Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Chris Argent/Peter Hale + a little Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski in the first part
Length: first part is 13028 words, second is 1512
Author on LJ: tumblr: http://febricant.tumblr.com
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/Febricant/pseuds/Febricant
Why this must be read:

The "Informed Mistakes" series is really two connected Peter POV stories that could stand apart, but each make the other richer. The first part, "It's Bad Enough We Get Along", starts out pretty bleak in tone as Peter slowly regains and maintains a level of control of himself, all while silently cataloguing everything he's lost. He takes it upon himself to pick up Derek's slack and maneuver the Beacon Hills kids into a functioning pack, complete with a truce with the Argents, in his "special" Peter way. Easier said than done, of course. Though Peter exercises a great deal of restraint, he is far from domesticated. As Chris angrily says to Peter: "You're not as defanged as everyone seems to think you are."

It's a strange duality of behaviors that Peter exhibits, using his own brand of logic. He nudges Derek into lessons in restraint, while Peter himself is constantly goading and molding Chris into someone he can be unrestrained with. The first part of the series can be summed up with this excerpt: The thing is, everything here is beginning to chafe now that the house is restored, now that the pack is solidifying. Peter's got a great deal of self-control but a limited willingness to restrain himself. He'll always be tied here in a way, but he doesn't truly need to stay now that he's left pieces of himself to hold his place.

The second part of the series is "Shedding All My Old Regrets". It is much shorter, but has a faster, more taut rhythm. Chris and Peter leave Beacon Hills and embark on an extended bloodlust- and just plain lust-fueled roadtrip that features them in a constant pattern of slaying-and-fucking, fucking-and-leaving. They take turns ditching each other in sleazy motel rooms after nights of vicious, not-quite-hatesex, only to pick each other's trails up again in the pursuit of more monsters. They kill, they fight, they fuck, rinse and repeat in a savage kind of beauty and almost-romance.

This is pro-level writing with a perfect ending that is already one of my favorite Chris Argent tropes, and tropes in general, in the TW fandom.

It's Bad Enough That We Get Along

I debated over what to rec as my last fic, especially with the news of crack_van closing and decided to pick a story that featured one of my very favorite rare pairs in Merlin.

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Elena/Mithian
Length: 1884
Author on LJ: non_island
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

I'm a sucker for compelling characterizations, especially ones that lead to an unexpected relationship between the two most unlikely characters set within canon. I particularly loved Mithian's characterization in this which is portrayed by some great details. The way she struggles between what she has been taught and her duty with her own desires is wonderfully well-written. And the slow, but evolving relationship she has with Elena is just lovely.

A Perfect Woman, Nobly Planned

Fandom: BANDOM (MCR, with guest appearances from other bands)
Pairing: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Length: ~6k words
Author on LJ: theopteryx
Author Website: theopteryx at AO3
Why this must be read: Because it's a great take on the post-apocalyptic postal service idea, and theopteryx is an amazing writer, drawing in the details with words and making this universe breathe with life. Gerard is someone who still clings to the ability to read and write, a rare commodity in a destroyed world. Frank is the person who carries messages from one community to another, braving the dust and cold. They each have something the other wants, and it's the basis of a relationship that's fragile and hesitant, but real all the same.

Fog, Sheets and Thunder - with an amazing podfic by rhea314 available here.

Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Lydia Martin/Peter Hale
Length: 4138 words
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/flesh_and_bone_telephone/pseuds/flesh_and_bone_telephone
Why this must be read:

[Sneaking this rec in while I still can, since crack_van is coming to an end (::sobs::).]

Don't let that rating fool you. This fic contains very little outright violence, contains no rape or sex. But what it does contain is the unrelenting assualt against the mind a living nightmare can inflict on you. For Lydia Martin, Peter Hale is literally that living nightmare. What makes this fic stand out is the fact the author doesn't shy away from the true horror of Lydia's situation when Peter was using her as a catalyst for coming back from the dead. This is a Lydia POV that goes DEEP into her psyche as she tries with everything she has (all of which is controlled by Peter) to fight him off if only in the smallest of gestures. Because Lydia is canonically so smart, we get to see every mannerism of Peter's dissected with a scalpel's precision.

