, why wouldn't a Midgardian legend like Jack Frost also exist? The two of them, loners not by choice but by circumstance, strike up an interesting friendship.

In Which Two Creatures of Ice Without Any Friends Find Each Other by Asidian (G). One work in the series is rated Teen.

Subject: Adrenaline by Windlion (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 4,683 words (2 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jack didn't worry about it at first. Everyone's got their kinks, you know?
It's not like his fantasies could really happen.
Until it did.

If you didn't get enough of the human!Jack Blackice in Windlion's "Taken" (recc'd last night), then check out hir explicit take on it here. Human!Jack has really kinky fantasies about being tied down and dominated. And then it really happens and it's Pitch's shadows.

This's a great example of Blackice smut: bondage, banter, and ... um, I can't think up a third B-word now, but take my word on it, it's good. And makes a nice follow-up to Windlion's Teen rated work from yesterday. :)

Adrenaline by Windlion (Explicit)

Subject: Taken by Windlion (Teen)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch Black
Length: 12,028 words (6 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Jack's had more than his fair share of nightmares and fears over the years, and he's afraid they're getting worse. Jamie offers a possible solution: it's not him, it's something . . . else.
Jack wishes he wasn't right. Enter the Boogeyman.

In this TeenHuman!Jack AU, Jack's had a problem with nightmares for all of his teen years, when his friend Jamie figures out that the Nightmare King has taken a special interest in him. Jack's still just as sassy despite being human and refuses to be cowed by the Boogeyman. Pitch's still creepy but a bit less hell-bent on destroying the world, especially now that he seems to be cultivating a believer. Jamie still believes in everything, and through this belief he helps Jack to figure out what's going on (not to mention the rules of the game). It's just a fascinating take on these personalities and how they interact.

"Taken" is followed by a sadly incomplete series of one-shots, "Rondo".

Taken by Windlion (Teen)

Now that I've gotten the crack van back out of the shop (that is, I'm back from my weekend trip, despite United's every attempt to prevent me from getting home), it's time to take it out for a spin again. And now for something completely different...

Subject: Fear and Loathing by Dorksidefiker (Teen)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Bunny/Mother Nature
Length: 16,558 words (18 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:

There are few things in the universe who hate Pitch Black more than Mother Nature. Unfortunately, when she lets that anger out things tend to explode, so it's in the Guardians' best interest to run interference.

The most notable thing about this work is the unusual pairing of Bunnymund and Seraphina/Mother Nature. It would be unusual enough if it were just a slice of Seraphina's POV, as few works include her and fewer give significant insight into her mind, but the fact that she and Bunny here have some uncertain level of romantic relationship makes this work stand out even more. The fact that it also delves into the relationship between Seraphina and her (former?) father Pitch Black is only icing on the cake. Also unusual is the fact that Jack's been relegated to a supporting character.

And because Dorksidefiker's words are so nice, and it's hard for me to describe what I like about this work what with my brain fried from being stuck in an airport on standby for more time than I actually spent traveling back home today, here's a couple spoileriffic quotes. (Yeah, I'm totally eloquent today, didja notice?)

( Spoiler Quotes )

Fear and Loathing by Dorksidefiker (Teen)

I'm under the impression that officially only the last Friday of the month is supposed to be a "Friday Night Drive-in" for fanvids, but since I'm about to go away for the weekend and not post for a few days I thought I'd leave you with a little candy - mods let me know if this isn't Kosher. I guess you can say that before I bring the van into the shop for a tune-up, I decided to treat us to a little drive-in movie. :)

Subject: "This is War - Rise of the Guardians" by DoYouLikeMyNickname (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: none
Length: 2:18
Author Website: YouTube

Why this must be watched:

There isn't a lot of good fanvids out there for RotG (in fact, I just realized the other one I'm planning to rec at the end of the month is by the same person), and many were made in the early days of the film using in-theater captures (this one is no exception) rather than ripped video. However, I really like how at the start of this one the creator does a great job of synching the lyrics to the audio, as well as including adding text on top of the video. This fanvid really tells the story of the song using the characters and scenes of RotG in a way that not many other RotG fanvids I've seen do (most just put in random clips that the creator likes without bothering to tell a story). This video uses a lot of fade-to-black effects, which I usually don't like, but they really fit with the mood of the song here. Audio quality is good too.

