It seems like I've just gotten the RotG van out of the shop when we've just gotten into a minor fender bender with the Avengers comicverse (Journey into Mystery)! Yes that's right, it's the 15th according to my clock so it's time for Crack Van Collisions!

Subject: In Which Two Creatures of Ice Without Any Friends Find Each Other by Asidian (G)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians/Avengers: Journey into Mystery
Pairing: N/a
Length: 11,314 words (5 works)
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
The next time the boy that comes with the wind settles upon Asgardia’s wall, Loki slips away from bird and dog and brother. He finds his way outside, climbs five flights of stairs until he stands, panting, at the top -- peers through an archway to spy upon the figure that skates over stone slicked with ice. He moves like the wind itself, the picture of unrestrained joy. He wears no shoes, and yet he does not seem to feel the cold upon slim, pale feet.

Loki recalls stories of frost giants, hideous monsters that bring the ice, as he takes in this creature of simple pleasure. He recalls that the people of Asgardia say he is just such a horror of winter – but here and now, watching this boy play upon the walls as though nothing else exists in the world, he does not see how it can possibly be a bad thing.

The "Journey into Mystery" is a storyline from the Avengers comic - while I have not read it myself, I like the Avengers movieverse and this fits into that with only a little explanation: in short, in the comic book storyline, Loki at some point becomes a good guy and then is turned into a little boy in a revamped Asgardia on Earth, and in this fic he then meets a certain little boy of a winter sprite. Young Loki has two companions, a dog (who's just a dog) and a bird (who talks to him and can only be seen by Loki). Jack of course can only be seen by people who believe in him - which apparently includes Loki because in reading Wikipedia he believes everything he sees on there. And why not? Loki himself is a god and he exists, why wouldn't a Midgardian legend like Jack Frost also exist? The two of them, loners not by choice but by circumstance, strike up an interesting friendship.

In Which Two Creatures of Ice Without Any Friends Find Each Other by Asidian (G). One work in the series is rated Teen.

Fandom: AVENGERS
Pairing: Gen, Tony/Loki
Length: 10,037
Author on LJ:
Author Website: FanFiction . net
Why this must be read:
This is about how Tony Stark busted his way right into Peter Parker's life with one 1 Norse God of Mischief in tow. Alternatively, how Peter Parker became the Upgraded Intern who moonlighted as an arachnid in some nice spandex.

Peter Parker working at SI is something I want in the Marvel Universe, especially with The Amazing Spiderman reboot where Peter is (somewhat) of a tinkerer. Basically, Tony Stark is Peter’s boss, and in a way, decides to become his mentor without telling Peter. The other Avengers get involved (mostly Steve) as Peter isn’t officially a SHIELD sanctioned Avenger, the adults can throw a little aid to Peter’s vigilantism. Loki (whose relationship with Tony is mostly background) is amused by Peter’s snarkiness.

Thicker Than Water

My last rec (except for a vid rec tomorrow)!

Fandom: Avengers comic!verse
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 81,526 for the first story; 89,646 for the whole series
Author on LJ: kijikun
Author Website: kijikun on AO3

Author’s Summary: For the first story in the series, All That Remains: In retrospect, it was the answer to all of the questions he'd carefully avoided asking, all of the things he hadn't wanted to look at too closely.

The subsequent stories are in the nature of timestamps for the first story.

Why this must be read: How has this story not been recced before? It goes on my list of the best Civil War fix-it fics, and my list of the best kid!fics. I don’t want to give away the plot, but if you pay attention to the tags on the story, they provide a lot of clues. Suffice to say that Tony makes a great dad, Maria (not Hill) is an amazingly genuine and fleshed out OC, and Steve does eventually come back.

Some Assembly Required series

All That Remains (Explicit)
Messages (PG)
In The Workshop (Teen)
Ice Cream and Secrets (Teen)
First Noel (Teen)

Fandom: Avengers movie!verse (however, the author notes that zie has borrowed elements from the films, the mythology, the comics, and the animated tv show "Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes".
Pairing: Gen (none, Loki-centric)
Length: 29,743
Author on LJ: Author does not appear to be on LJ.
Author Website: spinstitcher on AO3

The author doesn’t rate this story on the AO3, but PG-13 or so seems pretty accurate to me. There is an archive warning for "Graphic Depictions of Violence", but I didn’t find it to be particularly violent or graphic.

