Fandom: Smallville
Title: In The Between
Pairing: Chloe/Lex-ish
Author on LJ: nifra_idril
Author Website: Neon Nights
Why this must be read:

Anybody who knows me knows I am first and foremost a Chloe fan. Smallville drew me because of the Superman mythos but it was Chloe that really cemented my love of it. The character has fascinated me and drawn my attention in ways that the others haven't quite managed. Nifra is among a select group of writers for me who appeal to my inner Chloe fangirl - who is suspiciously similiar to my outer Chloe fangirl but I digress - and never disappoints when it comes to Chloe. This is post season 3 Chloe and a potential look at the aftermath of the season finale. Chloe is very much Chloe but she's a Chloe who's gone through the events of Season three and come out the stronger for it. Likewise, Lex's presence in this story holds the same for him and we see their story intermingle and connect and the feel of the fic is just absolutely there. The descriptions are just absolutely wonderful and the character moments of the fic are absolute gems. It was a blast to find this on my f-list and I still enjoy rereading it.

In The Between

Vidder: X-Files Shrine
Musical artist: Various
Pairings: Mulder/Scully, Mulder/Krycek
Vidder on LJ: N/A
Vidder's website: The X-Files Shrine
Why these vids kick ass:

The X-Files Shrine has nine short videos, none of them lasting for a full song and all of them under two minutes. They do, however, all tell terrific little stories about X-Files themes that just never get old. Two of them deserve special mention.

There are so many good reasons to not smile and laugh through Mulder and Krycek hitting each other to the tune of Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up," but they're pretty much impossible to think about while watching the very amusing Krycek and Mulder Mix.

The Shipper Laugh Mix (set to "The Things We Do For Love" by 10cc) is a hilarious look at the Mulder/Scully ship: how it's unlikely, how it's been built on and thwarted by years of UST, and how it's perfect. If you watch the Shipper Mixes, I suggest watching Mix 1 before Mix 2.

I think the vids are only online for the month of July, after which you can only get them by special request, so go grab them now.

Shrine Mixes

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Muraki/Tsuzuki
Author on LJ: wordsofastory
Author Website: Brigdh on Phantom Moon
Why this must be read:

This is a gorgeous, dark AU exploring one of the most logical, and least comfortable, possibilities raised in the first arc of the anime. What if Muraki had demanded more for Hisoka's release, and Tsuzuki had given it? Muraki/Tsuzuki done right. Which means it's wrong, wrong, wrong.

Thy Faithfulness in Destruction

Vidder: Bonibaru
Musical artist: Vienna Teng
Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka
Vidder on LJ: boniblithe
Vidder's website: Some Distant Galaxy
Why this vid kicks ass:

I know nothing about vids, but I know what looks beautiful and sounds lovely and makes me cry, and that's this vid right here. The song is solo piano and voice, perfect for the graceful, delicate animation style of YnM. Boni makes every lyric count, interweaving the stories of Tsuzuki and Hisoka for a scarred and gorgeous whole, and--

Oh, trust me, just watch it. And bring tissue.

Momentum

Vidder: WTF Productions
Musical artist: S. McLachlan (don't run away!)
Pairings: Let's see: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Tsuzuki/Tatsumi, Muraki/Hisoka, Muraki/Tsuzuki ...
Vidder on LJ: starherd and kasra_c
Vidder's website: Wingboys & Two Fangirls
Format: Quicktime (30 MB)
Why this vid kicks ass:

It was a toss-up for me whether to rec Possession, or Cruel, which IMO is THE essential Muraki vid, but Possession won out.

*sneaky*

If you have never seen Yami no Matsuei and you have absolutely no desire to see it, you should watch this video. If you are a Yami no Matsuei fan, you should watch this video. If you love/hate/are ambivalent about Sarah McLachlan or just this particular song, you should watch this video. Everyone should see this video at least once in their lives.

Am I overhyping? Like Batman?

I mentioned this vid briefly in my fandom overview and I'm pleased to be able to expound upon it more. I found a link to this video about two years ago on a random surf of friendsfriends pages. I knew nothing about anime, manga, etc - I was looking for vids that were well-made, cleanly edited, looking for things to integrate into my own fledgeling vidding endeavors. I was a bit hesitant to download at first because of my lack of anime experience and also because of the song choice (it's irrevocably linked to another media vid for me).