"This is War - Rise of the Guardians" by DoYouLikeMyNickname (G)

Subject: The Blizzard of '68 by Lindzzz (G) [of The Evil Boyfriends Series (G-Explicit)]
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
In which Pitch throws a sulking tantrum and Jack is having none of it.

I love the idea I usually see where Pitch and Jack join up early on and it's dark and angsty and Pitch is a controlling manipulative bastard. But I wanted to play with the idea that the two of them are both good and bad for each other. And they form this weird, unhealthy and hilariously domestic codependent relationship built on a good foundation of snark and mutual understanding.

And lots of making out like a couple of ridiculous teenagers.

This is the cutest fluffiest take on Blackice that I've ever seen. Jack and Pitch have been together for at least a hundred years. Pitch enjoys sulking and throwing hissy fits; Jack enjoys pulling Pitch out of his sulks and stroking his own ego. Add in a new take on the Blizzard of '68 (co-opted from its usual cliche place in Jackrabbit fics), and you get a hilarious and adorable pair of co-dependent mischief-makers who never quite get up to the level of evildoers.

Each story in the series can stand alone and are around 1,000+ words each, but as in any good drabbles series, together they build a better picture, in this case the picture being of the Blackice relationship. Did I mention that Pitch likes to snuggle but won't admit it, and usually drags Jack under the bed in the middle of the night? Read forward to the second installment for that. *squee!*

The Blizzard of '68 by Lindzzz (G) [of The Evil Boyfriends Series (G-Explicit)]

Subject: Hierogamy by Sakon76 (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Jamie, implied Bunny/Sophie
Length: 11,349 words (4 chapters)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:

Jamie Bennett grew up and stopped believing four years ago. But when he's feverish and hallucinating, Jamie's imaginary friend comes back into his life.

Even though this work is technically listed as a WIP (at 4/? chapters), I think that's more for the author's convenience should ze decide to add additional chapters later, as IMO the work is complete as is.

This is the first real Bennefrost (Jack/Jamie) fic I've recced (I don't really count This Old House b/c it's an AU and that relationship isn't particularly important to the story). While Bennefrost isn't usually my cup of tea, it does have what I look for in the ship, which is the evolving relationship between them as Jamie grows. While this fic definitely falls under smut for me, it's within a context of fluff and emotions that are done well. We get to see how Jack reacts to losing believers, and there's a lot of "off-screen" implications about Jamie's college life. There's also some nice fleshing out of Jack's character, with implied human background and an awkward sex talk with North in which Jack learns a bit more about how the spirit world works. Chapter sections alternate Jamie's and Jack's point of view.

This work also has one of my favorite exchanges from fanfic:

"Jamie, you can't... you can't do that to me."

"Why not? Are you straight?"

Hierogamy by Sakon76 (Explicit)

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

Subject: Snow Storm by CleverCorgi (Mature/Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Bunny
Length: 46384
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:

Jack's been a Guardian now for a little over seven months. Things have been pretty awesome so far, in his not-so-humble opinion, but his life is about to take a drastic change and he may not like where it's headed.

This story fleshes out Jack's character and duties (some self-appointed) as a winter sprite, as well as how he spent his 300-odd years alone - learning languages among other things, this Jack's a polyglot. CleverCorgi shows Jack's BAMF side, which he uses in defense of humans against the many more malicious winter spirits out there, all while building a rich world in which the many winter spirits (OCs) have a hierarchy that Jack must slowly and painfully learn his way around. Bunny comes to the rescue of course, with nice fight scenes as well as healing up injured Jack. "The Blizzard of '68" is of course mentioned (as it is in most Jackrabbit fics), and this version fits in nicely with Jack's expanded backstory here. The growth of the relationship between them is a sweet and fluffy thing.

The author, CleverCorgi, rates this work as Mature, but IMO if you know which appendage goes in which orifice it should be Explicit. The sex scenes are hot, though the relationship and world building are the main reasons I recommend this piece. Snow Storm is followed by additional works in the same series.

Snow Storm by CleverCorgi (Mature/Explicit)