Crossover Day! Yay! Also, it's quick and gen!

Title: Convergence by eponymous_rose
Characters: Illya Kuryakin, Napoleon Solo, Sapphire, Steel
Author on LJ: eponymous_rose
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read: This is the very best explanation for Solo's Luck. Ever! If I say more I will give it away. It's a drabble, give it a quick look, you won't be sorry.

Quick, look here!

And please remember, if you enjoy this story, a comment to the author is all the payment they get! Show them some love!

I'm going to squeeze in one more rec, just under the wire. This has been fun, and I want to thank everyone who's been reading both the recs and the stories, and another big thanks to those of you who've left comments for the authors. Maybe we can inspire more people to try their hand and Sapphire and Steel fiction!

Fandom: SAPPHIRE AND STEEL
Pairing: none
Length: 99 word
Author on LJ: eponymous_rose
Author Website: Master Fic List on LJ
Why this must be read:

I'm ending with a very short piece, a perfect encapsulation of a moment in Assignment Three and a glimpse of Steel, wondering.


Mirrors

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: Sapphire/Steel
Length: 413 words
Author on LJ: incandescens
Author Website: fanfic tag on her LJ

Why this must be read:

There's an incredible chemistry between Sapphire and Steel, if they were human, we'd call it UST, but they're not, and the intricacies of the relationship between them remain unclear. Still, we can't help but wonder... Steel, with his irascibility often seems more human than the serenely elegant Sapphire, so it's easier to impute human feelings to him, and S & S ship fics tend to feature Steel angst.

"Transgressive Sight" takes a different tack, incandescens gives us Sapphire's view of Steel: she captures the otherness of the way Sapphire watches him, what she sees--and what she lets him see.




Transgressive Sight

Vidder: Thebigbluemeany
Musical artist: U2
Pairing: Sapphire & Steel
Vidder on LJ: bluemeanybeany
Vidder's website: Thebigbluemean's youtube Channel


Why this vid kicks ass:

I think we have some excellent writers in this fandom and I hope you're enjoying the stories I've recced, but I'm going to admit right now that "Ground Beneath her Feet" is the reason I signed up to do Sapphire and Steel this month.

We talk a lot about transformative works in fandom, adding value to the original material and creating something that is a work of art in its own right. I can't say how often that actually happens, but it happens here--this is art.

Thebigbluemeany has taken the elements of a show with a small cast of characters, limited sets and fairly static staging and re-mixed them to to show us the images our imagination plays with while we watch: a complex dialogue between content and visuals, the mysterious inner lives of the characters in the forefront; there are layers of meaning in every gesture--and the pictures move, the pace is breathless, rushing to a conclusion as out of our control as it is out of Steel's. Yes, it's filled with Steel angst, concentrated essence of Steel. And if that doesn't make you want to watch, I don't know what will.


Ground Beneath Her Feet

Fandom: SAPPHIRE AND STEEL
Pairing: none
Length: 2.700 words
Author on LJ: mab_browne
Author Website: Mab's Fanfic
Why this must be read:


We have no clue how old Sapphire and Steel are, nor how long elements live, though we know hundreds of years seem to mean nothing to them. In "The Green Girl" mab_browne imagines them in an earlier era, a time ruled by superstition with humans poking, as they always will, at what they shouldn't.

This is another story that reads like an episode, an eerie atmosphere, a power that lashes out hungrily, and Sapphire and Steel, very much themselves here, exhibiting that tinge of paranoia that often defines them, grasping for make-shift solutions to keep Pandora's box closed.

"There's a consciousness here?"

Sapphire shut her eyes, her fingers tightening upon Steel's. "Yes," she said, lost for a moment in reverie, "yes." Her eyes opened, blindly luminous with power. "Isn't there always when we're needed?"

"What sort of consciousness?"

Sapphire was silent.

"What sort of consciousness, Sapphire?"

"Feel for yourself," she said, irritated suddenly, surrounded, infused with power and memories, and pushed the images in her mind straight to his.

The Green Girl

Fandom: SAPPHIRE AND STEEL
Pairing: none
Length: 750 words
Author on LJ: kittenmommy
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:


Time will do anything to gain a foothold in the present, it whispers its promises to us when we're vulnerable, showing us fragments of what was; then it lies to us and tells us that this could still be. Sapphire and Steel have to battle both, Time itself and the human desire to hold on to the past.

kittenmommy has found a way to use structure and imagery to tell a story that has the feel of an episode; dreamlike fragments that build on each other, until in the end we realize what's at stake and how the battle against time devastates its participants. An unusual and beautifully written piece, impossible to excerpt--just go read.