I watched the vid and was blown away by the content, by the clarity and the essence of the series, which is so nicely captured here. I immediately went on a search to find out more about the series. POV changes are seamlessly integrated, atmosphere is used to great effect - the surroundings are almost a three-dimensional additional character. The use of color and movement, the seamless POV changes, a sense of quiet peace and desperate tension are balanced against each other ... vidders and non-vidders alike will enjoy this, and learn from it.

I won't deluge you with pages of accolades. But if you want to know more details about why this vid is so striking, you should read this review.

Possession is a Yaoi Con 2002 Winner - Judge's Award, Artistic Runner Up; Audience Awards, Best Drama & Audience Favorite. These awards and accolades are incredibly well-deserved. Everything on their website - and they also have some other vids tucked here and there around the net, if you check out links in their LJs - is worth the download. There's no vid that these two fine ladies have made that I wouldn't recommend, as both a vidmaker and vidwatcher. They have mad skillz, yo. It makes me want to stalk them and have their little vidding babies.

In summary:

WOW!

Possession (scroll down)

Vidder: Dallascaper
Musical Artist: The Charlie Daniels Band
Pairing: John/Scorpius
Vidder on LJ: Unknown
Vidder's Website: Farscape Fantasy

Why this vid kicks ass:

For the longest time, I was on a slow connection so I never bothered with music videos.  When I finally got with the technology, this is the first video I went and downloaded.  The song's a classic, fast paced, and set perfectly to the hostile relationship between John and Scorpius. 

This is one of those toe tapping, knee slapping videos that make you smile and grin and giggle throughout the entire song.  Here, Scorpius is obviously the devil and John is Johnny.  An epic battle between good versus evil with the fiddle playing contest being represented by the John/Scorpius struggle for wormholes.

Enjoyable, high octane fun.

Scorpy Went Down To Georgia

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Jack/Sam/Daniel
Author's webpage: none
Author on LJ: katie_m

Why this must be read:
So what do you do after the world ends? After the destruction has settled and you're picking up the pieces? This isn't a plotty story - Katie avoids clumsy exposition-heavy flashbacks to better concentrate on the characters now. They move through the crumbled landscape with familiarity, and so it feels natural to us, too, even though we don't know exactly what happened. SG-1 was scattered when the world ended (Jack: "Hell of a weekend to decide to take off for a vacation. 'Gosh, could you just push the apocalypse back a bit? I'm out of town this Saturday.'"), but now they're finding their way back to each other.

The last line is perfect - it feels like coming home.

In the Wrong Story

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: mostly none, though it gestures vaguely in the direction of possible J/D
Author's webpage: fanfiction by Christine
Author on LJ: mandysbitch

Why this must be read:
This is one of those stories that sits in your head. You think of it at random moments, and though maybe nothing happened in it, it's always a sort of touch point for you and the character. It feels like a series of dreams - languid images fading in and out. This is Jack in season 6, and the deserts he's known. Christine has created an element of his back-history that's non-canonical, but it doesn't work against canon, or characterization, so it's easy to accept. This is Jack telling stories, about things that pass and things that linger, change and memories.

"This is a story that was once written in sand."

"These are stories I don't write down."

In the Telling

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing:  Blake/Avon
Author on LJ: blakefancier
Author Website: see her LJ:)
Why this must be read:

I can't tell you how happy I am that Zenia's now linked to most of her B7 fics in her Memories section. She's one of my all-time favourite fanfic writers for a reason--gorgeous prose, moments captured in time with just the right words to hit your heart, brain and groin. Her stories are usually short and very condensed at that, ripe with perfect character bits and so much intensity they leave you gasping for breath.

Constant Craving is a fic that's been haunting me ever since I read it, and that must've been two years ago or so. It's all about Avon and love--something he never had great success with. It's harrowing and beautiful, a sequence of short flashes of the loves in his life. What he wants and what he gets are two very different things. Yes, expect angst. I think what makes this fic work so well for me is that it rings so true, it's how I imagine Avon myself. Melancholy, lustful, and paranoid at the end.

This page has two stories on it, you need to scroll down to get to Constant Craving. The first fic, Toy Soldiers, is damn good reading as well.

Constant Craving

If it's ok, since I missed the 15th, I'm going to sneak my crossover in now, as my last rec for the month. Hope y'all enjoyed the ride!

Title: The Scarab
Pairing:
Author's webpage: Irregularities
Author on LJ: bktheirregular

Why this must be read:
Good crossovers can be hard to come by. "The Scarab" does both its sources well, with good punchy dialogue, and the excellent mix of action-adventure and humor both Buffy and Stargate are known for. Set very shortly post-S4 "Buffy," BK uses the Initiative as the tie between the SGC and the Buffyverse, bringing SG-1 to Sunnydale when a goa'uld shows up on the Hellmouth. Explosions, snarking, and attempted apocalypses ensue.

