Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Brendon Urie/Jon Walker
Length: 763 words
Author on LJ:sunsetmog_fics
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read: This is tiny and adorable! It even includes sad cupcakes!
Summary: "I think you've really captured my spirit," Jon tells him. He has his feet up on the seat. He's wearing socks; it looks funny when he wiggles his toes.

On LJ
On AO3

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Bob Bryar/Mikey Way, past Mikey/Alicia, canon side pairings
Length: (30K)
Author on LJ: arsenicjade
Author Website: http://tasteofpoison.inkubation.net/index.php

Why this must be read:
My note:Not sure why this month became a Mikey-fest, but here's another Mikey rec. I could have spent the whole month reccing nothing but arsenicjade fics. She has such solid grasp of all the characters and a deft way of mixing humour and drama. This one really gets inside Mikey's head, and although it is kid!fic, and she's adorable, she doesn't take over the story. The parts with Alicia are heartbreaking. But at least there's always his brother and the guys in the band to keep Mikey going.

Author's note: This was started before Bob and MCR parted ways and before Frank announced Jamia's pregnancy. Canon is based accordingly.
Mikey & Alicia have a baby. And a divorce. The band pitches in to help Mikey. Especially Bob.

( Excerpt )

What to Expect

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Pete Wentz/Mikey Way
Length: (8,270 words)
Author on LJ:rivers_bend
Author Website: On AO3, At Dreamwidth
Why this must be read: My note: Beautifully, vivdly written. Some scenes stick in my mind months after reading this. Pete, Pete, 'Gay above the waist' Pete - his constant second guessing and the way he's drawn continually back to Mikey is perfect. If you like Pete OR Mikey at all you have to read this.
Author Summary: Warped is crazy and hot, and Mikey Way is distracting, and Pete is always his own worst enemy.

( Excerpt )

Is your button fly a metaphor? at Dreamwidth
Is your button fly a metaphor? at AO3

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, past mikey/alicia, past pete/ashlee
Length: 7,120 words
Author on LJ: unperfectwolf
Author Website: LJ AO3
Why this must be read:
Author Summary: It's seven years later, and maybe it's what it should have been all along. "I just... I like it. Here,” Mikey tells him. “I fit here.” - Gerard is quiet for a moment. “You always fit with him, Mikey."
My note: Mikey's been drifting since breaking up with Alicia. He ends up filling in as studio bassist for a certain Mr Wentz. This is gorgeous! I love the gentle easy way they slip back together. I love protective Gerard! ♥ And a happy Mikey makes a happy me.

On LJ
On AO3 (must sign in)

I checked back 1.5 years, and even though inlovewithnight gets recced a lot, this one didn't come up.... (sorry about ugly links!)

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Mikey Way/Gabe Saporta
Length: (32K)
Author on LJ:http://inlovewithnight.livejournal.com/
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithnight/pseuds/inlovewithnight
Summary: In the beginning, they were the scene. An origin story.
Warnings: hate-based violence and slurs.
Why this must be read: *flail* I loved this so much! Mikey was SO very Mikey, and I hardly know a thing about Gabe, but this character was awesome. It's the story of Gabe and Mikey, from the first meeting in a crowded club. It’s from Gabe’s POV just as he’s leaving for college. It's so beautifully written, and feels like it could really have happened that way. I adored the way Mikey got under his skin, and really understood Gabe right from the beginning, and it was Gabe that had to learn himself.

( Excerpt )

Link: 'Not smashing windows was making me sad'

Fandom: BANDOM (Panic At the Disco)
Pairing: Brendon Urie/Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith/Jon Walker
Length: (3,215 words; podfic 23 minutes)
Author on LJ:softlyforgotten cest_what. Reader coriande
Author Website: cest_what, softlyforgotten, coriande

Why this must be read/listened:What an awesomely cute story. Robot &RYAN; is just PERFECT, and it has the sweetest ending too. Coriande's vocal version adds another layer of awesome - she made me LOL at work, and then melt into a puddle \o/

Summary: In the 24th century robotics are pretty advanced, but …"Oh," Brendon breathed. "Your robot has a stutter. Spencer, that's *adorable*."…

Common Circuitry Problems: Text or Podfic

It's my turn driving the Bandom van this month. Let's get started!

