October 29th, 2004 
01:28 am “Mine!” by Jim Katkin (PG)
Fandom: SHERLOCK HOLMES
Pairing: Holmes/Watson
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read:

A charming little story inspired by the canonical confusion over Holmes’s dressing gowns. (Yes, there are people who keep track of what color his dressing gown is from story to story.) As a bonus, check out the comments after the story.

“Mine!”
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09:55 am Keepers of the Hearth by Alawa (PG)
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing: Eomer/Lothiriel
Author on LJ: Not as far as I'm aware
Author's Website: Alawa's Prose & Poetry
Why this must be read:

One criticism of LotR is that it largely ignores women except as the trophy waiting the end of the quest. Alawa's quiet Fourth Age piece reclaims Middle-earth for the ordinary woman, and celebrates all those things that the War of the Ring was fought to preserve. It features one of the best OFCs I've seen in the fandom, but don't let that put you off! Alawa's another talented author who deserves to be better known in the fandom at large.

Keepers of the Hearth
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01:44 pm Light by CatHeights (NC-17)
Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Author Website: CatHeightsOzFic
Author on lj: CatHeights
Why this must be read:

Because as with all CatHeights fic, the blend of angst and insight, deliciously flavored with sizzling smut makes for a melt in your mouth delight. Start with this opening paragraph --

It was never completely dark in Em City. No, there was always that sliver of light shining out from hack central in the middle of the common area. And that lack of darkness was fine with Chris Keller. He had enough darkness in his own soul, so he really didn’t mind the light. Sometimes, it gave him that dangerous and rare thing — hope. If light could pierce its way through Em City at night, a place where pain and fear tried to hide in the shadows, maybe, just maybe, it had found its way into his soul. Besides, that little sliver of light meant he would be able to see the expression on Toby’s face while they made love.

-- and go on through the end and be a very satisfied and happy reader.

This is part of a series called "Reverberations," each story self-contained. You don't have to read the other fics to get the most out of this one, but you will be guaranteed a wonderful fic experience if you do. :)

Light
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02:42 pm VID REC: Sherlock Holmes - “Your Mistake”
Vidder: Diana Williams
Musical artist: Sister Hazel
Pairing: Holmes/Watson
Vidder on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] dkwilliams
Vidder's website: http://www.mindspring.com/~diwillia/download.htm
Why this vid kicks ass:

It’s beautifully made, incorporates some of my favorite moments from the Granada TV series (like Watson tending to Holmes’s skinned knuckles), and is a nigh-perfect tool for converting disbelievers: if your friends have trouble wrapping their minds around the concept of Holmes/Watson, run this for them and watch the light bulbs appear over their heads!

Scroll down Diana’s Hot New Videos page for the link to “Your Mistake.”

PS: I’ve added some material to the Notable Adaptations section of the overview, including my thoughts on Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
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03:38 pm VID REC: Highlander - Touched
Vidder: Luminosity
Musical artist: Vast
Pairing: Duncan/Methos
Vidder on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] sockkpuppett
Vidder's website: Luminosity's Vidworks

Why this vid kicks ass: This vid is hot. Of course, it's one of Lum's, so that's no surprise. But this vid in particular is something I can point to and say, "See? This is where BeeeJ became a slashaholic." Cause see, I had only begun to explore slash when I discovered vids.
Fandom vids highlight exactly what it is that we're seeing in our shows that causes us to think slash. And "Touched" does it with a driving, angsty, goth rock song that I fell in love with instantly. The song starts quietly, and builds to a fascinating and complicated crescendo. This makes for a wonderful accompaniment to the building of Duncan and Methos' relationship from the moment they meet right up through the torrent of angst as the horsemen storyline came crashing down around them. It's angsty and it's stunning, and it's my all time favorite vid.

Look for "Touched" at Vidder's website: Luminosity's Vidworks
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05:50 pm Things Left Undone by Minnow (PG-13)
Fandom: Angel
Pairing: well, Fred's parents, if that counts
Author Website: I haven't found one.
Author on lj: [livejournal.com profile] minnow1212
Why this must be read:

Minnow doesn't pull any punches with the twelve vignettes here, all of which take place after the end of the series. Some of them are long, some are quite short, and none are based on the assumption that events in the alley went miraculously well. At the same time, it's not an angstfest. Many of them give us insights into characters who have been on the periphery of the Angelverse, and their reactions to the events of "Not Fade Away". Every single one is well-written (one even has footnotes! Footnotes! Yay!)