The Scarab

Vidder: Morgaine
Musical artist: Queen
Pairing: Gen
Vidder on LJ: ?
Vidder's website: Chez Morgaine
Why this vid kicks ass:

Well, it's just a nice compilation of the best and the most magical bits of Blake's 7. Mixed together nicely, and bringing back wonderful memories. Just a nice comfy vid in general:). Morgaine's got lots of nice vids on her site--recommended for good fun. It was hard to decide between this and the Avon ones, but I thought I'd go for the one that had a bit of everything:).

B7 vids index page

Quick note to all our new OZ mates from, er, Oz *g* -- in case all the seasons have not yet aired Down Under, please note that this vid contains big spoilers for S6.

Vidder: Lierdumoa
Musical artist: VAST
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Vidder on LJ: lierdumoa
Why this vid kicks ass:

Ah, Beecher and Keller in all their hot, tragic, fucked up glory...

I was really impressed with the tone and pace of this vid. It's crisply edited, and features some really interesting juxtapositions of images to convey the ups and downs of the B/K relationship across the seasons. Mostly, what comes across is the intensity of their connection -- which I think is aided greatly by the song choice -- VAST's moody, driving, and dark "Pretty When You Cry".

Please follow the vidder's request that you click and save this vid and watch it locally on your hard drive rather than streaming it off her server!

Watch Pretty When You Cry

Vidder: Pete the Bum
Musical Artist: Right Said Fred
Pairing: Snape/Various (Gen really, though)
Vidder on LJ: petethebum
Vidder's Website: Pete the Bum's Guide to Raising and Caring for Your Pet Rock

Why this vid kicks ass:

First off, this vid is hilarious. The song alone should give you some hint as to what to expect.

When I went to see the movie version of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, I must admit that I was disappointed. Even so, there was one bright spot: Alan Rickman as Snape. He was overdramatic, maybe over the top, but utterly fabulous. Those robes! That voice! In fact, I'd be willing to bet that Mr. Rickman is directly responsible for drawing many a person into the fandom. He's just, as the song says, too sexy.

You've got to love him. And in this video...everyone does. Heh.


The link goes to Chance's Music Video page. Scroll down to the gen section.

I'm Too Sexy

Vidder: Alasen
Musical artist: They Might Be Giants
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski, Fraser/Vecchio
Vidder on LJ: alasen
Vidder's website: none to my knowledge
Why this vid kicks ass:

This vid kicks ass because Due South kicks ass, They Might be Giants kick ass and 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)' is the perfect song to bring them together. edit since I realized I forgot to say the vidder kicks ass for being the one to actually put all these kick ass things together.

This vid was down and I'm so happy that it was finally re-posted this month in time for me to rec it. Any vid that completely changes the associations I have for one of my long-standing favorite songs has got to be amazing. This vid is such a perfect fit of song and show that in retrospect you can't believe you didn't think of it.

I'm not a vidder so the finer details of the art are a mystery to me, but I like the quick match-up between the show changes and the song changes and how well the vidder matched the scene settings when she switched from Vecchio to Kowalski and vice versa. I also like how she fit the broader show changes between the first two seasons and the last two with the lyrics. Finally, she ended the video at the perfect time in a brilliant show-lyric match-up (but I won't spoil that).
(but I really do love the ending).
(No, really).

( Do vids need summaries? )


Please follow the vidders instructions and right click/save as or control click to download the vid. Thanks.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) vid post and download instructions

Vidder: Angel
Musical artist: David Bowie
Pairing: none
Vidder on LJ: valarltd

I'm down to the wire and can't find links for anyone else's vids, so my apologies for reccing myself. I'm one of the few vidders working in SW Trilogy anyway.

Why this vid kicks ass:
This is a Luke & Vader vid. The legacy of the Lightsaber is passed from father to son, only to have the son challenge when he is old enough to join the Dance.

The movement is paralell between them: hand gestures, motion and even the offering of redemption are mirrored. First Vader has his moment, and Then Luke's is near identical, but with a different outcome. (This is actually a found quality, something my subconsciouos stuck in.)

The slight echo on the first challenge: "Let's Dance" is deliberate.
Vids are in .wmv format

The website is
http://home.ipa.net/~rsparrow

The vid is the last one on the page