November 1st, 2009 
06:12 am Hellblazer: Fandom Overview
Hellblazer is an ongoing DC/Vertigo comic that generally revolves around the life of John Constantine, a snarky, cynical British mage of somewhat questionable background and morals. It began in 1988, though the character had his beginnings in Swamp Thing in 1986. Unlike many comics, it has been running in real time ever since, meaning that John is now 56 years old.

As a Vertigo comic, Hellblazer is somewhat set apart from the DCU, and official crossovers between them tend to be discouraged - though John has on rare occasion met DCU characters such as Batman, Zatanna Zatara, The Phantom Stranger, and others, as well as having made appearances in books set in the DCU proper.

In this overview, I'm going to try to do my best to avoid spoiling any of the relatively more recent plot.

Read more... )
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06:14 am A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Oneangrykate (G)
Hi there, I'm dorothy1901, and I'm driving the crack van for Marvel Comics fandom this month. (Our motto: If you think the fanfic's cracktastic, wait until you see the canon.)


Fandom: MARVEL COMICS
Pairing: None
Length: 4.5k words
Author on IJ: oneangrykate
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read: This story practically defines "bittersweet." Set after the events of Civil War but before Secret Invasion, it tells of a well-meant effort by the Young Avengers to undo Steve Rogers' death. They have a possible fix, and the Young Avengers -- at least some of them -- are willing to give it a try. As Kate says to Eli, “Look, it either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't work, then no harm done. If it does work, then everyone will be too busy piling on the hallelujahs that even you couldn't stay cranky for long.”

There's a third possibility, though: it works, but without the hallelujahs.

A taste... )


A Good Man Is Hard to Find
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11:16 am Waiting for the Thaw by: Anonymous Co (R)
Hello! I'm [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] and I'll be your due South crack van driver for November. I will mostly be recing Ray K/Benton this month along with gen and Ray V/Ray K/Benton. I will be recing a mix of things on LJ and off.

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Ray Kowalski/Benton Fraser
Length: 200K
Author on LJ: I'm not sure
Author Website: anonymous co
Why this must be read: Waiting for the Thaw is a wonderful story about being afraid to fall in love again. It is set post-Asylum and canon is weaved into the story in a way that makes it seem like this is what was happening behind the scenes. I will warn you it is a flashback story.

Excerpt:

"No teasing," Ray told him hoarsely. "I want you."

Ray's earlobe, gently between his teeth. "How?" Purring the word.

Ray twisted in his arms, turned to face him. Pupils dilated with arousal. "Like the first time, Ben."

The first time. All his blood supply seemed, as Ray was prone to say, to have gone south.

The first time.

Memory spun backward in the space of an instant, and he sealed his mouth to Ray's, trying to silence it.


Waiting for the Thaw
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11:27 am Five things Gene and Sam have no name for by Halotolerant (NC-17)
Hello! I’m [livejournal.com profile] draycevixen and I’ll be reccing Life on Mars this month.

Gene wouldn’t let me have the keys to the Cortina so I hot-wired the Crack Van and here I am, ready to slam in to unsuspecting stories cardboard boxes at 60mph. I’ll admit right off the bat to being a Sam/Gene ‘shipper, you don’t have to drag me down to Lost and Found mores the pity to find that out and I’ll do my best to drop in on some very good stories in our fandom with a Party Seven and some pink wafers.

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Sam Tyler/Gene Hunt
Length: Approx. 1350 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] halotolerant
Author Website: List of stories posted to [livejournal.com profile] lifein1973
Why this must be read:

[livejournal.com profile] halotolerant is one of my favourite writers in the Life on Mars fandom. With this story, she demonstrates that while “Five Things...” has become a bit of a fandom cliché, in the hands of a great writer it can still be something marvellous.

Excerpt:

But Sam isn’t a girl. And besides, you’d never take a bird down the ‘Taj Mahal’ if you wanted her to let you have some. You’d have to go to some poncey restaurant where you felt uncomfortable and make small talk about something you weren’t interested in but birds were, like orphans or weather or something.

