Fandom : Due South
Pairing : Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: katallison
Author Website:katallison.com
Why this must be read:

Ray and boxing what could be better. Ray goes to the gym to work out. To lose himself in physical exertion. To not think about the things that are troubling him. To just be for a while. Of course, it can't hold off his troubles for long. The memories he's trying to avoid still come and intrude into his thoughts despite his best efforts.

I so love this look into Ray's head. Into this world he skirts the edges of, never quite fitting in. Unable to ever fully be a part of. Again, this is one of those stories with fabulous imagery. Kat just sucks you right in and paints such a wonderful moment in time for you. If you haven't read it before well off with you, remedy that quickly. If you have give it another read just to delight in how damn good it is.

Heavy Bag

Fandom : Due South
Pairing : Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: cesperanza
Author Website:Speranza's Fiction
Why this must be read:

The hanged man in tarot cards is suspended, waiting for his fate to change. Of course, the title isn't merely referring to that. It's also referring to the word game. Which Fraser and Ray play at various times in the stories.

In this one Fraser and Ray enter into a relationship. They are secretive at first not wanting to endanger Ray's undercover assignment. They both well understand the necessity of lying and being discrete, of pretending they aren't in love with one another, for the safety of all involved. They know it, but it's hard to explain something like that to the heart. It's damn near killing them to be stuck in such a holding pattern. They don't want to go back, but moving forward isn't something they can do just yet.

I love the emotions of this piece. Everything so hidden, but not really. Even a blind man could see what they feel for one another. It's constantly threatening to boil over the surface. A fabulous read. As with all Speranza's stories I love it more than I could ever say.

Well, I started off rec'ing one of Speranza's fics at the beginning of the month and it seems only fitting to end with one of hers too. I've had great fun being the DS reccer this month. I may have to give it another shot sometime.

I hope you've enjoyed the fics I've offered up this month. If you have and you're also into the X-Files fandom you won't have much time to miss me. Since I'll be back in a few days doing X-Files recs here on crack_van.

Hanged Man

Vidder: Shalott
Musical artist: David Ippolito
Pairing: not applicable
Vidder on LJ: astolat
Vidder's website: Intimations
Why this vid kicks ass:

Humor is a darned difficult trick to pull off. But this vid does it--with panache and impeccable timing. Much of the humor is canon-based, meaning that some knowledge of the show and episodes is required to understand the quirky, clever and funny. But it works. Duncan gets the worst of it, but other characters certainly get their own fair share.

Get ready to grin.

The page with Blew 'Em Away on it.

Vidders: Keelywolfe, Sithdragn and Nicole D'Annais
Musical artist: Scott Joplin
Pairing: nil
Vidders on LJ: keelywolfe, sithdragn and ndannais
Vidders' website: Spatula Productions

Why this vid kicks ass:

Because it's very funny and cute. And we see Napoleon breakdance before the term was even invented.

With the judicious use of clips and captions, these fans have put together an ad for 'Spies R Us' - a pair of intrepid agents who aim to make your life that much easier.

Its brevity and simplicity is what makes the vid work so well - it leaves you wanting to watch eps just to see if the show was as absurd as it appears from the vid. Unfortunately, it's no longer available online, but see the link below to order it on DVD:

Spatula Productions on DVD

Fandom: LORD OF THE RINGS
Pairing: Aragorn/Legolas
Author on lj: zarah5
Author website: What It Is
Why this must be read: I think, at its most basic, that this is a story about the rules of war and what happens when the war is over. It's hauntingly bittersweet, with spot-on characterization. Zarah never attempts to take the easy way out.

It was everywhere. Darkness still seemed to envelop, choke him, swallowing all sounds. Cold. The smell of blood clung to his skin, sickeningly sweet, and Aragorn needed...

He needed. It really was as simple as that.

Interdependence

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: emylye
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read:

This fic takes hurt/comfort to whole new heights of deliciousness. Lex is cruelly and suddenly stricken with a meteor-induced cancer, and there appears to be no cure in sight. Clark comes to tend to his friend on his sickbed and ends up moving into the mansion when he realizes he cannot bear to be separated from Lex. Gradually the pair realizes they are madly in love with each other. But will they find true love only to be ripped from each other's arms by the cold hand of Death? I will not reveal how the story ends, since it is a bit of twist, but this is a fic I return to time and time again when I need my hurt/comfort fix. It makes me feel all squishy inside. :)

Stay

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read:

This fic is set in an AU where Clark and Lex became lovers fairly soon after Lex's arrival in Smallville. However, the day after they consummate their love, Clark disappears. The narrative picks up three years later when Lex receives a ransom letter. Lex has hardened his heart against Clark because he believed that Clark abandoned him. But what if that isn't what happened?

I love the Lex in this fic: he is bitter and angry, and yet, when he thinks that Clark needs him, he comes through in the end.

Ransom

Vidder: Vero
Musical artist: -
Pairing: Brian/David
Vidder on LJ: -
Vidder's website: Its Not Bullshit
Why this vid kicks ass:

It features an unusual pairing (though not a romantic one by any means) and showcases the wonderfully adverserial and deeply antagonistic relationship between Season One's Brian and David in all their Alpha-Male pissing contests over Michael. Cleverly set to an aggressive, thumping Jaws Techno remix that's absolutely perfect for the predatory circlings of Brian and David, this vid wryly takes a sharp (and of-times hilarious) look at the various ways in which man each tries to gain dominance over the other. Rewatch all the fun cock-blocking Brian/David moments of QAF S1 in this great vid. Definitely a must-see in the QAF vidding fandom.

Brian vs David

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: Sydney/Sark
Author on LJ: shadesofbrixton
Author Website: Alias Fanfiction
Why this must be read: Sometimes there are certain fanfics that I can’t stop talking about. I ended up reading passages of this one out loud to whoever was around.

What I’ve found while reading Alias fic is that the plots are complex, twisted and they usually if they’re exceptionally good wrap themselves up – but leave you wanting more and more. This is one of those stories. Although you don’t get to see the relationship Sydney and Sark had romantically or whatever it may have been, you do feel that they have a deep connection. Sark makes it clear that regardless of selfish motives he is looking out for Sydney.

The plot is beautifully transcribed into writing and although you’re left wanting more you are so completely freshened by the stories ending. Any writer who can twist anything Rambaldi related and make it true to the characters and prophecies is insanely talented.

How to be Dead

Fandom: ST:TNG
Pairing: Q/ofm
Author on LJ: none as far as I know
Author Website: none as far as I know
Why this must be read:

There are actually a number of good stories out there taking the premise that once Q lost his powers in Deja Q, he never got them back, and is forced to adapt to life as a human. However, since all but this one are incomplete, written by me, written by me *and* incomplete, or based at least in part on my work, this is the only one I can rec. Fortunately, I'm very fond of this one.

Shortly after losing his powers, Q is approached by a half-Orionese lawyer, Riller Harris, who offers to represent him. In short order she helps him to become fantastically wealthy, and he becomes a playboy on Risa, but it doesn't make him happy. Unusually for this genre, Q's love interest is not Harris, but a male original character, and there are a few explicit sex scenes, though probably not enough for the folks who're really into the smut. :-) The existential angst and slow disintegration of Q's life is really well drawn, and Jeanita touches on a number of other issues well, such as the experience of being an outsider looking in on the Federation and the analogy to racism in modern life, and the fact that love cannot actually save or redeem a person who's dying inside. My inner P/Q shipper was rather distressed at Q's antagonism toward Picard in this story, but in the context it appears in, it makes absolute sense.

( Excerpt )

The Q Who Fell To Earth