Fandom: BANDOM (MCR)
Pairing: Bob Bryar/Frank Iero
Length: (34K words)
Author on LJ: carleton97, sister_wolf
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/carleton97/pseuds/carleton97 , http://archiveofourown.org/users/Sister_Wolf/pseuds/rue_quercus
Why this must be read: Follows werewolf Bob through meeting MCR, up to the 'Ghost of You' video.
Author Summary: What Bob had heard from the grapevine was that MCR's rhythm guitarist was small, hyper, and insane on the guitar. What the grapevine had obviously failed to mention was that Frank Iero was also a fucking vampire. Because normal people didn't actually believe things like vampires or werewolves or faeries or witches existed. Normal people were, in Bob's humble opinion, complete fucking idiots.

My review: I adore werewolf Bob, but sickly little anarchist vegan punk vampFrank totally stole the show ♥

Clouds Across the Moon

Hi, I'm reccing rpf: Actors and Actress this month. This sprawling fandom can be defined a dozen different ways, and be divided into a hundred specific rpf fandoms (lotr, spn, CW, ect). What I'll be reccing this month will be gems and rare pairings, stories that on the whole don't quite fit, or fall just outside of more defined rpf fandoms. They could be lazily called hipster rpf, but more accurately they're the fandom equivalent of six degrees of separation. As such, my recs will follow the same vague formula. But firstly, let’s start the month with a bang.

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: Zach Condon/Shia LaBeouf,
Length: 21,000 words.
Author on LJ: subterrain
Author Website: masterlist on lj
Why this must be read: This is a non-linear story about two people, Shia LaBeouf and Zach Condon from the indie band Beirut, who maybe love each other but mostly don't know each other except in all the painful ways they do. It’s an emotionally complex and challenging read, but well worth the effort.

( An excerpt )

The Fatherless

Title: Beyoncé the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Beyoncé Knowles/Jay-Z
Length: 38K+
Author on LJ: impertinence 
Author Website: AO3 archive

Why this must be read: Beyoncé and her Watcher Kanye go to Jay-Z's mansion to retrieve Rihanna, who's just been called as a Slayer. It ends up being slightly more complicated than anticipated.

Now, I know next to nothing about rap/hip-hop/R&B. I know next to nothing about these four artists in particular, although I'm aware of their respective hit songs and Kanye West's Twitter feed. And I definitely don't read RPF fic. It squicks me. But this one is 100% worth making an exception for.

The premise: Beyoncé is a Slayer. Kanye West is her Watcher. Newly-called Rihanna is mogul Jay-Z's ward. Hijinks ensue.

Worth reading just for Watcher!Kanye, but Slayer!Beyoncé is also a pretty great creation, a totally competent badass who knows herself and her responsibilities. The romance between her and Jay-Z is slowly and carefully spun out, and while this fic is certainly hot, there's also a perfectly good demon-to-defeat plot that could stand alone without the romance--or in a more traditional Buffyverse fic, even. There's also a cameo by Buffy Summers herself and some awesomecakes fanart to boot.

 

( Rihanna was standing with her hands on her hips, looking supremely pissed. She dressed flashily, her hair styled into the kind of punkish look Beyonc� never would've attempted even as a teenager. And she was covered, head to toe, in fluorescent blue goo. )

 

Beyoncé the Vampire Slayer

Sorry it's late! I was without internet for a few days.

