Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Dana Scully/OC, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, kind of.
Length: short story
Author on LJ: flambeau
Author Website: The Flambeau Factory
Why this must be read:

There is never enough femslash in fanfic; there is definitely not enough femslash in this fandom. This fic might be a little—how do I say this—trope-y for some tastes, but it works for me. It begins with your working undercover trope, complete with Special Agent Dana Scully decked out in an outfit she wouldn't ordinarily wear while on duty, then throws in some voyeurism, a brief cross-dressing fantasy, and adds some Mulderbation for good measure, and honestly, would Unrepentant Noromo Wendelah read this if it wasn't by Torch? Probably not, but this fic is hot. Really hot.

Read Say, do any of you guys know how to.

Fandom: SUITS
Pairing: Harvey/Jessica
Length: 2117
Author on LJ: not that I know of
Author Website: AO3 profile

Why this must be read: It's hard to imagine Harvey and Jessica both doing illicit things and having a wild night out. But if Harvey's had his moments dealing with illicit things, certainly Jessica's had her moments too, right?

Also I feel like I'm not breaking a chain here on crack_van for reccing mskatej's stuff. Regardless of the pairing she writes, her stuff's always great.



She stops, stares at him. Tips her head back and glugs down the rest of her glass. Nearly eight hundred bucks a bottle and they’re drinking it like it’s soda pop. But Harvey won’t get left behind. He downs his own glass, grabs the bottle and pushes himself off the desk edge. Jessica sways towards him with her arm outstretched and her glass at the ready, towering over him in her five-inch heels and her air of majesty. She’s drunk and giddy but still steady on her feet, always steady, always dancing. Victorious. The most magnificent woman Harvey’s ever known. She owned the room today, she owned every last one of those sniveling, resentful, assface lawyers; every one of them cowered before her, and she deserves this. She deserves to let her hair down, have some fun, drink too much and dance by herself in her new office. She deserves the whole world tonight.



A Night to Forget

Tomorrow is the 15th of the month, which means Crack Van Collisions, a.k.a. cross-over day.

Drivers, you may rec one fic that crosses over your fandom with another (no, this does not count against your maximum). Please post crossovers in the following format:

Subject: Fandom/Fandom (Rating)

Title: Title by Author
Pairing: (no abbreviations, please)
Author on LJ:
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

(link to story)

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: Blake/Avon, Scorpio crew
Length: 13,500
Why this must be read: Less of a leap between years now - the chart I linked to a few days ago shows that B7 zines were at their peak 1988-91, but B/A (my favourite pairing and the pairing that ultimately dominates the fandom) peaked (at least in zines) around 1993-95 with 72 stories published in 1993 as opposed to 21 in 1988.

This fic was originally published in 1995 as part of the zine Love and Sacrifice, which a review by one of my favourite B/A authors, Nova, describes as containing four stories that "all take some unexpected and interesting approaches to the canon". This fic is what would become known as a mundane AU - but written before they were cool. There are only about 10 other mundane/historical AUs in the fandom - that I know of. Without even having a long-established genre to subvert, 'Compassion' makes some very interesting choices regarding the new lives taken by the characters - as Nova's review observes: 'a less imaginative writer would probably have cast Avon as the researcher and Blake as the man of action', instead we have a fic where Blake is a scientist passionately searching for the cure to AIDS while Avon (who was, in the show as aired, dragged unwilling into Blake's quest for freedom and used to protect him without really meaning to) is the head of Scorpio, a company hired explicitly to protect Blake. The rest of the crew make a good showing and all get interesting and fun moments with Blake (it works well to have him as an outsider, given your usual PGP fic set up, but also here gives B and A a chance to have a different meeting), but it's Avon who goes above and beyond the call of duty - and it's Avon who tells Blake he's an idiot and then works very hard to make sure Blake can give the speech he needs to give.

It's excellently and cleverly characterised - I love how hard they both fight for what they believe in and how their attraction to and trust in each other softens that fight. Great dialogue, as well, which I hope will make you accept the somewhat purple (but compelling!) 1990s prose. Nova ends her review by saying - "One of my personal favourites, if you haven't worked that out already." And so I end by saying - "ditto".

