lunabee34

So have some vid recs:

Pipsqueaky's Incredible Thoughts by Sisabet
Keanu Reeves is a fandom!

These Days Are Dark (But We Won't Fall) by Bessyboo and Queelez
Political Fandom; hope after 2016

This Is a Trent Reznor Song by Rhoboat
Star Trek Reboot
(Man I love Songs to Wear Pants To; I miss the days when that site was navigable and you could listen to everything for free)

Marvel Bohemian Rhapsody by Killer Queen
MCU including X-Men

Glitter and Gold by Grable424 collab with djcprod
MCU
This is fantastic; one of my favorites.

Lions Inside by Grable424 collab with djcprod
MCU

The Adventure by Greensilver
Harry Potter
Neville-centric
One of my favorite vids of all time. I wish the quality of the footage was better because this deserves to be a fandom classic. I cry every time I watch it. This is my Neville!

1. Halloween was so much fun. I love going Trick-or-Treating with Fiona. I grew up in such a rural area that there was no Trick-or-Treating; I never did it until I was an adult.

We drove over to the main drag of town last night, parked at a friend's house, and went up and down the street. We had zero Trick-or-Treaters and it looked like none of our neighbors were offering candy. I was jealous of all the fun everyone was having on Second and Third Street. It was a real communal event!

2. duskpeterson reminded me of the fantastic The Very Secret Diaries of Augustine by Jay Tryfanstone which you should all go read if you have not.

3. I gave a quiz today and thus made a very commendable start to a Yuletide fic while proctoring. Also reading canon for my Yuletide assignment. And planning like a thousand treats. I am so into Yuletide this year; it's not even funny. I am stoked!!

4. Emma's friend who was going to drop out of high school has changed her mind and is staying enrolled. Emma is very relieved (and so am I).

5. I'm certain this is interesting to absolutely no one else, but I was reading an article last week that referenced a writer I'd read before, and I was certain the article was misrepresenting what was said, so after finding out that the book in question is our library on another campus, I ordered it. It arrived today, but the article writer's citations don't match the book. IDK I'm going to have to read the whole thing (which I was going to do anyway) to figure out what's going on. Anyway, the book is by Boice who I've referenced here before in my ongoing Reading All the Writing Manuals Quest; this book should be of particular interest to some of you because it is a writing manual specifically geared toward academics. It's pretty slim, so I should finish it soon.

Have a couple more Yuletide recs, both 19th century RPF (see how far I have made it into the archive? LOL).

Act of Union: Disraeli and Gladstone, magical AU

lingua franca: Byron and John Cam Hobhouse; hilarious and awesome

I always hate that I'm traveling for Christmas, so I never have the chance to just sit down and mainline the archive like I want to. Have some recs, post-reveal. I still have several fandoms I've got bookmarked to read, such as Discworld and Star Trek DS9, so expect a rec set from that reading at some point in the future. :)

Catch a Falling Star by Lizzen
Aliens franchise; Ripley/Hicks
I love the nod to Prometheus, and I love that Newt and Hicks survive. Gorgeous story.

give me the honor (give me a name) by Ideal_Girl
Adventure Time; Jake and Baby Snaps
This fic sounds just like the show--the exact mix of silly and poignant.

Women Who Run with Whywolves by Gloss
Adventure Time; Fionna-centric
Gloss has the voices down perfectly here. Fionna and Cake are a joy in her hands.

Some Unexpected Properties of Wood by Fahye
Brave; Elinor and Merida
As the eldest Merida had borne the brunt of her protectiveness, too; nobody had told Elinor that along with children came the knowledge that you would tear holes in anyone or anything who tried to hurt them, and for years this knowledge had felt too large for her, almost its own creature. The only time it had fitted perfectly beneath her skin was here, in this ancient space, when Mor'du was trying to kill her daughter and Elinor's skin had been everything that the wild and instinctual rush of defense demanded: larger, stronger, with claws attached. Knowing that you would tear holes was one thing. Actually being able to do it was something else entirely, a furious and prideful exultation that filled your heart and your mouth like the taste of blood.

