Hi, I'm carmarthen and this month I'll be doing recs for the tiny-but-could-be-bigger fandom Rómeó és Júlia, the post-apocalyptic aesthetic, fire and leather Hungarian version of the French musical based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (whew)!

Don't worry--you don't need to know Hungarian (subtitles are available) and this is Romeo and Juliet for people who don't normally like Romeo and Juliet (as well as those who do)!

I'll give a quick run-down, since most people are probably familiar with the basic plot, and then spread out my handful of recs through the rest of the month. The plot summary will be a bit spoilery, but if you've been exposed to the Western literary canon at all you're probably already spoiled--most of what makes this production unique is in the aesthetic and character details, not in major plot changes. In fact, if you're not specifically familiar with this production, you may still enjoy much of the fic (although I highly recommend watching it, of course).

Rómeó és Júlia

Beautiful Verona greets you:
Don't get between me and my revenge!

Like the original Shakespeare play, Rómeó és Júlia is the story of a Verona torn by senseless violence. In this version, however, there's no Lord Montague, and while Lord Capulet seems ready to make peace, the ladies of the two houses are not--nor are the younger generation, who roam the streets in gangs despite the edict of the Prince against fighting. Romeo and Julia, of course, meet and fall in love against the wishes of their families--but love isn't enough to save them from the violence around them. Everything ends in fire and death, except in fanfiction, where fix-it AUs and sex are a more common outcome.

We're destined for hell and we'll all burn,
but heaven awaits Romeo and Julia.
( Read more... )

Fandom: Fairy Tales: Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Little Mermaid
Pairing: F/M, F/F, F/F/F, multiple pairings; see story tags
Length: 3600 words
Author Website: unknown: this is an orphaned story

Why this must be read: This is an intriguing tale that's part story and part commentary on what is, and is not, included in happily ever after. After breaking the enchantment on the Beast, Belle (Beauty) has settled into a good life that many others might envy. She starts having dreams of a garden. At first innocuous, they later become more animated and meaningful--and erotic.

This has elements of the more intense fairy tales--happiness, wonder, sorrow and violence. And an incredible last line. Enjoy.

Dreams of the Garden

If you like this, take a moment to leave a comment or kudo. Perhaps the author will see and enjoy it.

Fandom: SUITS
Pairing: Harvey/Mike/Rachel
Length: 1249
Author on LJ: not that I know of
Author Website: AO3 profile

Why this must be read: Yes, this is a more recent Suits fic (at the time I'm reccing this). And it feels like a standard threesome set-up: Mike wants to make Harvey feel better about his break-up with Scottie by having a threesome. But not only is the sex in this fic hot, the dialogue is consistent with all their characters.


No point insisting on Harvey’s unhappiness, not when the entire point of this drink as far as Mike is concerned is to remedy that, so Mike steers the conversation towards topics with a more light-hearted bent, such as gossip about colleagues and clients, sports that Harvey follows, Star Trek (which occupies them for a good half hour) and, once the liquor has adequately loosened their tongues, sex.

Not sex with Scottie, because Mike’s not an insensitive moron, more general ‘likes and dislikes’ type banter, in which Harvey reveals very little and Mike totally overshares, telling Harvey numerous details about himself that most people would probably consider TMI but which Harvey listens to with rapt amusement. Mike proceeds to let Harvey in on the fact that he likes it a little bit rough in the bedroom, that (much to Harvey’s delight) he enjoys both dominating Rachel and letting her take charge depending on his mood, and that he has a bit of an anal fixation.

This last confession is followed by a long pause in which Harvey simply stares at Mike, maybe trying to figure out how exactly he’s supposed to interpret that, maybe waiting for Mike to clarify.

“Oh yeah?” Harvey says eventually.“Rachel’s into that?” There’s no mistaking the intrigue in Harvey’s voice, or the way his pupils dilate at the mere suggestion.

“Harvey,” Mike says. “Are you thinking about my girlfriend getting fucked in the ass right now?”

He doesn’t even have the grace to look guilty; his lips tip up at the corners and his eyes sparkle. “Yes I am.”

“I have a question.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you thinking about fucking her ass yourself or are you thinking about me doing it?”

The fast blink reveals Harvey’s surprise at Mike’s forthright line of questioning, but he recovers quickly, asking with a soft laugh, “Which answer would offend you more?”

Mike shakes his head. “Neither. Either way I win.”

“How do you win in the former scenario?”

“Because she’s my girlfriend and I get to fuck her whenever I want whereas you can only dream about it and envy me.”

Harvey smiles.


A Mutually Beneficial Proposal

Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert
Length: 1439 words
Author on LJ: blithers
Author Website: Tumblr | Pinboard
Why this must be read: In Season 3, particularly at the beginning, it's not clear how much Pam's life has changed even as she tries to change it. This fic gives us a glimpse at why: change is difficult. Momentum is hard to build after such a habit of inertia. It's more of a character study than anything else, examining how a quiet, lonely person might start to build a life for herself.