Author’s Summary: In the wake of the Chitauri Loki is stripped of his powers and banished to Vanaheim. Nobody tasers him, but there is an awful lot of singing and dancing. Accompanied by his eldest son, who happens to be a horse, Loki slowly begins to carve out a place for himself – one that isn’t Supreme Ruler of the Known Universe.

But there is another power emerging from the darkness; one that threatens the safety – and sanity – of all the Nine Realms. Loki may have given up his dreams of becoming Glorious Overlord, but that doesn’t mean someone else gets to take his place.

Why this must be read: This is set after the Avengers film, and the Avengers show up in the story near the end, but it’s really all about Loki. While this story is complete in itself, it’s also the first part of a series. The second story in the series is currently in progress.

I honestly don’t have a clue how to describe this story. Spinstitcher ranges from serious angst to the crackiest crack ever to quiet domestic fic without blinking an eye. And then the plot kicks in, and you’re off on a wild ride through an incredible tale that leaves you guessing – and gasping – at every turn.

Kings and Vagabonds

Fandom: Avengers comic!verse
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 12,213
Author on LJ: websurffer
Author Website: websurffer on AO3
Warnings: The author warns for PTSD, flashbacks, slight BDSM tones, and discussion of rape.

Author’s Summary: Tony is going to woo Steve. No, really, he has a whole plan and everything. It's just, things keep going wrong. If he's not getting thrown into the pool and having flashbacks, then some bad guy is fighting some other hero all through their date. But something has to give eventually, right?

Why this must be read: There are a variety of things I liked about this story, but I think the main thing is Websurffer’s deft ability to mix humor, angst, romance and hot, hot sex, all in one highly entertaining story.

It certainly helps that the writing is full of attention-grabbing lines, like the very first one: It's not until he's impaled on a road sign that Tony begins to really appreciate Manhattan's rush hour.

And later in the story, this line: Tony is aware that whining at the person he desperately wants to have sex with is an almost sure fire way to never actually have sex with them.

This was written for the 2012 Marvel Big Bang, so there is wonderful accompanying artwork by leperu which can be viewed in the AO3 post of the story or separately here.

Give Me a Sign (Point Me in the Direction of Your Desire on AO3

Seeing the Thor: Dark World trailer has revived my love for Loki...

Fandom: Avengers movie!verse and comic!verse
Pairing: Loki/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Steve Rogers
Length: 19,447
Author on LJ: sam_storyteller
Author Website: sam-storyteller
copperbadge on AO3

Author’s Summary: Tony knows he shouldn't sleep with Loki, it's just sometimes he's drunk and she's female and he forgets why.

Why this must be read: It’s funny, it’s sexy, it blends a lot of the best things from the movie!verse with the comic!verse. Because it’s written by Sam, who is rightly considered one of the best fanfiction writers on the net. Because I love Loki and Tony, and I love the notion of characters whose gender is literally "malleable", as Tony puts it.

And for the line "Five hundred and forty-three women, fifty-two men and one god of malleable gender."

Extremely Hot and Currently Female on AO3
Extremely Hot and Currently Female on DW
Also available as a podfic!

I saw Iron Man 3 yesterday and it was AWESOME. But I was up late and now I'm tired, so you get the art rec I had waiting in the wings, because I already had the entry typed up and formatted.

Fandom: Avengers comic!verse
Pairing: None (gen)
Length: n/a
Author on LJ: dangwhyme
Author Website: None that I could find

Author’s Summary: Art fill for a prompt:
Prompt #14: "Even you have to admit it's at least a little cool. I mean, just how often do you get to see a real live dragon in New York City?"
Universe: MA
Things you'd like to see: The entire team working together to save the day, accidental nudity of some sort.
Things you don't want: Anything too dark; character bashing of any sort.

Warning for non-sexual, non-frontal cartoon nudity.

Why this must be read: So, yes, there is a comment fic by me for this picture. I’m not reccing that. I'm reccing the hilarious cartoon by dangwhyme because this is probably my absolute favorite piece of fanart for anything Marvel comics or film related. My initial reaction to it went like this: So adorable. I love Wolverine ("Uh...I'm kinda stuck here") and the Hulk just hanging on ("Smash dragon!....Why dragon not smashed?"), poor Spidey just carried along for the ride ("Maybe I can grab the corner of that building if we just get close enough..."), Thor and Storm looking like they wish they could fly a little faster("Halt, thou dragon...oh crap oh crap oh crap fly away NOW!").