But flesh_and_bone_telephone doesn't stop there. Because relegating Peter to a category of beast of cunning brutality would be too simple. And Peter is anything but simple. He's probably the most complicated character on TW. The author's Peter is obsessed with Lydia's hair, seemingly for the perverse reason that it reminds him of his greatest enemy, fire. This Peter is intrigued by Lydia's intelligence and perversely praises and uses her inner strength even as he shreds it to ribbons.

But even stopping there would be too simple, ( Read more )

Fandom: TEEN WOLF
Pairing: Lydia Martin/Peter Hale
Length: 597 words
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/walksbyherself/pseuds/walksbyherself
Why this must be read:

This short, jab-punch-jab-rhythmed, SEXY fic is just the thing for those who want to understand the appeal of Lydia/Peter, but don't want to be traumatized by it. (Especially if that trauma is induced by bad writing.) This Lydia isn't traumatized, either. She's over it. She is a warrior. In a legitimate way that expresses her very canon meanness and cunning. She is no example of faux girl power.

This fic deserves your attention for this image alone:

She stockpiles weapons in her parents’ garden shed, lets Peter get on his knees for her there one morning before school. Afterward, he straightens out her dress with gentle hands. His mouth is still shiny and slick when he kisses her goodbye.

I mean . . . the symmetry and metaphor and contradiction all wrapped up in that one image is just . . . precious. Not in the condescending sense, but in the sense that it is something to treasure.

This fic was written well before S3, but it dovetails nicely with where Lydia's mindset is right now.

For something that's fun and light while still keeping its teeth bared, try hold my hand (it's a long way down)

Fandom: BANDOM (MCR)
Pairing: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Length: ~13k words
Author on LJ: shiningartifact
Author Website: shiningartifact at AO3
Why this must be read: I'm a big fan of shiningartifact and her fanworks, not gonna lie. And this story highlights some of the reasons why.

This is a sweet AU, set in the time after Gerard's graduated from college, and where Frank works at the Blue Moon Diner to keep him in food and rent money until Pency Prep gets a break. Gerard is struggling to not be a creepy basement dweller, but he can't help creep on the hot tattooed punk working at the diner he hangs out at, drinking coffee and sketching.

The road to happiness is a little bumpy, and in the end, you can see the first glimmers of the idea of MCR, but I'm always overwhelmed by the tenderness and warmth in this story.

'Til I Find a Place

This is unfortunately my last rec for crack_van. Thanks to the mods for a great run. I've enjoyed reccing here for many years, in due South, Hard Core Logo, Canadian Actor RPF, and now Bandom. <3

Ooh, extra posting days! Since this is apparently the one and only time WtNV will be recced here (unless someone slips some fics in next month), guess I better make hay while the sun shines...

Fandom: WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE
Pairing: Cecil/Carlos
Length: 222 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: mccoyquialisms on Tumblr; nimsley on Tumblr and deviantart; arbeekeypok on Tumblr and deviantart; damatris on Tumblr and deviantart
Notes: poetry and fanart
Why this must be read:

Fandom, alas, can be divisive: het shippers versus slashers, competing OTPs, oldschool fans versus newbies and/or reboot fans, and in some sad cases fandom versus creators. This work is the antithesis of that, a marvelous example of fans sharing their love of a canon by riffing on it, and each other’s work. I first encountered “Love Letter from a Scientist” through damatris’s adaptation of some lines from the first stanza of mccoyquialisms’s free verse:

I am not a poet.
I am a scientist.
I can measure the exact frequency
of your voice when you speak my name,
but I cannot explain how it resonates
with such perfect clarity down my spine.

It was with great pleasure that I later found the complete version, as illustrated by nimsley and arbeekeypok, on my Tumblr feed.

Text only version

Full illustrated version by nimsley and arbeekeypok

Abridged version by damatris