Title: 21 Guns
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Gen
Categories/Genres: Canon
Length: 4.21
Warnings: Warnings for show-levels of blood, violence & canon deaths

Author/Artist on LJ: mithborien (if applicable)
Author/Artist Website: Mithborien (http://mithborien.tumblr.com/)

Summary:
Derek Hale character study ie. Derek feels
Review:
This is pretty much the definitive Derek Hale fanvid. It takes a look at his entire run on Teen Wolf in reverse chronological order, ie starting with the present, end of season 3a, and going backwards to his first appearance in season 1. This unusual choice makes for a striking and emotional character study. It give a new and unique perspective on Derek's story and his motivation.

Derek has had a rough life and this vid shows that while not sugar coating any of his decisions bad or good. The song used is 21 Guns by Green Day whose words could have been written for Derek Hale they fit the character so well.

It's a complete must watch for any Derek Hale fan. I can't rec this enough I love it so much.

21 Guns (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1028509)

Title: Fuzzy Logic
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Human!Female!Kyuubi/Minato
Categories/Genres: Humour/Adventure
Length: Super!Epic (160k)
Warnings: Some gory scenes, nothing worse than canon.

Author/Artist on LJ: N/A
Author/Artist Website: Deritine (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/393950/Deritine) @ FF.net

Author's Summary:
AU time travel: The kyuubi no kitsune knew something was wrong, but couldn't put a paw on quite what. However, there are benefits to being a force of nature, including time itself bending to accommodate you.

Review:
There are a lot of tropes that I love in this fic; time travel, identity porn, a (sort of) hate relationship turning into love.

This was written before Kyuubi's true origins were revealed, so you could almost descibe this human and female version as an OFC. But don't let that stop you from reading this fic! Deritine's version of Kyuubi is just as chaotic and amoral as you would expect a demonic force of nature to be, and it's this very amorality that makes the story so fun. It's refreshing to see a story in Naruto fandom almost completely free of melodrama, thanks to fem!Kyuubi's laid back attitude. That isn't to say that this story is drama free, but there's plenty of humour in the mix too, making a great fun read that I love to return to to take a break from angsty, overwrought stories.

The only criticism I would have would be the plot elements introduced in the latter parts of the story. That's where the author gets into the real dimension-hopping, timey winey stuff that I don't really get and which isn't explained as clearly as I would like.

Fuzzy Logic (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4976492/1/Fuzzy-Logic)

Title: Haunts the Blood
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Categories/Genres: First-time
Length: Long (38,066)
Warnings: Mildly dubious consent
Author/Artist on LJ: sullymygoodname

Summary: Set a few months after the end of season 3A (so not 3B compliant at all): After the events on the night of the lunar eclipse, the Nemeton's influence pervades the town, affecting Scott, Allison, Stiles, Lydia, and Derek. Something in that creeping darkness is calling out, drawing them all back together. Derek feels it from miles away, but it only becomes more complicated upon his return to Beacon Hills.

Or, in which: the Nemeton is doing things; Lydia is also doing things again; these things are definitely related, but Stiles is distracted by the new things he's doing with Derek. Derek is just confused and angsty. (This fic isn't as silly as I'm making it out to be, I swear.)

Almost exactly one year after the first time, Stiles runs into Derek Hale in the woods surrounding the Beacon Hills Wildlife Preserve.

Only this time, literally.

"Haven't you learned yet not to go wandering the woods at night?" are the first words out of Derek's mouth.

Stiles says, "Ow."

Review:
I made myself late to the office this morning because I couldn't pull myself away from this story, and I don't regret it one bit. Although it takes a few paragraphs for this story to really hit its stride, by the end of the first scene, it had me completely hooked.

The author's notes describe this as a made-them-do-it story with a twist. I won't spoil what that twist is here, but the story begins with Derek and Stiles making out near the Nemeton, under extremely dubious circumstances, magically speaking. In their reactions afterwards, both Derek and Stiles felt absolutely true to character. Stiles is inexperienced and unsure, but with none of the incongruous low self-esteem I sometimes see authors ascribing to him. On the other hand, Derek is haunted (in one case, quite literally!) by Kate, Jennifer, and even Paige. The author uses a refreshingly light touch to illustrate how Derek's history influences his current reactions to manipulation. Rather than spoon-feeding us paragraphs upon paragraphs of introspective prose, this fic simply strings out the connections like a spiderweb spanning the distance from one tree limb to another, trusting the reader's intelligence and knowledge of canon to follow the thread.