Thirst by Lorax
Cabin in the Woods
What an unexpected and awesome take on this fandom. Have the story of the unicorn, everyone.

so long to the headstrong by Spock
Chronicle; Andrew/Matt/Steve
The perfect kind of fix-it-fic that gives these guys the happy ending I was rooting for in the movie (but with doing it!). A nice long read.

The Very Secret Diaries of Augustine by Jay Tryfanstone
Augustine tweets his way through the years. Hilarious.

Deal by Starrrz
Devil Went Down to Georgia--song
I giggled my way through this whole fic. What a fantastic take on the song. Poor Devil. *pets him*

To Boldly Go by likeadeuce
Mad Men; Sally Draper-centric gen
I didn't watch much of Mad Men and so cannot comment on the context in which this fic is occuring, but I love the idea of Sally Draper as a nascent Trekkie. Best line of the fic:
Kirk was his friend – Kirk kept saying it like that; "Spock, I'm your friend"

Unbound by lonelywalker
Prometheus; David/Elizabeth
Nice character study of David set in alternating vignettes that occur on the Prometheus and then on the Engineers' ship after he and Elizabeth escape.

For I Have Put Away Childish Things by Medie
Promethus
This David-centric gen is a lovely exploration of David's sentience.

White Picket Fences by harper_m; Glee; Rachel/Quinn; explicit BDSM; Adult; medium
This fic is fantastic for a helluva lot of reasons. First, booyah for the femslash. To paraphrase something hermionesviolin posted recently, slash to me does not exclusively mean boy-does-boy. Oh, no. Lorraine loves the ladies loving the ladies, and thank the goddess I'm not alone. What I love most about this fic is that both Quinn and Rachel are so perfectly characterized, and between the two of them, they manage to turn the conventions of BDSM completely upside down. I love controverted expectations so very, very much, and this fic delivers beautifully.

Sin Tetas, No Hay Paraiso by dress without sleeves; Glee; Rachel/Puckerman; PG-13; medium
I am in love with this story. I want to marry it and have its babies via detachable womb. (I'm besotted, y'all, not foolish.) Rachel and Puck are so awesomely rendered--selfish and kinda assholey but also endearing and funny and earnest and imminently loveable. I grinned and grinned and grinned and only broke my grinning to drink some wine throughout the reading of this.

And now for something(s) a little different but no less Glee-ful:

Harry Potter and the Eagle of Truthiness by Christine Morgan; HP/RPF fusion; PG; short
What if Stephen Colbert were the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts? What if he ran his classroom in the same vein as his "newsroom?" I may have scared the cats away with the giggling.

Recs! But first, a lament.

I've been going through Painless J's HP recs, and I came across a story that sounded right up my alley--slavery, h/c, a little light bondage, the promise of angst. All my buttons. And then when I click on the story (which is Big Bang length, not one of those Repossession length double novels) it has been posted in 109 FRAKKING DISCRETE PARTS! Aaaand, the lj layout was created by somebody with magnifying glasses for eyeballs. Whyfore the teensy print? I have done with you story! Why do people post like that? It's maddening. It's like actually chewing each mouthful twenty times. Bah.

The Sinister Nature of Cul-de-sacs by iminurface; j2 Big Bang; Adult
In this story, Jared is a reclusive writer and Jensen the landscape artist that moves in next door to him. There's mystery at work here as well as delayed gratification since Jared refuses to leave his home or allow anyone inside to visit him. The romance is primarily conducted through technology--email and chatting and Skype--and I like that. It's a fun read.(Is it just me or is that plural incorrectly formed? I thought it was culs de sac.)