Things Left Undone
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06:01 pm Blurry by Little Heaven (NC-17)
Fandom: Angel
Pairing: Angel/Cordelia
Author Website: Little Heaven
Author on lj: [livejournal.com profile] littleheaven70
Why this must be read:

Boy, I wish I could explain this one. It's a perfect, creepy little Halloween tale. Cordelia stands at the edge of death, and has to decide whether to return to life, or pass on. I don't think that gives away anything, and unfortunately it also doesn't give you the full impact of the tale. Go. Read it. And then read her other pieces, too. (They're all good, but this seems the most appropriate for Halloween.)

Blurry
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06:50 pm SMALLVILLE - Concrete
Vidder: Destina
Musical artist: Plumb
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Vidder on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] destina
Vidder's website: Triptych Vids
Why this vid kicks ass:

Smallville is blessed with a lot of really talented vidders. However, Concrete literally made me gasp when I watched it. Destina's match of visual image to the words is nothing short of awesome.

The core of the vid: I believe in the things you never told me. Could that be anymore Clark and Lex?

It will be necessary to send Destina an email in order to get a password so you can download the vid. They've had some trouble with people direct linking their vids to a studio owned message board. I completely understand their precautions.

Anyway, go get a password and download this vid. You won't regret it!

Triptych Vids

Be sure to send the vidder feedback after you've watched the vid!
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10:26 pm Happiness Is...by Ika (NC-17)
Fandom:BLAKES7
Pairing: Blake/Avon
Author on LJ: ?
Author's Web Site: Unfortunately, not any more
Why this must be read:
In my recent and completely scientifically invalid survey of what makes fanfic hot, certain themes emerged. A Fic of Unusual Hotness (FOUH) must vividly convey the subjective experience of the emotional and physical connection between the characters--and it must really be about *those* characters.

IMO what makes something great fan fiction (over and above its quality as fiction in general) is that it refines and re-casts what you think about the characters and the source property. There's a prefatory note that Avon's boots are, anachronistically, the boots from "Headhunter"--anachronistic, because it's a S1 story. Gotta love fandom--when the costumes assume quasi-autonomous stature.

In this story, not much happens beyond finding out what the present is that Avon nominally got for Blake ("present for himself, really" as Blake later tells himself, not inaccurately). Avon made that slight 'Ah' noise he always made when he was about to say something unimpeachably true and entirely misleading, then said: 'You can have it when we get to our room.' The viewpoint is basically Blake's, bemused, amused, and aroused by his problematic partner. Not that I have a problem with that. In fact, That's Entertainment, as far as I'm concerned.

Entirely worth reading as characterization and as filth.

Read more... )

Happiness Is...
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11:30 pm VID REC: Due South - Lord, I Have Made You a Place in My Heart
Vidder: Laura Shapiro
Musical artist: Greg Brown and Cry, Cry, Cry
Pairing: Fraser/RayV, Fraser/Thatcher, Fraser/Victoria, Fraser/RayK
Vidder on LJ:
Vidder's website: http://www.netwiz.net/~laurasha/vanity/
Why this vid kicks ass:

This isn't a new vid, but it's still one of my favorites. Although the vid's narrative leads to Fraser/Ray K, Laura has treated all of Fraser's relationships seriously, including Ray V, Thatcher, and Victoria, stringing them all together by highlighting the underlying tragic elements of Fraser's life. The third season of Due South feels thematically different to me because I felt the balance shifted a bit further toward comedy. This vid reminds me of just how socially isolated Fraser was when he first arrived, and how often the people he cared about most had a tendency to leave his life, often suddenly and violently. Thus, Laura sketches a clever narrative arc through a series of relationships ending in loneliness and loss, leading up to the third season, and the possibility that Ray K may transform Fraser's heart, if he's still brave enough to open that door. Delicate narrative construction, unique character development, and a song that aches in just the right way make this vid a classic.


Vanity Project This link will take you to a page with instructions for getting the password to Laura's vids.
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11:47 pm Masquerade by Francis Kerst (PG-13)
Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] franciskerst
Author Website: none known. Other works are gathered at File40, http://file40.net/file40g.html.
Why this must be read:

It is incredibly difficult to write poetry for a fandom. Wait, make that good poetry. The constraints of fitting into a characterization and a fandom often seem to reduce the most competent writers into vague blatherers of versified generalizations. Then someone comes along who manages to condense the essence of a fandom's traits into concrete and haunting verse.

Francis does that beautifully in Masquerade. There is nothing generalized or vague about it. She describes a specific situation, time, place, capturing a moment in time and place with precision and empathy, that remains open-ended with possibility. And she does it with lyricism and beauty, and a melancholy that resonates with yearning. It is an embodiment of what underlies the best of slash or gen stories, the connection, spoken or unspoken, between Napoleon and Illya, and it is wonderfully expressed in an image and mood that stay in the mind.

Masquerade
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