Similarly, the prose throughout the story is haunting, but economical with its words. In everything from descriptions of the forest to the (mostly just hinted at) sex scenes, the author relies on a few carefully chosen details to set the tone. There are no empty actions or gratuitous sentences here, but neither is the prose so so understated that it's difficult to follow. Instead, it is crisp and clear, carrying the story without needlessly drawing attention to itself.

Of all the post-3A stories I've read, "Haunts the Blood" stands out as being one of the few that really does what fanfiction does best, smoothing over the jagged edges of broken continuity and painful character deaths the show gave us to create something beautiful and whole. This story is firmly rooted in post-3A canon. The author warns not to expect much continuity with 3B, but it does fall wonderfully in line with Monday's episode, though I can't give specifics without spoiling those of you who haven't seen it yet. But it's enough to say that the mood of this story follows the darker tone the show gave us last season. On one level, this is a ghost story, and the author does a beautiful job with it. Some of the scenes were downright spooky. You can practically feel the wrongness rolling off the Nemeton, and I loved the approach the author took to Lydia and her powers. In fact, I recommend everybody hurry and read this story before it gets Jossed because right now, it stands as the perfect illustration of what canon could become (but probably won't).

Haunts the Blood (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1127192/)


Edited 2014-01-10 06:13 am (UTC)

Title: Scholomance
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Categories/Genres: Dark, Drama, Action/Adventure
Length: Long (37,392)
Warnings: Character Death

Author/Artist on LJ: astolat
Author/Artist Website: fanfic by astolat (http://http://www.intimations.org/fanfic/), astolat on AO3 (http://archiveofourown.org/users/astolat/pseuds/astolat)

Summary: Series of 6 stories that create an alternate version of how the war against Voldemort might have happened.

Review:
If you like your fanfic fluffy and happy, this one is not for you. Personally, I think this should be expanded to 700 pages (many scenes beg to be filled in more) so I can toss the deathly boring 'Deathly Hallows' and have this as the last book of the Potter series instead. Of course, if Rowling had written this, she would have been lynched by angry mobs of 11 year olds.

In this story Harry is confused, guilt-ridden and heroic. Draco is more acerbic than battery acid. And Snape... I want to write odes to Snape.

Fair warning: No romance (but there is sex). No fluff. Dark. People die.

Scholomance (http://archiveofourown.org/series/14935)




Other fandoms I read in besides Drarry: Sherlock BBC (Johnlock), Teen Wolf (Sterek), Merlin (Merthur), with occasional forays into Avengers (Stony), J2 and Stargate: Atlantis (McShep).

Title: Swimming with Sharks
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Pairing: Erik Lensherr/Charles Xavier
Categories/Genres: AU, Romance
Length: Long 24k
Warnings: Minor character death and unethical non-con experimentation in the past. Some intolerance in the present. Minor bloodshed. Explicit sex.

Author/Artist on LJ: N/A
Author/Artist Website: Not_You (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You) on AO3

Summary:
Erik used to be a shark. Now he's not, and has to figure out how to be a good human father to his twins. Charles is willing to help.

Review:
Non-mutant, contemporary AU. Really, really excellent. Basically, Shaw had been running gene splicing/transforming experiments, and forced an actual shark, Erik, into mostly-human shape. There are biological oddities and hold-overs, i.e. ad inability to eat vegetables, too many teeth, lateral lines, rough skin, but he's close enough to human that after he escapes Shaw he's able to take a mate and father children. This story is set after his wife has passed, when the twins get Charles as an elementary school teacher.

The world in this story is wonderfully plausible and rich, from the agencies that over see compensation and continued health for Products Of Experimentation, to the reactions and difficulties of friends, neighbors, and school systems. Charles is very much Charles, even though he isn't a telepath, Raven is most definitely Raven (and blessedly absent from most of the story), the kids are delightful and funny and real and practical and not annoying, and Erik is perfectly unique. The author does an excellent job of letting him be a recognizable and sympathetic character, while keeping him very different, very alien in both thought and behavior.

The very first paragraph is a little awkward and rushed as the author spews backstory, and then it is wonderfully paced. It's one of those stories that feels longer than it is, but you still want more at the end. A typical SingleParent!AU with an atypical parent, atypical children (lots of biting), and Logan (who actually has wolverine DNA) as the restless uncle/family friend who periodically checks in. Beautiful world and characters, not unfamiliar and compelling tale of building a life and family, and kids that are good characters. Definitely worth reading and re-reading. Also: Shark Sex.

"Erik isn't very good at being human. He knows that. His pups are better. They don't blink with their third eyelids and their skin is smoother. They sleep, too. For hours and hours and he just watches them, wondering if loving them so much is part of being human. Maybe it's because they need so much care and there is no one else to give it."

Swimming with Sharks (http://archiveofourown.org/works/879646/chapters/1692211)