Five things Gene and Sam have no name for.

.
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12:01 pm Less Than Real by Zulu (NC-17)
Hey. I'm Polo and I'm your BtVS/AtS slave for the month. I'm a big fan of femslash and gen in the fandom, especially quite unusual stuff, so that's what you have to look forward to! Enjoy.


Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Faith/Dawn
Length: 5,079
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] queenzulu
Author Website: here.
Why this must be read: This is one of the most beautiful fics I've ever read. It's also the fic that got me into Faith/Dawn and believe me, even if you think you don't like Dawn, you should give this a shot. It plays with her character perfectly. She still has that bratty edge but that's not all there is to her and Faith's characterised brilliantly too, all power and wild energy.

I'm not joking when I say this fic gave me goosebumps. It's fragmented and unusual and is based on such an excellent premise - one that you'll have to read to discover - that it's stuck firmly in my memory for a long time.


Preview. )

Less Than Real


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12:05 pm Suffer the Children by Rossi (PG-13)
Hi, everyone. I'm voksen and I'll be driving the bright and shiny new Hellblazer van. It's rather a small fandom, fanfic-wise, but there's some really excellent fic nevertheless. I hope you enjoy!

Fandom: HELLBLAZER
Pairing: none (gen)
Length: 14k (StC) / 25k (sequel)
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] deathpixie
Author Website: There's an archive at comicfic.net.
Why this must be read:

Suffer the Children is well written with excellent character voice, but where it really shines is in its compelling, well-thought-out plot and the way it's woven seamlessly into canon events: it reads like the comic made fiction, like it could literally have been a canon story arc (and one of the better ones, too).

It's also one of the longer Hellblazer fanfics out there - still, if you finish it and are left wanting more (like I was), there is happily a 'semi-sequel' which is every bit as good for all the same reasons.

Read the fic: Suffer the Children and its follow-up, Death and the Art of Pyramid Selling.
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12:28 pm A Square in Paris by enviropony (PG)
Hello, I'm [profile] vipersweb and I will be reccing for Highlander this month on [community profile] crack_van. I'm relatively new to the fandom as a whole having been drawn in from crossovers. I will be reccing a mix of old and new.

Fandom:HIGHLANDER
Pairing: None
Length:1400 words
Author on LJ: [personal profile] enviropony
Author Website: n/a
Why this must be read: There were a lot of really great fics to come out of the most recent round of [community profile] hl_flashfic and this is just one of them. Last month the other contribution by [personal profile] enviropony was recced and this one is no less interesting. In this, we see the Methos/Duncan dynamic through the eyes of a third party, namely Matthew McCormick, who, in addition to knowing Mac, also knows Methos from from an earlier life. It's nice to see the web of interconnectedness between the different immortals and of course, to see how others view Methos and Mac and their friendship.

A Square in Paris
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03:27 pm Security Blankets by stardustofsongs
Greetings, I'm[info]sparky955 & I will be driving the NCIS Medical Examiner's van this month.  Although I ship Gibbs/Ducky exclusively in NCIS, I will try my best to rec a variety of stories.  This is also my first time drving any van, so remember, be nice to your elders because I most probably am yours.

<b>NCIS:</b>
<b>Gibbs/Ducky/Abby:</b>
<b>876:</b>
<b>stardustofsongs:</b><lj user=>
<b>none:</b><a href=>
<b>Why this <i>must</i> be read:</b>This is the first threesome in any fandom that did not ick me out.  It's as warm & comforting as a hug.

<a href=http://community.livejournal.com/ncisfanfic/524753.html#cutid1>Security Blankets</a>



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03:31 pm Until the Pieces Fit by Anonymous (NC-17)
Hi, I'm Suaine and I'll be your driver for the next month. My interests run primarily toward Arthur/Merlin and long fics, but I will try to include a bit of diversity.

