Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Ninth Doctor/Rose/Jack
Length: ~15,000 words
Author on LJ: canaana; her masterlist is here.
Author Website: Canaan on AO3 and on Teaspoon
Why this must be read: This fic made dozens of people say, "You know, I normally really don't like BDSM, but this is awesome!" So if you don't like BDSM, you should definitely give it a try. And if you do like BDSM, you certainly won't want to miss this.

What makes this fic work is how superbly the author gets us into the headspace of each character. Rose is new to BDSM in this story, so her perspective is easy to identify with for readers who're new to it, too, and Jack's (the sub's) headspace shows us why the things being done to him are tender, caring, beautiful gestures of love even though the same actions could be awful things to do in a different context.

This fic contains a lot of BDSM, but it isn't about BDSM—it's about the characters. The kinky stuff is used as a lens to examine and magnify them and their relationship.

To Please

This month has flown past, but before I return the van to the garage and hand the keys on to the next driver, I'm finishing with a good long three-part story;

My Sentinel series by Arianna

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Length: 110671 words (in total - all three stories)
Author on LJ: caarianna
Author Website:www.wolfpanther.com
www.arianna.hidden-muse.com
Why this must be read: - This three-part story story comes in two versions, gen and slash (parts 2 & 3). Set in the future, it starts with Blair, great-grandson of 'our' Blair, reading his ancestor's description of how Jim died when the Switchman's bomb exploded. That Blair and his wife were murdered by Ventriss, their son James brought up by Naomi. James died when Yellowstone erupted, leaving a daughter who was this Blair's mother. Much of Cascade was destroyed in the cataclysm following the eruption, and when eventually what was left of the city was excavated, Blair, as something of an expert on the late twentieth/early twenty-first century was called in for advice... and realised that the body found cryogenated in the cellar of William Ellison's house was his ancestor's Jim.

The middle story explores the jungle where Jim 'lived' during the years he was in the cryogenic chamber, and in the third the organized crime that has flourished since the disaster tries to destroy them.

This trilogy covers several themes that I like. People surviving in a post-disaster world - caarianna handles this theme extremely convincingly, building up a world where, despite a lot of destruction caused by the natural disaster, a lot of technology has survived and been developed further. There's mysticism in it, reincarnation, the characters' protectiveness towards each other...

The word count is for the gen version. The slash version is a little longer.

Gen
My Sentinel
Memories of the Jungle
A Sacred Trust

Slash
Memories of the Jungle
The Long Road Home

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Vidder: Ancasta
Musical artist: Savage Garden
Characters: Bodie, Doyle
Vidder on LJ:ancastar
Vidder's Website:http://www.ancastascorner.com/vids.html
Why this must be seen: Because it's fun, romantic, silly and constructed so very well, you'll hit play again immediately after the first viewing. She captured the fun that the lads can have, and the mischief that they do get into! This is in my top ten of all vids.



I Want You

Vidder: Vlad
Musical Artist: 65daysofstatic - Radio Protector
Pairing: gen
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's website: TheVladVideo on YouTube
Why this vid kicks ass: Football fandom doesn't really have "vidders" the way media fandoms do; pretty much everything is on youtube and almost all of it is goal compilations, game highlights set to techno music, and the occasional terrible slideshow of shippy pictures. The vidders who have real skill are usually interested in the showing the game, not the characters. This is one rare example that tries to show the game through the characters. Even if you have no interest in watching football, watch this vid. It's not about the sport; it's about the emotions of the people who play it. It's also one of the most beautiful vids I've ever seen.

World Cup 2010: Highs and Lows

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: None
Length: approx. 3,200 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2069561/Rachael_Jurassic
Why this must be read:: Napoleon Solo, currently Section II Number 2, is curious about the new Soviet agent in the New York HQ. He isn't sure what to make of him, but gets some insight into the man during a triumphant moment in Russian Cold War history. Ah, but being of such diverse ideologies makes it necessary to take forming any kind of real friendship bond a thing that requires very small steps.

As this is my last rec on the van for this month, I thought it appropriate to single out the work of a new writer to MFU fanfiction and oh my, does she show promise with this first story! We see a Napoleon who is very aware of Illya's awkward position in NY HQ, who is curious about the other man's true personality, and who is willing to take a step toward an understanding with the Soviet though he is unsure how any friendly overtures on his part will be perceived. And we see an Illya who, during one shared moment of wonder for both men, allows his closed-off personality to open up just a little bit to an American, someone from a country and a world view he instinctively doesn't trust.

