Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur&Merlin
Length: 4:04 min
Author on LJ: trelkez
Author Website: trelkez on youtube
Why this must be watched:

This vid just premiered at VividCon 2013 and it captures the spirit of Merlin the show with Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford & Sons. It's melancholy and hopeful and plays out the event through the end of the series. It reminded me of all the reasons I love Merlin and Arthur - their friendship and companionship through everything that has happened to them. In short, it's fabulous and makes me want to hug the boys.

Ghosts That We Knew

Vidder: talitha78
Musical Artist: Britney Spears
Length: 3:18
Vidder on LJ: talitha78
Why this vid must be viewed: Because it's awesome! There are many great vids for this fandom, but this was the one that made me really wanna check out the movies. It's so much fun to watch (and Brian really is such a sweet baby). Plus the car repair = sex  part - pure brilliance!

With this fast car, I can really get far

Subject: From the Darkness We Rise by not_poignant (Explicit)
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Pairing: Jack/Pitch
Length: 162,528 words (21 chapters)
Author Website: AO3, Tumblr

Why this must be read:

Author Summary:
Twenty two years have passed since the defeat of Pitch, and Jack lives alone, touch-starved, with only the company of a solitary Nightmare. One evening the Man in the Moon sets him on a path that will lead him to unexpected relationships, draw the attention of the Guardians to a new coalition of villains, and challenge Jack's every notion of what it is to be good, evil, and what it is to live in the shadows.

And here's my absolute last rec for the month, because it's my absolute favorite work! not_poignant aka Pia is an amazing author. This is a very angsty fic, and at more than 150,000 words, it's got even more angst than its fair share. But it's also a recovery fic, and not just of Pitch after the shadows leave him, but more importantly and subtly of Jack as we see what his 300 years of solitude and one night stands have done to him.

Pia does an amazing job with characters' inner turmoil (numerous commenters have said that she brought them to tears). She also writes some of the hottest smut I've ever read, like EVER, not just in fandom, because it's driven by the characters. And it totally breaks your heart at the same time as it brings a grin to your face when she does both (inner turmoil and smut) at once. Her Jack is fragile underneath his tough exterior, but over the course of the book (and the sequel, Into Shadows We Fall, which will be finishing next week, so if you start FtDWR now she'll be done with ISWF before you need to worry about it) he begins to find the inner strength to match his outer. Her Pitch's snark is to hide his own frailties which result from his ages ago training as a Golden Warrior, compounded with his ages of possession by the shadows. Her Nightmare King is even more terrifying than that of the film and the books combined. Her other Guardians slowly come to realize they did wrong by leaving Jack alone so many years, and even more slowly attempt to fix their errors, despite Jack's reluctance to accept their offers of help. Pia plans ahead like few published authors do.

There's Seelie and Unseelie fae. There's a rich world of other spirits. Jack has a new sidekick and she's a friendly nightmare. There's character death. There's discussion of centers, and changing centers. There's fight scenes and conversations. There's magic and hope. There's fear and despair. There's companionship and rivalry. This fic has everything, and it's always the best I've ever read.

( Excerpt 1 )

( Excerpt 2 )

From the Darkness We Rise by not_poignant (Explicit)

So the rec below rounds out this cycle of The Sentinel crack_van. I actually had a few other recs I had planned to write, but unfortunately, life got away from me hard this last week. So hopefully everyone found some good fics to compensate, and there's always the next round. Enjoy the fic below and I look forward to the next reccer's choices!

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: none
Length: 1,135 words
Author on LJ: t_verano
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read :
Lash is one of those characters that makes you vibrate with discomfort. He oozes his way into a police investigation and leads our guys on a merry chase for quite awhile. Getting inside such an insane individual's mindset takes some special talent, but t_verano has that skill down pat. Lash sounds almost sane as she brings to life his inner thoughts and his relationship with his "friends". I especially liked how he was able to make the subtle shifts to go with his personality of the day, practical and scholarly for Tony and bright and energetic as Lash prepares to take on his new "friend", Blair.

Getting It Right

It's been a great month reccing for you guys! Thanks!

Fandom: AVENGERS (2012)
Pairing: Natasha/Phil, Natasha/Clint/Phil
Length: ~15k
Author on LJ: smilla840
Author Website: AO3

Why this must be read: I saved this one for last, because it is one of the best examples of the "learning to be loved" genre, which is perhaps my favorite ever. Morgane pulls heartstrings in all the best ways, and it's just...a beautiful read to curl up with.

( Excerpt: )

Here Waiting (Do You See Me?)

The Highway Patrol is gunning for me, so I must say adieu, but they won't catch me so I'll be back!!!!! {stop the moaning. . .you love me. . .)

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Ray Doyle
Length: 21,231
Author on LJ:
Author on circuit archive: http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/tca/cgi-bin/search.cgi?ShortResults=1&Title=&Title_Range=0&Author=Elessar&AuthorRange=0&Original_Publication=&Summary=&Date=0&SizeRange=0&SortBy=1&SortOrder=0&NumToList=0&Exact=1
Why this must be read: This is a wonderful gem on a different way our lads got into CI5.

Neither start in CI5 but they manage to eventually impress Cowley. . . not an easy feat any day of the week! I love this and Elessar always manages to capture their voice no matter where she puts them.

( Read on. . . )


Ya wanna. . .so go read!

A Little Learning is a Dang'rous Thing