Title: Look at us we're beautiful
Pairing: Misha Collins/Adam Lambert
Author on LJ: zelda_zee
Author Website: Fic Tag
Why this must be read:

Though the pairing seems a tad cracky at first, the author places them in a plausible situation where the two might meet (we all know Misha has been to Burning Man) and the way the author writes Misha is fascinating. The story itself is smoking (heh, pun not intended) hot and incredibly sexy, while the prose is poetic.

( Mini Teaser )

Look at us we're beautiful

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Bono/Edge, Adam/Larry
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: melissa2u
Author Website: u2slash
Why this must be read:

Because Crack Van needs some crack. Because Mel's stuff is awesome. Because this is all fairytale and weird and night-time. Because it's an AU, so you truly don't need to be a U2 fan to enjoy it. Because it's carnival! Because it's nothing like any fic I've read before. Because it has drag and monkeys and humour. Because I told you to. Because you need this fic in your life.

For Love of Monkeys

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: B/A
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: amonitrate
Author Website: u2slash
Why this must be read:

Writers: do you remember your first fic? If it was anything like mine, it would have been okay, nothing special, usual fare, bit of cliche somewhere in there, plodding sex scene... Perhaps I'm doing us all injustice. Whatever. Rule is, usually the first fic isn't the one that's likely to end up as a rec in crack_van.

So it's with mostly happiness and a teeny bit of jealousy I give you a first-fic rec here: Hovering at the Gate. It's amonitrate's first and only offering to our humble community, but I am ever hopeful it won't be her last. This fic is a magnificent character study of Adam, someone I think is very hard to capture in writing. Our voice for the fic is Edge, and through him we observe Adam physically and emotionally, and are witness to the band members' love for one another. I love that she's put a spin on the story, having Edge's POV and keeping the interaction between him and Adam, and all the while intending the pairing to be somewhere else. I just love it, and her writing backs it up, with all the brilliant show-not-tell and the little details about the guys and the ZooTV tour throughout that set the scene and make the fic a joy to read. Even if you don't normally read U2, this is a great example of great writing.

Hovering at the Gate

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Adam/Larry
Length: Multi-chapter (6)
Author on LJ: la_woman
Author's Website: u2slash or Love Is Blindness
Why this must be read:

As a reader of fanfic, one thing I have never been a fan of is first-person stories. I find often they're badly done and I feel like I could be reading anyone's point of view. Even when they're well-written, something about them doesn't fit with me. I know that's a personal preference, but it's been an important one when it comes to fic reading and reccing.

Step forward la_woman with her lovely first-person fic, Reveal. Told entirely from Larry's perspective, this is a fascinating study of how two famous people in a famous band could deal with being together and 'coming out' to the world at large. Although Adam and Larry are already happily together, and their close friends and family know the truth, Adam wants to take their relationship public. Larry, on the other hand, is unwilling, too worried about the consequences this would have on their privacy. It's an accurate representation of Larry here, where he is loyal to the one he loves, and hates himself for being dishonest, but at the same time wants to fiercely guard his and Adam's private lives. Adam in turn is portrayed brilliantly, with his little details and personality quirks that make him seem totally right, both in the reader's eyes and in Larry's.

Told in six beautifully written parts, Reveal is a story I'd recommend to dispel all myths about slash being just writing about sex. It's great writers, writing great stuff.

Reveal

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Adam/Larry
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: rhythmsextion
Author's Website: Love Is Blindness
Why this must be read:

This is the PWP that keeps me coming back for more. I tend to read this type of fic once or maybe twice, because usually once I've read the sex scene, that's it, I'm done, I don't need to read it again. But with Porta Bella, I've re-read it dozens of times, because it's hot in a way that's almost hard to define. I don't know what exactly makes it different from all the other porny fics in the fandom (and we have quite a few). Maybe it's the premise (Adam and Larry sneaking off in a restaurant to have sex in the bathroom - and no one wonders why they've left their food for so long!) or maybe it's that we have love as well as sex, in the tender way the two of them interact post-coital. Or maybe it's just that Joy knows how to write super duper hot sex, and it's never wrong to read about Adam pushing Larry against a wall and taking him.