I think I may need to make this my computer background.

For the record, I did indeed make this picture my desktop background for a while.

Art by dangwhyme

Fandom: Avengers comic!verse
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 85,131
Author on LJ: dorcas_gustine
Author Website: dorcas_gustine on AO3

Author’s Summary: Tony goes to see Wanda, and suddenly Steve is alive and there are Skrulls! Or maybe Tony is just going crazy. Nothing happens in this fic, until the very end. Seriously. There's a lot of talking, mostly at inopportune moments, Tony's views on the acceptable gifts to give people are slightly different from everyone else's and he spends more time than would seem necessary being (half-)naked. What else is new?

Why this must be read: Iron Man 3 is out in theatres! Don’t spoil me, I’m going to see it tomorrow. But since the internet is sure to be spammed with a plethora of new Avengers movie!verse fics in the next few months, I’m going to go in a different direction today and rec a comic!verse fic.

This is one of those stories I come back to again…and again…and again, and I never seem to get tired of re-reading it. There are three epic Civil War fix-it fics that I feel are truly exceptional in terms of both plot and characterization, and this is one of them.

If you’re not familiar with the Civil War event in Marvel comics, there are a number of websites that explain and summarize it. But elspethdixon provides an excellent and brief summary in terms of the Steve/Tony relationship in the Captain America/Iron Man Ship Manifesto. Just scroll down to the “I could not love thee, dear, so well, loved I not honour more" heading (although the entire essay is well worth reading and does a great job of explaining, for those who are familiar only with the Avengers movie!verse, the comic!verse history of Tony and Steve).

This time tomorrow (where were we?) on AO3

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (Avengers Comicverse: Marvel 616)
Pairing: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers
Length: 57,702 words
Author on LJ: tsukinofaerii
Author Website: Author Page on AO3
Why this must be read:
Because Tony whumping is a fandom tradition? Or it's a fine example of 616 angst? I dig the Tony characterization, and anyway, who doesn't like a well-handled amnesia plot...

W.I.P.E. series

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (Avengers Comicverse: 616/7207 Iron Man Noir)
Pairingw: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter
Length: 104,796 words
Author on LJ: penumbren
Author Website: Author Page on AO3
Why this must be read:
Because it's an absorbing alterate universe/time travel story that is plot-driven, with the addition of Tony/Steve complications.

Indelible Series

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (Iron Man and Avengers Comicverse)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 29,652 words
Author on LJ: jadedoll
Author Website: Author Page on AO3
Why this must be read:
Open portals in the multiverse land a baby in Tony's arms, and Iron Man becomes a full-time daddy. The biological father happens to be the man Tony is in love with: Steve. Post-Civil War angst, man drama, and baby drama are in the mix, but I enjoyed this kid fic.

Warnings: Character Death - Not Steve or Tony; Critically Ill Young Child; Medical Situations

Buy You a Mockingbird

One of the chief joys of being a comics fan, I think, is that there's constantly something new on the horizon, and if something happens that you don't like, you only have to wait a little while for a retcon or a reboot. The unpleasant corollary, of course, is that sometimes it's something you do like that falls victim to the retcon/reboot. And of course, the whole thing can seem impenetrable and inaccessible to new fans.

My advice then to new fans: don't try to get entirely caught up, just dive in and start reading the fic! If there's a character you don't know who seems vaguely important, look them up on Wikipedia. That's what it's there for! (Jimmy Wales may disagree.) That's what I did, and it was enough to convert me from DC to Marvel in the real world as well as the fandom one.

( The single biggest change in Marvel waters this year, I think it would be hard to argue, has been the popularity of the new movies, and thus the increased exposure of characters who were not necessarily well known, or well-fanned, outside comics circles. )

( Fandom Overviews here at Crack Van )

(  Pairing Specific Introductions at Ship Manifesto )

The Cap/Iron Man Slashy Moments List (Illustrations from Forty Years of Comics)

(  Livejournal Communities )

(  Big Bangs )

( Kink Memes )

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (specifically THOR)
Pairing: Thor/Loki
Length: 14,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: AO3 Account

Warning: Author Chose Not to Warn. [Violence. Gore. Consent Issues.]