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin, Arthur/other mentioned
Length: 14k words
Author on LJ: not applicable
Author Website: also not applicable

Why this must be read:

This story is hot and difficult and it deals with issues of homophobia and shame about sexuality in fictional Camelot. It's one of the few pieces that acknowledges that the world they live in may not be a happy fluffy enlightened utopia when it comes to who people sleep with. Both Arthur and Merlin have sexual hang-ups and when they come together it's not easy, but neither of them can really help themselves. They have friction like two tectonic plates and it's hot and beautiful when they figure out a way to fit.

It's one of the most amazing things I have ever seen coming out of a kink meme and the author's refusal to out themselves is still a matter of fascination in the fandom.

Read the story: Until the Pieces Fit (http://merlinkinkmeme.livejournal.com/2672.html)
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07:49 pm In An Intersteller Burst by such_heights
Hello, I'm [livejournal.com profile] netgirl_y2k and I'll be reccing in Doctor Who fandom this month. I like all eras of Who, kick-ass female characters and fics that make me laugh. So if you're all sitting comfortably we'll begin with:

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Characters/Pairing: Donna; Rose/Martha
Length: 3000 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] such_heights
Author Website: Fanworks Masterlist
Why this must be read:

Because it's both brilliant and hilarious. And because in the aftermath of the season 4 finale what fandom really needed was a fic where Donna fixes her own brain, and has wonderful and witty adventures through time and space with Rose and Martha.

Martha started keeping records.

Number of planets liberated: 4

Number of times mistaken for polyamorous lesbian threesome: 7 (and counting)

Number of times teleport has manifestly not taken us to correct destination: 10
(Oi! Don't see you volunteering to work it - D.N.)

Number of times Rose has got herself into trouble after 'just being nice': 5
(Number of times we've been kidnapped and taken to remote villages thanks to Martha's doctor skills: 8. Just saying. R.T.)

Number of forced inter-team marriages: 1 **


In An Interstellar Burst
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10:24 pm Fanvid: All Souls Night by: Arendil

Hello, I'm [livejournal.com profile] yennefferand I'll be driving this month's van for Lord of The Rings. I'll probably focus on the gen fics, but you can most definitely expect also lots of angst, humour and from time to time some pairing fics. I'll do my best to collect a variety so that everyone can find something to their tastes.

As today we have All Souls Day, I'd like to start my month with a vid that is a perfect combination of the theme and LoTR fandom.


Fandom: Lord of The Rings
Pairing: none (gen)
Length: 3:42
Vidder on LJ: [profile] aren_chan
Vidder Website: Arendil
Why this must be watched:
Because both the editing and the choice of song create an impression of a fairy tale, world of make believe and magic. World from our dreams rather than film. Arendil did an excellent job on this, and I'm truly awed by the result. It doesn't focus on any central character, rather on the impression of Arda in general, and does it in a way that doesn't make any of the characters seem shallow- they are all part of the greater thing.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhuDlxK04dU
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10:48 pm Recruitment Policy by palmface (PG-13)
Hi, I'm [livejournal.com profile] cupidsbow. And you are...

...in for an adventure across time and space this month, fellow crack-vanners. It's my pleasure to be taking you on a tour of Torchwood -- not only the Hub as you've never seen it before, but all sorts of timey-wimey shenanigans, sexcapades, and other improbable imbroglios too. When it comes to timey-wimey sexcapades, I think we can all agree that there's no other fandom nearly as dashing as Torchwood. You gotta give it that. It's the coat, you know. :)

Anyway, on with the show.

Fandom: TORCHWOOD
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Length: novel
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] palmface
Author Website: fic tag
Why this must be read: A genre of fic that I particularly adore is the well-done outside point of view, especially when it shows our favourite characters in a new light. In this long, beautifully done character piece, [livejournal.com profile] palmface not only scratches my itch for excellent outside point of view, she gives us a truly enjoyable original character, and a premise that delivers on all thrusters. Make sure you have plenty of time up your sleeve before you start reading this, because you won't want to stop once you do.

Recruitment Policy: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, epilogue
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