The rhythm section as written by rhythmsextion (and imagined by everyone else) - Porta Bella

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Adam/Edge/Larry/Bono
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: melissa2u
Author Website: u2slash (You must be a member to access R/NC-17 fics)
Why this must be read:

One of the most fun kinds of fic to read in the U2 fandom is the GSF (Group Sex Fic), which can involve a combination of three of the members of the band, or of course all four of them. GSFs are challenging to write (I know, I've done it) because not only are you faced with the task of dealing with all those pronouns and positions, but also you need to incorporate several very different characters. Then you still have to make the sex hot and the scenario somehow believable. That, I'm sure you'll agree, is a tall order.

Circle is an example of a brilliant GSF. Melissa manages to make writing one seem effortless. The era is the always adorable baby!U2 and the premise is that Adam and Bono, as the older members of the band, tease Larry and Edge into a 'circle jerk', where they sit in a circle and, well, jerk each other off, to see who can last longest. It's testament to Melissa's writing skills that this is a fic full of deft writing, funny dialogue and hot action. The boys are brought to life, with Adam full of knowledge and experience, Larry young and belligerent, Edge observant and surprising, and Bono - well, Bono. Mel infuses the entire thing with warmth and humour.

Turn away from badly written 'jerk off' fics and turn to Circle.

Circle

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Adam/Edge
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: frog4
Author Website: u2slash (You must be a member to access R/NC-17 fics)
Why this must be read:

Adam/Edge is one of my favourite pairings, and Button Theory epitomises why I love them so much. For one thing, they're in the baby!U2 era, which is always a winner. For another, in a short fic, Frog paints the guys vividly, keeping them wholly in character, and creates something not just hot but funny, too. The story is peppered with words and phrases that are so 'them', such as Adam's snobby disdain for their accommodation, and Edge's dialogue.

I think it's difficult to keep a fic featuring masturbation from becoming sleazy or pointlessly, boringly graphic, but Frog succeeds in this case with the smart interaction between Adam and Edge, and the lovely subtle way she has Edge get Adam's attention, and then vice versa. It's sweet and well-written, and a great example of great fic sex.

So you want to know how young Adam and Edge got along? Step right this way to Button Theory.

Button Theory

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Adam/Larry
Length: Multi-chapter (1-4 are linked at end of this post; rest of chapters in community memories)
Author on LJ: occula
Author Website: u2slash (Membership locked to anyone under 18)
Why this must be read:

Occula is one of U2 slash's always-recced writers, and on the evidence of Secrets, it's not hard to see why.

This multi-chapter fic delves into Adam and Larry's relationship from way back in the baby!U2 days (a very popular era in our community). Occula charts the growing attraction between the pair, and gives us both viewpoints, alternating them between chapters. Both Adam and Larry have strong characterisation, and their actions seem very 'them', something that is vital in making a fic like this believable. They go from friends to more over the course of a tour, and I love how Occula makes this happen. There's no sudden groping and random sex - she makes this happen gradually and naturally, from young curiosity to something much, much more. Even when she has them confess to Bono and Edge what's been going on, it is realistic and heartwarming.

You can't go wrong with any Occula fic, really, but this time 'round, I'm directing you Secrets-ward. I don't think you'll regret it.

Secrets

Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Edge/Adam
Length: One-shot (ficlet)
Author on LJ: inklingfair
Author Website: u2slash
Why this must be read:

At the start of the year, clandestine269 started a 'five things' challenge in u2slash. We got some really lovely stuff posted as a result, and if I could I'd pick all of the responses, but I'm only choosing one here - Five Thoughts by inklingfair.