Odysseus's Last Days by amand_r; HP; Harry/Snape; PG-13; deathfic; shortish
Within the first few paragraphs of this fic, the reader is made aware that one half of Snarry has died. What isn't immediately apparent is *which* half. I'll admit that my reading comprehension may be to blame, but I think the author cleverly misdirects as to who the deceased party is so that it is a bit of a revelation in the second part to discover just who is mourning who. This is a weeper for sure. It's beautifully written--language evocative and lyrical, clever turns of phrase. And such a moving and perceptive examination of grief, of the way some of us settle slowly and pull it around us like a cloak, like a buffer, like anesthesia that pains as well as it numbs.

Star Trek Bohemian Rhapsody by rockandshock
This vid amuses the hell out of me. It's just what it says on the tin. Short and silly.

Brokeback M*A*S*H by Mrspocksbrain
Again, this is just what it says on the tin, but holy shit does this vid articulate so perfectly the Hawkeye/BJ ship. This gets the whole damn thing right--the despair and isolation and frustration of the war, the desperatation, the good times in the midst of such chaos and horror. And while this vid weaves together footage in such a way to give us a narrative very different from what canon shows, it feels so true, so very real and true. Hankies out, yo.

There are no words by battlestarchik
This Janet/Sam vid is also a weeper. Surprise! This is Sam after Janet's death trying to deal with her grief. I MISS YOU, JANET!!

Rain by Patty Griffin
This isn't a fanvid but rather a song I've been listening to and digging on lately. From what I gather on the recommended sidebar of Youtube, this song has been sung by a variety of artists, but I really like this version.

Redemption by ancastar; J2; Adult
This is one of my favorite J2s from this year's Big Bang. The basic premise is that Jared and Jensen live in a futuristic society in which it is legal for people to rent themselves for varying lengths of time (a night, a month, a matter of years) to perform varying services (nanny, gardener, sexual companion). It's very lucrative, but potentially dangerous; while there are laws to protect the bonded, they occupy a nebulous social space that while doesn't always lead to them being abused, can certainly be disconcerting and demeaning for them. As you all know very well by now, I am a huge huge huge fan of the slavery trope, accidental or otherwise, and for me this is a refreshing take on that trope. Now don't get me wrong. I love a fic where Koyla buys Rodney at the market and breaks him and beats him (all while forcing him to endure the utter humiliation of the best orgasms of his life) just as much as anybody else. (Possibly more. *sigh) In other words, I really dig those slave fics in which the slave is expected to obliterate self and live as an extension of the master's will, mostly because they are just so darn angsty and tense. What I really love about ancastar's story, though, is that hir version of the slavery fic seems so plausible, like it's one possible future in which we've all decided to extend the terms of the legalization of prostitution that already exists in some places or to extend the terms of employment in other arenas. There's enough angst, enough discomfort with the role of owned and owner from both Jared and Jensen to keep the story riveting, but not so much that Jared is scrubbing Jensen's toilet with his toothbrush in penance for forgetting to call him master when Jensen was flogging him. LOL The worldbuilding is stellar, the secondary characters are all nicely fleshed out, and description is lush and evocative without running into Dickens territory. I think y'all should go read this. It's a great story.

Happy Ending by ashdoode; Spoilers for the finale
I have watched this vid at least ten times in the past two days. I can't get enough of it. It's brilliant and wonderful and it has like 15 comments which is criminal. (Please to be rectifying that, y'all.) The song choice is perfect: This is the way you left me. I'm not pretending. No hope, no love, no glory, no happy ending. This is the way that we love, like it's forever. Then live the rest of our life, but not together. I love the juxtaposition of joy and despair in this vid, the fast cuts between the fierce love and affection between them and the way they keep leaving each other. This hurts in that oh-so-good way of which I'm overly fond. And I love the ambiguity of the ending (much like the ambiguity of the episode's ending.)