Why this must be read: An absolute rollicking see-saw/rollercoaster/whirligig/every damn unsettling ride in the amusement park, dialled up to eleven. Equal parts black comedy and tragedy, this story melds myth, comic and movie canons with a touch of psychological profiling to give us a not remotely flattering peek into the culture of Asgard and the princes it produced. Neither Thor nor Loki come off as particularly laudable or particularly sane -- a refreshing change from the rafts of fic that take one part or the other -- but in the best OTP tradition they do come off as made for each other, and world-shatteringly aware of it.

Looks like a Nail

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (specifically AVENGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA/IRON MAN)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 29,000 words
Author on LJ: tsukinofaerii (author prefers DW)
Author Website: AO3 Account

Warning: None. Woohoo.

Why this must be read: How far would you go to forget the worst thing that ever happened to you? If you're Tony Stark, the answer is pretty damn far. Comics Spoiler: Steve Rogers died in Civil War. Comics Spoiler: He got Better. No Spoiler at All: Tony would rather forget the whole thing ever happened. And after that whole other comics thing where he injected himself with an experimental nano-virus that turned his brain into a hard drive, he has the technology.

Per Expectations

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (specifically AVENGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA/IRON MAN)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 170,000 words (yes, you read that right)
Author on LJ: seanchai and elspethdixon
Author Website: Fic Index

Warning: None. Woohoo.

Why this must be read: Again, one of the first fics I ever read in this fandom and one I re-read when I'm feeling nostalgic. Aliens have taken New York; interesting, well-realised aliens who are hideous and cruel and occasionally sympathetic, and complicated in their motivations... Steve and Tony are physically separated for the vast bulk of the story, and yet they're in each other's hearts and minds constantly, until the reader is as desperate for the reunion as they are. The supporting characters are great too, and as an introduction to Hawkeye especially, who I didn't know from Adam at the time, it was a great primer.

When the Lights go on Again

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (specifically AVENGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA/IRON MAN)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 4,000 words
Author on LJ: muccamukk (author prefers DW)
Author Website: AO3 Account

Warning: None. Woohoo.

Why this must be read: One of the first fics I ever read in this fandom and still one of my favourites, this fic skillfully weaves together vignettes from many different points in comics and film canon that deal with the various physical scars Tony Stark carries related to his damaged heart, while also commenting on the mental and emotional scars that fragile organ also bears. All rolled in with some scorchingly hot sex with Steve Rogers that again touches on those hidden depths. It's just a wonderful piece all over.

That One Man, Scorned and Covered with Scars

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (specifically THOR)
Pairing: Thor/Loki
Length: 18,000 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: AO3 Account

Warning: Violence. A touch of gore. Mythology-style mpreg.

Why this must be read: A glorious tapestry of movie, comic and myth canons, this fic takes everything that makes Loki Loki and dials it up to eleven. It manages to make him sympathetic without making him a woobie, and without stripping him of his mischief and his sheer glee in getting the better of others, especially Thor. That said, Thor himself, while no match for Loki in a battle of wits, is no lummox either, and it's a delight to see them both so true to themselves and yet finding common ground as well.

Red Ruin, and the Breaking Up of Laws

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS (specifically NEW AVENGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA/IRON MAN)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Length: 35,000 words
Author on LJ: valtyr (author prefers DW)
Author Website: AO3 Account

Warning: Wow, that's two warnings for consent issues I have to give in two days. Unintentional, I promise. This time it's dub con thanks to pheromones and such but both parties are/would be willing, so if that's cool with you you're good. There's also a brief, unsuccessful, attempt at a sexual assault also under the influence of said pheromones.

Why this must be read: Valtyr's one of my very favourite, and if I may say so, the very best, authors in the fandom, and her work has been recced here a couple of times. This story is hands down my favourite of them all. It's set in the New Avengers period, ie after the original flavour team had split up, and Cap and Tony put the band back together, with some new members. I'd never heard of Luke Cage (Power Man) and Jessica Jones (Jewel), and had heard of but didn't know Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman) so this was a glorious introduction to them. Spider-Man and Wolverine round out the team. Via a plot device I shall leave unspoiled, the team's powers and abilities get shuffled and randomly reallocated between them, and shenanigans break out. It's intriguing, amusing, and ultimately moving watching them cope in varying degrees, and Steve and Tony as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman respectively are hot like fire.

Conjugate