Why? Well, the 'five things' structure has been done to death, probably in every fandom, and yet Sci manages to take a fresh approach that surprises and delights every time you read it. She packs so much into so few words, it amazes me and makes me extremely jealous of her talent. What makes this special is the characterisation. In five brief sections Sci has Edge down to an absolute tee, with his logic and his use of geometry and maths in his consideration of Adam (and she captures Adam beautifully, too, in a few well-chosen words). It's just brilliantly accurate, and brilliantly written. And anyone who can use the word 'asymptote' in a fic and make it sound erotic wins in my book.

Please do read this - it's wonderful.

Five Thoughts

Hi, I'm Kat and I'll be driving the RPS fandom which this month is U2. The last round of U2 recs were done by the lovely lydia_petze and her overview shall serve as mine (I can't do any better) if you would like to check out a bit about our small and awesome fandom. Please do note that many of my recs will be found on u2slash which will only admit you if you have your birth year in your user info. All R/NC-17 posts are locked to the community, so if you'd like to read any of those recs, you'll need to join. It's well worth it, though! U2 slash is lucky to be the fandom of choice for some really high quality writers, and I'm looking forward to highlighting a few of the best for you here.


Fandom: U2 (RPS)
Pairing: Adam/Edge/Larry
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: needleandspoon and melissa2u
Author Website: u2slash
Why this must be read:

Take one amazing fandom, two brilliant authors, and three extremely hot musicians and what do you get? A smut-filled fic of brilliance. I've chosen Tritone because it has smart, funny dialogue, sharp and well-observed characters, and wonderfully written sex. Ultimately, there's not much in the way of plot here, and yet the ladies manage to make the fic feel like there's much more going on than porn. It's in the way the boys interact, how Larry and Edge's relationship has history without any backstory, the ease with which Adam is added to their fun without it appearing cliched or untrue. Even their summary is brilliant.

If you've ever wondered what U2 would be like without Bono, try this.

Tritone

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Tom/Dougie, Harry
Length: 5.4k
Author on LJ: figletofvenice
Author Website: addandsubtract
Why this must be read:

Maddy's fics are brilliant and awesome, and I had such a difficult time choosing which to rec, I've gone for another of hers! Basically, just porn. This amazing, hot, wonderful wonderful fic features Tom and Dougie being kinky and Harry getting to watch. Breathless and brilliant and wonderfully voyeuristic as you're stuck there in a hotel room right alongside Harry, unable to tear your eyes away. Enjoy!

Plain, lined notebook paper, ripped at one edge where Tom had pulled it from his notebook. The card inside is a bland plastic rectangle, so obviously ordinary that even Harry almost can’t understand the anticipation and anxiety that builds in his stomach just looking at it.

On the paper is written, in Tom’s small, careful script, room 716, 11 pm. be there, if you still want.

And Harry does want.

sharing different heartbeats

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Tom/Danny
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: imagination55
Author Website: imagination55
Why this must be read:

Tom/Danny is the original pairing in the fandom, having known each other for longer than the other two. Fics revolving around them have these amazing auras of comfort and familiarity, and Dani is amazing at capturing the relationship between the two lads in a perfect, perfect way. In this fic, a break in filming for a show provides an opportunity for changes in Danny and Tom's relationship, in an odd but entirely fitting way.

Tom finally looked up dazedly, aiming his brown eyes straight at Danny as the pair stared at one another. Then something happened. Something that didn’t seem to sit right. One minute Tom was insulting him (nothing unusual) and then the next; he’d shifted his weight up and had fallen with his lips on his best friend’s. OK, OK, so fallen was probably a really bad adjective but a) Danny suspected that he didn’t know what ‘adjective’ meant anyway and b) HEL-LO! Lips. Tom. Best Friend. On. His. Not exactly an activity that happened very often. In fact, it was the first time in Danny’s mind that it had. That he could remember. Maybe Tom was like one of those girls (fine, two…three…four? Meh!) that he’d slept with and then forgotten about…

A Whole 'Nother Level

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Danny/Harry
Length: novel-length
Author on LJ: 5_inthemorning
Author Website: (5_inthemorning
Why this must be read:

Danny/Harry is the current trend in the fandom, championed brilliantly by Von and Ellie and their fab, novel-length AUs about the boys. In this one, Danny is a widowed single father crushing desperately on Harry. Tom floats around panicking over being a dad and Dougie is... Dougie.