( Excerpt behind the cut... )

Small Steps

Vidder: fcbarcelona
Musical Artist: Manel - Torna La Gent Normal
Pairing: gen (Barcelona-centric)
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's website: fcbarcelona on YouTube (combination of news reports, press conferences and music videos)
Why this vid kicks ass: I'm not entirely certain this qualifies as a "fanvid"--it was made as a promotional video by the television channel associated with FC Barcelona. (Yes, they have their own television channel. Yes, that's ridiculous. But awesome.) But if you watch it, it's a fanvid; it just happens to have been made by someone with access to otherwise unavailable video footage. And it's such a wonderful vid about the sense of family at Barcelona, starting with some truly amazing footage (that no one else would be able to get, so yay BarcaTV!) of the players as kids at their academy. Everything I love about FC Barcelona, packaged into four minutes with a fantastic soundtrack. Watch it.

torna la gent normal

Vidder: Richard Swarbrick
Musical Artist: Ludovico Einaudi - Lady Labirynth
Pairing: gen
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's website: MissingPictures1 on YouTube or www.richardswarbrick.com
Why this vid kicks ass: WATCH THIS, IT'S AMAZING. Richard Swarbrick took the highlights from a very high-profile football match and made an animation out of the footage. It's a gorgeous work of art. The emotions that are conveyed through just the hasty paint-strokes of the animated figures--I can't even describe it. You have to watch and see for yourself.

El Clasico

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Vidder: affablyevil
Music: “Cosmic Love,” by Florence + the Machine
Pairing: Gen (arguably as much Cas/Dean as canon)
Vidder on LJ: affablyevil
Warnings: Massive spoilers for seasons four and five. Violence, character death.
Why this vid kicks ass:

The full title of this vid is “Cosmic Love (Team Free Will versus the Agents of Fate)”, but it could be called “Supernatural: Our Show Is Prettier (and Angstier) Than Yours.” I'm astonished that this is only affablyevil’s second vid, because it is EPIC. Granted, it is apparently hard to go wrong vidding SPN to tracks off Lungs (see exhibit A, my previous rec “Rabbit Hearted Girl (Raise It Up)”), and she’s working with gorgeous visuals (I’m not just talking about the beautiful cast; the show has always featured striking imagery, but in seasons four and five the cinematography, art direction and FX were often especially great), but the way she’s cut the footage to the surging, soaring music make both elements even better. I really hope affablyevil keeps vidding.

“Cosmic Love (Team Free Will versus the Agents of Fate)” (link to LJ entry with streaming and download options)

Vidder: The Wizard of Ox
Musical Artist: original mashup feat. Ray Hudson & Joaquim Maria Puyal
Pairing: Lionel Messi gen
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's website: TheWizardofOxDotCom on YouTube or www.thewizardofox.com
Why this vid kicks ass: The creativity that went into this is mindblowing. It's an original techno song featuring samples of two very famous football commentators reacting to Messi during live matches. (There's a really cool vid of just the goal-call that's used as the chorus here, if you're interested.) The vid itself is beautifully edited and features some brilliant kinetic typography. It's definitely something different, and it's so cool!

The Feet Continue to Dance

Vidder: Fahrbotdrusilla
Musical Artist: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Neil Patrick Harris)
Pairing: gen, Adrian Veidt & Edward Blake
Vidder on LJ: fahrbotdrusilla
Vidder's website: teh_fahrbot
Why this vid kicks ass: ...because it's Watchmen set to Dr. Horrible? And really, "Brand New Day" is the perfect song for Adrian's canon relationship with Eddie. This vid is one of those things that just had to happen at some point.

Brand New Day

Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Castiel/Dean, Castiel/Crowley, refs to Dean/Bela, Sam/Jess
Length: ~21,000 words
Author on LJ: dachinchilla (NOTE: author is no longer updating this journal)
Author Website: http://scaramouche.dreamwidth.org
Warnings: Teenage smoking and drinking [participants are eighteen], mentions of recreational drug use [user is eighteen], brief bullying and homophobia, underage kissing [participants are below sixteen], mention of a student propositioning and being rejected by a teacher.
Why this must be read:

Here’s the author’s summary — The status quo is this: Dean is the popular captain of the football team, and Castiel is the off-kilter nobody who doesn't so much as breathe the same air as Dean. Then senior year happens and the status quo is shot to smithereens. What the synopsis fails to mention is that this is an AU version of 2014!Castiel.