( Excerpt )

Link: Compassion

Fandom: Fairy Tales:
Pairing/Characters: Rumpelstiltskin/Miller's Daughter; F/M
Length: 1489 words
Author Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: We get to see Rumpelstiltskin as a much more sympathetic character. Young and orphaned, he's confused and sometimes scared by his gift. When by chance he hears of a girl who can also spin straw into gold, he hopes to find answers to his life. Poignant.

Bobbin Heart

If you like this, take a moment to tell the author. You will absolutely make her day!

Fandom: ONE DIRECTION
Pairing: Harry/Zayn, Liam/Louis
Length: ~27,500
Author on LJ: harriet_vane
Author on AO3: harriet_vane
Why this must be read:

Because the inside of Harry Styles' head must be a strange and fascinating place. In this lulzy college AU – as in life – Harry's never really had to work for someone's attention. So what's a boy to do when he meets someone who's actually better looking than himself, and who doesn't respond to his flop seduction skills? Throw an epic tantrum, of course!

Features a confused and beleaguered Liam trying to navigate a new relationship with Louis and his live-in soulmate-in-crisis, Harry.

Harry always kisses everyone, until he starts something he can't finish.

Fandoms: UNCHARTED
Characters/Pairings: Nathan Drake, Victor Sullivan
Length: 942 words
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: n/a
Why this must be read:

The whole area of younger Nate and Sully's adventures is one that doesn't get written much, even though there were juicy details to generally fill in the outline of it in UC3. This piece written by a generous anon to fill in a prompt over on the Uncharted kink meme is a lovely, sort of sweet but still very much in theme with the action, look at one of Nate's birthdays back then that is a very good gen ficlet.

Only Most of Your Presents Are Bruises

Fandoms: UNCHARTED
Characters/Pairings: Nathan Drake/Elena Fisher
Length: ~3700 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: on FanFiction.net and on Ao3
Why this must be read:

Set during UC1, this fic has a fab mix of banter that plays up the tension of these two only really just knowing each other, consideration for action elements and a hint of shippiness. It really gets the elements right for where the characters are in the first game, not going too far, just flirting with the romance as they do a tad and filling in the rest with a nice bit about them each helping the other and teaching the benefit of teamwork that they do get the hang of in the end.

Keeping Count

Fandom: RÓMEÓ ÉS JÚLIA
Characters: Mercutio, Tybalt
Length: 700 words
Author on Tumblr: bro-stoevsky
Author Website: fic on AO3
Why this must be read: Prompt is: "Mercutio meets Tybalt in a bar during Carnival" -- and literally that is it plus a bewildered bartender trying not to get knifed.

What makes Mercutio Mercutio in any version of Romeo and Juliet is his biting, sometimes bitter wit. Although this story is short (as are many of the stories in this tiny fandom, we're not big on epics just yet), acaramelmacchiato packs an incredible number of layers into the simple scenario of two enemies encountering each other in a bar.

The language is gorgeous and clever, the verbal sparring enormously fun, and the deeper hints at the relationship between the characters intriguing. The ambiguity of the setting--is it historical? modern? space Verona? echoes the ambiguity of the show's production design. If you're only familiar with the original Shakespeare play, you may still enjoy this one.

( Excerpt )

Nothing but a gloomy theme

If you enjoy this story, please take a moment to tell the author. Tiny fandom writers always appreciate encouragement!

Fandom: Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Snow White
Pairing/Characters: Cinderellla, Snow White, canon pairings, F/F
Length: 2K words
Author Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: A reflective story about two women whose stories have similarities, and differences.

LeBibish's universe has two neighboring kingdoms with two Princes (both named Charming--must have been a popular boy's name that year). One of them marries Cinderella and the other marries Snow White. Thus, the princesses have a chance to meet and become friends. They share confidences, commiserate about mother-in-law problems, and speculate about their futures. Enjoy.

A Tale of Two Princesses

If you like this, take a moment to tell the author. You will absolutely make her day!