More alcohol is drunk, more old stories dredged up and regaled to a now fully initiated Harry, and before long, Danny is beginning to lose feeling in his legs, something that makes him smile as he leans back in his chair, his hand itching towards Harry’s under the table.

“Why are you two sitting so far apart anyway?”

“Huh?”

Danny looks over at Dougie, who seems very far away, so he squints, leaning forwards onto the table a bit.

“It’s not like we don’t know you’re doing the dirty.”

Danny opens his mouth to reply when Harry gets there first.

“Because Danny’s a pussy.”

Somebody to Love

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Dougie/Harry, gen.
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: _afterism
Author Website: Psychorandom.
Why this must be read:

Emily is one of those fab authors that can create an amazing story in a short space. She was one of the authors that introduced me to the fandom, and I have a special fondness for her fics. The fandom is full of brilliant AUs of varying lengths, and this little fic from Emily showcases that nicely. Tom runs a demon huinting agency, and they're all really, really useless at their jobs.

Tom had quickly learned that it didn't matter how thoroughly you had researched, or how many high-tech gadgets you owned that picked up heat and disturbances and high concentrations of fucking weird, or how highly trained you and your team mates supposedly were - it always came down to rock salt and silver bullets.

Oh, and that you should always be ready to start running.

Adorable and hilarious, this is a fab little fic for when you need something to make you smaile and be warm inside <3


Snakes and Ladders

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Tom/Dougie
Length: 9k
Author on LJ: kawaii_tenshi27
Author Website: kawaii_tenshi27
Why this must be read:

I love Emma's fics, so have no problem reccing her twice! Tom and Dougie are brilliantly awkward and any relationship between them that doesn't involve Star Wars marathons and home baking is going to involve panic and insecurity. Awkward and tender first-time story, this is a lovely and hot fic that you'll love.


The wooden-metallic slam and the sound of someone-not-him gasping registers in delayed reaction. It’s several heartbeats before the noise breaks through the fog in Tom’s brain, and several more before it sinks in enough for his body to respond, going completely still, eyes dragging open, and.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. The words trail like a broken record through Tom’s head, staticky and faint. Petrified.

Tom can’t move, can’t do anything but stare at Dougie, breath frozen in his lungs. And Dougie – Dougie is staring right back, eyes wide and lips parted, barely two steps into the room, keycard still in his hand. The silence is deafening, broken only by the soft hiss of Dougie’s breath. Tom can’t breathe. His heart is slamming in his chest, and – he’d always thought it was just some fancy turn of phrase to say it felt like your heart was going to beat its way out, but this, this really fucking hurts. And he can’t breathe.

“Tom,” Dougie says, his voice slightly choked, and, “Oh God,” he says, and, “Can I fuck you?”

Butterflies All Tied Up

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Tom/Dougie/Danny
Length: 3.6k
Author on LJ:kawaii_tenshi27
Author Website: kawaii_tenshi27
Why this must be read:

And now, now would be the perfect time for Tom to beat a hasty retreat. To go lock himself in his bedroom and get himself off fast and hard – which would be nothing like a problem right now, and who the hell invented fucking skinny jeans, anyway, they are clearly a menace to society – and then pretend none of this happened. But Dougie groans again, and Tom must make some kind of sound in response, because Dougie and Danny jerk apart, and suddenly. Suddenly there are two pairs of eyes, dark with dilated pupils, staring at Tom. Danny’s still got his hand down Dougie’s pants and both their lips are red and wet and swollen. They should be fucking illegal.