...INORITE?!?

He shuts his door and sure enough, standing right there is Dean Winchester, adorned in his bright red football jacket and with a gorgeous young woman — Talbot, Castiel recalls — hanging on to his arm.

Talbot turns to Castiel sharply. “What are you looking at?”

“Chill, Bela,” Dean says, gaze completely neutral as takes in Castiel in all his frumpy, oversized-clothing glory. “It’s Michael Reeves’ kid brother.”

“Wow, ten points for condescension, Winchester, perfect form,” Castiel says, thrilled at the way Dean’s eyes widen with surprise. Kid brother? Oh please, like Castiel isn’t a senior just like Dean. “You can make a career out of that.”

Bela’s mouth turns into a shocked O. “Hey, you can’t—”

“What, talk to you directly?” Castiel grins lazily, leaning forward just enough that Bela involuntarily backs up against Dean’s side. Her eyes are wide with bewilderment, as if it’s something new to be unnerved by Castiel when he’s made a career out of doing that to just about anyone who crosses his path. Anna calls it his superpower. “You’re right. That’d be insouciant.”

As the above passage shows, the author has done a fantastic job translating the post-apocalyptic junkie sex guru into an disaffected teenager. Watching him doze through class, deflect straight-A twin sister Anna, meet a hilariously acerbic Crowley(!) for makeout sessions, and report to Principal Moseley (!!) after various infractions left me alternately laughing my head off and wishing I could give him a hug and some pie. Fortunately, Dean is there to do the latter (and a lot more — UNF) for me, though not without some hitches along the way...

“It’s Always the End of the World Somewhere” on Dreamwidth and AO3.

Bonus fanart!

• Castiel & Crowley drawing by Davyn
  
• Castiel & Dean comic (spoilery for the fic) by made_of_tin

this is it for me on crack_van, at least for this month. see you all around!

Vidder: ElAlonso
Musical Artist: Coldplay - Fix You
Pairing: Lionel Messi gen
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's website: ElAlonso14 on YouTube
Why this vid kicks ass: It's Leo. :') For the most part I've avoided reccing anything that's really about football in an intrinsic fashion, but everyone should see Lionel Messi being his fucking genius self on the football pitch at least once. The moment when the guitar kicks in and he starts to run--it gets me, every time. If I can't be self-indulgent just this once, when can I? Watch it, appreciate it. It's a brilliant vid about a brilliant man.

The Magic of Lionel Messi

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Length: 1,335
Author on LJ: hihoplastic
Author Website: sail_your_sea
Why this must be read:

Elizabeth is so incredibly strong in this piece, even as they try to take everything she loves from her, she refuses to break.

'You will not prevail,' he tells her, his face expressionless.

'You will not find them,' she returns evenly.

bend back like a wave

Vidder: elandrialore
Musical Artist: Garfunkel and Oates
Pairing: implied Steve/Danny potential Danny/females
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's website: dreamwidth:
Why this vid kicks ass:
It is a song about a girl who tries to date a guy but the guy always brings his friend Steve along. It’s funny, cute and perfect for Danny. 
Me you and Steve

Vidder:  ItsJustSomeRandomGuy
Musical artist: I think he wrote it himself
Pairing:  None
Vidder on LJ: none known.
Vidder's website:  http://www.itsjustsomerandomfansite.com/
Why this vid kicks ass:

When Batman and Iron Man get together to discuss sequels, Iron Man reveals a unique way to respond to his critics and explain the bigger
picture for his company's (as well as other company's) film slate.  (Marvel/DC/Mac/PC Parody/Review )

This guy has done a ton of vids, spoofing the Marvel and DC movieverses using the Mac/PC commercial format.  They're good vids, but far and away the best one is this one, which turns into a musical of Iron Man explaining the Marvel movie strategy to Batman, while Superman tries to defend the DC movies.  It's hilarious, partly because it's so true.  The more you know about comic book movies the funnier it is, but my parents who know almost nothing about comic book movies still enjoyed it.

Hi, I'm a Marvel... and I'm a DC: The Musical