( She followed the short, pointed shadows carefully, looking upward, feeling that her mom's old 70s style lamp had created a miniature replica of Starry, Starry Night on her ceiling - a curved, line here, pointing out the next destination - here! it pointed casually. Go here! )

An Uneven Ceiling

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing/Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Length: 2283
Author on LJ: andromedalogic
Author Website: her fic tag
Why this must be read:

Told from Scully's POV, this is a short post-ep for "E.B.E." which does an excellent job of capturing that first season, early partnership, early UST vibe.

( Read an excerpt )

Read where the text ends we begin.

Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert
Length: 825 words
Author on LJ: musesfool
Author Website: Dreamwidth | Tumblr
Why this must be read: This is exactly how I've always felt their first date should have gone: quick, sweet, and fun, and ending just the way every JAM 'shipper out there would want.

( Liftoff )
Liftoff

Fandom: CRIMINAL MINDS
Pairing/Characters: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Length: 3460 words
Rating: NC-17 or FRAO
Author on LJ: ewinfic
Author Website: Author's Masterlist on LJ

Why this must be read: The author's summary really says it all - "Hotch has never had gay sex. Reid has never had much of any kind of sex. This does not bode well."

A common failing across the board in fan fiction is it's lack of believability. Characters know things they shouldn't, say things that they normally wouldn't, jump to conclusions without the appropriate steps in between, AND they are all having rock star sex all the time. Readers and writers alike are eager to get to the bits that they like and sorta... skip over the rest, as if we've all agreed that the characters have 'ordinary mortal moments' just like the rest of us but we don't care about that. Well, ewinfic doesn't write like that (not all the time, anyway). She appeared in the Criminal Minds fandom earlier this year (though its clear that she's been writing for some time), and delivered this fic about attractive, smart guys having truly awkward sex, and then dropped the mic and left the room like a boss. It was like a breath of fresh air. Her writing style is succinct and hilarious, usually comprising of blithe observations and deadpan dialog. I recommend all of her CM stuff but this one strikes me as her most unique effort.

Beta Testing by ewinfic on LJ

If you enjoy this story, leave a little sugar in the author's bowl, okay?

Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke/Neal Caffrey
Length: 17k
Author on LJ: ursula4x
Author Website:Ursula’s works on AO3
Why this must be read:
While this wasn’t the first fanfic in White Collar fandom I ever read, it was the one that made me sit up and take notice; silly me, the concept of an OT3 hadn’t ever entered my mind, nor had the idea of a prison fic (so naïve, amirite?). This story is filled with super delicious hurt/comfort, a metric ton of angst, Neal being evasive, and Peter being a lovable hardass. The story is also a microcosm of the early-early days of White Collar fandom. Written as a fill for a prompt on the now practically defunct kink meme, it incorporates many of the tropes of the fandom we have since evolved past: pre-series conjecture, Neal's prison experiences, as well as a few that will never go away, like Neal striving to protect the people he loves, and one of my favorite tropes of all time: kidnapping.

I hope you will read and enjoy this story as much as I did the first time I read it – and when I just reread it to write this rec. Its writer (who sadly passed away in early 2012) is one of the underappreciated ones in the fandom, and I just wanted to give her works a little love in this, the last round of WC recs to be featured on Crack Van before the site is retired.

Please mind the warnings for non-con/dub-con for this story.

The Lesser of Two Evils

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: Blake/Avon
Length: Long-ish
Author Website: Quite a lot more on Oblique Publications
Why this must be read: It's 1991 and here's some slash and some smut at last! That's not to say there wasn't any written before this point, although gen zines hav always massively predominated in Blake fandom and slash only began to be more popular than het in the late 1980s.

This fic was published as part of the zine series 'Oblaque', which focused on dark and psychologically intense slash. The publishers have kindly put all their zines online to read in PDF form, so if you want to get the 'reading a zine experience' without venturing out of the comfort of your own internet, this is the place to start.

As for 'Cats Cradle' itself - it is both dark and psychologically intense. That's not usually my bag, but this fic most definitely is. The way they treat each other in this fic (Avon suggests reciprocation therapy to get back at Blake for his behaviour on the flight deck) is genuinely nasty, but there's also definite, explicit, (grudging) affection/Love, which seems to me to be a very accurate representation of their relationship. There's a lot of bondage and D/s in this pairing (and in this fandom, to some extent), but this is easily my favourite. The constant battle between our heroes is as compelling as it is exhausting - and I like the way it seems like either of them could win at almost any time. Often in B/A (it seems to me, although it is debatable) and certainly in canon, it's fairly clear that Blake is going to win, but Avon really holds his own here all the way through and very credibly. Sebastian's also a great dialogue writer and writes both characters excellently - I also thoroughly recommend 'Bittersweet' (online), 'Interjunction' and 'Melancholy'.

( Excerpt )

Links: Cat's Cradle I and Cat's Cradle II

Fandoms: UNCHARTED
Characters/Pairings: Original Characters
Length: ~ 3000 words
Author on LJ: reedybeanz
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read:

Most Uncharted fanfic focuses on the heroes but there is always another interesting story or two in each game that is being implied as part of the history of whatever mystery is in question. This fic captured my attention for that reason, as one of the few that fleshes out that sort of backstory, in this case the very creepy tale of the poor unnamed characters in the 2nd game that the heroes merely stumble upon the remains of centuries later.

Ambrosia