100 Suns by dragonsofbadfaith; Spoilers for the finale
Another weeper. I really like the way the vidder has superimposed scenes to create this really cool collage effect. Again, excellent lyrics--the constant reiteration of "I believe in nothing" while we're seeing images that match the words is really, really powerful. Ultimately, it's not Mary on the Pedestal or the YED as he falls or the hope of heaven's saving grace, but "the beating of our hearts" that matters. *sniffles*

Grin and Bare It by balefully; Big Bang; J2; Adult (read warnings in the masterpost before proceeding)
I really like this story. It's raw and gritty and the sex is just filthy hot. I didn't skip a single sex scene in this one because I didn't feel like I was reading the same old "one finger two finger three finger fuck" fic. The basic premise is that Jared is a stripper and Jensen is straight and repressing his attraction to Jared all while dealing with some pretty intense internalized homophobia that can be hard to read at times. I like this unflinching look at a Jensen who is, essentially, an afraid asshole, an insecure and cruel douchenozzle (to borrow from CMM's lexicon) who is forced to confront truths about himself that he finds dangerous and overwhelming. I think that part of the fic is handled really, really well. I find Jensen's ability to embrace his sexuality at the end of the fic a little implausible. I get that most everybody else comes to Big Bang for, well, a Big Bang of happiness at the end, and that's why we usually get the HEA in these stories. But I think the author did such a phenomenal and fantastic job of setting up this complicated and nuanced situation that I am disappointed that it just gets whitewashed over at the end. But hey, MMV. It's really well written and definitely worth your time.

Untitled Blanche/Dean vignette by minim_calibre; SPN/Golden Girls XOVER
This, my friends? This is what I like about Delicious. It finds me Dean Winchester/Blanche Devereaux ficlets. RIP, Rue. Wherever you are, I hope you're eating 'em alive like you are in this short.

Damned Demented Demons by hells_half_acre; Harry Potter/Supernatural XOVER; Gen
This story is massive (103,000 words) and it's awesome. The basic premise is that Dementors are on the loose in North America and Harry's been sent to deal with the problem; he runs into the Winchesters along the way. I really, really like the way the author meshes the worlds of HP and SPN together. I love the parallels drawn between the sets of characters (Bobby and Hermione are totally research BFFs, for instance), and I love watching each world come to terms with what it learns about the other. Harry's portrayal is extremely well done, as are the connections between what happened to him as a child and what happened to Sam. Malfoy doesn't appear for very long, but every second he's on the page is completely golden. The tension between him and the wizarding world and the very fraught and tenuous mutual respect between him and Harry makes for excellent reading.

Common Knowledge by elucreh; Jared/Jensen; SPN Adult; Medium length
I already alluded to this fic in my recent post on RPF, but it deserves a rec proper. This is such a meta-tastic, fourth wall breaky fic of the highest caliber. In it, Jared discovers fanfic, actually becomes a serious reader of fanfic, and becomes true friends with some fangirls. What makes this fic so meta-wonderful is that fandom is the catalyst for change. Rather than fandom accurately interpreting the "clues" that J2 give about their relationship, J2 is intercepting the fannish signal and allowing that to inform their behavior. And so, when the fic comes full circle, the fangirls have had J2 pegged all along. It's really masterfully done. I also love that this fic is so full of real actual fans--the songs they've written, etc. It's a nice little love letter to the SPN fandom.

She walks like she's on a mission; by latentfunction; SPN Big Bang; Jo/Pamela; Adult; 38,000 words
This fic is set immediately after Pam loses her eyesight and follows canon from that point on. Jo's been sent by her mom to check on Pam and she ends up staying; that's the plotline boiled down to a sentence, but so much more is going on than that. Jo feels so real to me in this fic--she's the mixture of young and immature and unsure of herself and not nearly so hardened as she'd like to be we see on the show coupled with a toughness and a bravery and a strong beauty that show gave us all too little of. I don't know about you, but I coulda stood to see more of Jo sitting in a circle of salt and getting the drop on a decades dead serial killer or dragging's Dean's ass out of the water before he bled out. Pam here is wonderfully characterized too, bold and sassy and amazing and despite the loss of her sight, the one in the relationship that really sees most accurately. Wait until you get to the last lines--they'll stick in your head and in your heart and they'll hurt, but you'll like it. When I left feedback, this fic had like no comments. Go run change that, y'all. Femslash in this fandom between characters who are actually presented as female on the show is all too rare not to be loved on when we get it.