OT3/OT4 fics are a big thing in this fandom, simply because the boys all love each other such a ridiculous amount that the lines between individual relationships get blurred and moved around. This fic illustrates the 'oh, they're doing it, time to join in!' mentality that is a wonderful constant of the McFly fandom. Brilliantly hot and funny, this is a gem of a fic that needs to be adored.


A Better Blend

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: Harry/Tom
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: galaxydazzle
Author Website: via the McFly Official Boards
Why this must be read: Malin is one of those people that *gets* the boys and their characteristics. She has a wonderful way with words, creating fictions that are lyrically beautiful and stunning to read. Like dreaming while you're awake. I'm reccing this one because its one of the ones I've persuaded Malin to put on lj, but she is also one of the only writers to get the balance of the relationship between Tom and Harry - alpha-y and tender and amazing. Check out the rest of her fics - she writes amazing long fictions that keep you up all night on the edge of your seat!


Earthquake. That was what came to me in my blurry world of colour dancing across darkness and a flurry of hands brushing my skin warm and tingly in my cold state. I was being pushed and nudged, pulled and thrust here and there, gusts of cold air fluttering across my naked chest and arms and then finally, as a broken cry and a mumble fell off my dry lips, I fell. I moaned in agony and confusion as the hard floor came up meet me and my eyelids felt heavy as I pried them open. There had been no earthquake of course but I’d been close enough.

“Oh god, Haz!” Dougie piped up, alarmed and already feeling a bit guilty. “I didn’t mean to… oh fuck fuck fuck…!”


Frozen Toes and Melting Hearts

Fandom: MCFLY
Pairing: group
Length: 2k
Author on LJ: figletofvenice
Author Website: addandsubtract
Why this must be read:

Maddy is an amazing, amazing writer, and I'm sure I'll be reccing her again this month. This amazing little fic sees Dougie waking up as a girl, freaking out, and the others Not Helping. Brilliantly funny and utterly adorable, Maddy captures the boys' personalities perfectly.


man, I feel like a woman.

This is my last rec in the Women's Business set. I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have.

Vidder: Todd Haynes
Musical artist: The Carpenters
Pairing: None
Vidder on LJ: None
Vidder's website: None
Why this vid kicks ass: I've heard about this movie on the fannish grapevine for many, many years, and you probably have too. It's the biography of Karen Carpenter acted with barbie dolls. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I finally found this online, but it wasn't to be confronted with something so hard-hitting. The low budget origins of the movie are clear, the picture quality is blurry, but still, this is an extraordinary and genuinely moving piece of work. I can see why it's stayed in the fannish consciousness for so long. Anyone who is a fan of songvids should see this; it's our history, and it's amazing.

The link goes through a site devoted to archiving "illegal" art, and the bandwidth runs out after just a couple of hits, so be prepared to try for this over the next week or so. It's worth the effort.

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

After my infamous stint back in December reccing Anthropomorfic on the Van, you're probably looking at the fandom title "Women's Business" and imagining... I don't even know what. Something zany; some bizarre, little-known fandom with the good crack.

But whatever you're thinking you are wong, wrong, wrong, so very wrong! See, I just wanted to even the balance a little here, because as much as I love the RPF boys, I love the RPF girls too; I'd even go so far as to say that the RPF girls are pretty bloody fantastic. Hence this set, which, as my crazily inventive title suggests, is all about the secret women's business of RPF. Don't screw your noses up at me! I know just how appealing the boy secks is, goodness knows, but some of these stories about the girls are brain-meltingly good too.

So buckle your seatbelts, kids. You're in for one hell of a ride!


Fandom: WOMEN'S BUSINESS
Pairing: Kylie/Madonna, Britney/Madonna
Author on LJ: faithtasticfics
Author Website: Pulp [Fiction]
Why this must be read: This was the first really good femmeslash story I ever read, and it's become a re-reading favourite. It's got a hard edge to it that I love, because I can well imagine that these women are driven and obsessive, about their work as well as their loves, and that they sometimes pay the price for that.

Not Solidarity