Dreams by newkidfan; SGA; McShep; vid
This is such an interesting vid and a novel watch for me. It's the first vid I've seen in which the narrative is not imposed by the music. Even in instrumental vids that I've seen, there's a melodic narrative to the music that propels the images of the vid. And while this is beautiful music, don't get me wrong, the narrative is propelled entirely visually--through images interspliced with text. It truly invokes the dreamstate it's intended to capture. (As an aside, what happened to Imeem? I know for awhile there, vidders were putting everything up on that site, but now, it seems every fan vid I had recced hosted there is just gone. Did they do a massive TOS or something? I reckon that'll teach me to link to the vid itself rather than the lj post announcing it. *sigh* Sometimes I just wanna rock out to astolat's "Bohemian Like You.")

And now it's time to put into practice what I learned in my last post about reccing!

Black Swans by omphalos and wolfling; Sam/Gabriel; Adult
This story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Lucifer has been defeated, but the planet's taken a beating in the process. Sam and a wounded Gabriel have been separated from the others and must find their way back across treacherous terrain. I really like the way that both Sam and Gabriel are characterized here. This is a Sam who's very much portrayed in terms of hunger and addiction, and even when those needs shift into something more positive, they still disturbingly echo a Sammy with his mouth painted in demon blood. This Gabriel is the perfect combination of the Trickster, the ineffable superbeing, and the forlorn son who has just helped to kill the brother he still loves. That aspect of Gabriel's character was so well done--the way he could kill Lucifer while hating himself for having to do so. The sex is fun and interesting--nice use of supernatural elements during sex that I found really hot. I might have to add "grace play" to my list of kinks. I also like that what Gabriel did to Sam during the loop of Tuesdays is not glossed over in the least. This isn't a completely unqualified rec. I think that Sam descends into some annoying and slightly ridiculous, "OMG, Gabriel, you are so awesome, dude!" from time to time, but other than that, this is a highly enjoyable and well-written story featuring a rare pairing.

Coming Down on a Sunny Day by maychorian; Castiel-centric gen (references to, although not depictions of, child abuse); I'd say PG-13
After the apocalypse ends horribly, Castiel flings himself back in time to try to stop what's coming. Unfortunately, he doesn't bring his vessel back with him as he's intended, leaving him injured and stuck in the body of a young Jimmy Novak who is adopted by John Winchester in the immediate aftermath of Mary's death. I have to suspend my disbelief that John would so easily trust Castiel and accept him into the family, but once I do that, I have no complaints about this story whatsoever. This unique vision of Castiel/Jimmy, these two beings superimposed on each other and forced to share the same space, is utterly riveting. I really like the commentary on what it means to be a vessel, to be the physical embodiment of an entity of such power. It's a painful existence for both of them. I also like this look at a John Winchester who's told what his quest for revenge will do to his children and chooses to put Sam and Dean first. He's still John Winchester, but he's nobody Sam will ever need to walk away from and I love that.

In Becoming Who We Are by elizah_jane; Jensen/Jeff; Jensen/Jared; Adult
After he's hurt by a failed relationship with Jeff, Jensen doesn't let himself get close to anyone again. Until he meets Jared. First, I love that you get such an extended look at Jensen and Jeff's relationship, thus fulfilling my dire need for more JDM in fic. I love the extended network of friends Jensen has, particularly Misha and Clare and the way their relationship is characterized. I adore that Jensen and Jared take so long to get on the same page, misreading each other and misunderstanding what the other wants (yes, yes, this is totally my narrative kink and I OWN it!). This feels like an instant classic to me, one of those wonderful long romances with an ensemble cast that's got pitch perfect dialogue, more than a handful of funny, and enough pathos to make everything that much sweeter. My favorite J2 so far.