Days Go By and Still I Think of You

Fandom: SAPPHIRE AND STEEL
Pairing: none
Length: 713 words
Author on LJ: eponymous_rose
Author Website: Master Fic List on LJ
Why this must be read:

Time feels differently to Sapphire and Steel than it does to humans, they're conscious of it as an entity, as a pervasive whole, in a way we, with our linear view of it, can't be. eponymous_rose takes a look at the two just after the end of another assigment, when time takes a breath--just for a moment.

The story catches the way the two communicate: fragments of speech, of thought, of silence that make their own language. And it catches the strange intimacy of their relationship, the touching of minds, knowing each other in ways we can't imagine, not knowing each other in ways we can imagine too well.

"It's a new place," he says, glancing up at the sky through the unfinished boards making up the ceiling. "New and untouched." Her gaze is fixed on him; he meets it slowly, manages to inject a touch of self-deprecation into his voice. "I like it here. It's quiet."

"Yes," she says.

Something New

Vidder: dreamybluemeany
Musical artist: Fleetwood Mac
Pairing: Sapphire & Steel
Vidder on LJ: The Clutterpod is represented on LJ by bluemeanybeany
Vidder's website: dreamybluemany's youtube channel
Why this vid kicks ass:

In a lot of ways vidders have an easier time with Sapphire and Steel than writers: the images are there, ready to be manipulated, atmosphere is built in. The palette may be limited, there are 34 half hour episodes of the show, but with very individual music choices and an expansive imagination, S&S vidders have created some wonderful work, and I'd like to introduce you to some of it this month.

First up is dreamybluemeany's look at Sapphire: a preternaturally elegant creature, alien in her beauty, her skills and her self-possession. Connected to Steel in a way we never quite understand-- in a way that sometimes confounds Steel as well -- the Sapphire of "Rhiannon".


Rhiannon

Fandom: SAPPHIRE AND STEEL
Pairing: none
Length: 656 words
Author on LJ: azdak
Author Website: Fics are listed under their fandoms in azdak's LJ
Why this must be read:

I promise not to start every rec by saying Sapphire and Steel is hard to write, but I get to say it once. Sapphire and Steel is really hard to write because you can't easily use conventional storytelling techniques. The program doesn't deal with normal cause and effect, the stories operate under an internal logic the way dreams do. As soon as you start to explain, the atmosphere dissipates, and your story dies.

Unless you're Sapphire of course, then you can explain. Sapphire moves among humans with a serene politeness, a willingness to be helpful, to explain things--at least she makes it seem that way. azdak has taken two incidents from canon and extrapolated; after all, Sapphire must have been asked to explain time more than twice over the years. With wry humor she captures Sapphire's vaguely amused graciousness, Steel's impatient tolerance, and his absolute conviction that no good will come of this.

They always want to know. They always want to understand. As if they could. As if it would do them any good. Just the thought of Time finding its way in through a crack in their heads makes his gut tighten.

Yet Sapphire always humours them.

Even Such is Time

I'm elmey, and I've been assigned! In other words, Sapphire and Steel are back for their second crack_van go-round.

In 2008 amaresu wrote an excellent fandom overview for Sapphire and Steel but I'd like to start this month of recs off with another overview, this time a video, in the hope of sucking more people into the darkness interesting some new fans.

Sapphire and Steel is hard to describe: it's unsettling, it's scary, really scary, and it often makes no sense. It's about two, um, elements fighting time. But the leads have incredible chemistry, it has wonderful writing and an internal logic that eventually pulls the stories together into a fascinating whole.

This 7:30 minute video was made for Channel 4 UK, it's a bit tongue in cheek in parts, but it has plenty of show footage and gives a very good sense of the atmosphere of the program. It includes interviews with P.J. Hammond, the writer and creator, Shaun O'Riordan, the Producer/Director and David McCallum, who plays Steel. They're all confused too :) It's a very entertaining introduction to the series.

A note on spoilers. Well, it's been 30 years. There are what might be considered spoilers in the vid, but believe me, even with those, Sapphire and Steel still delivers an unbelievable punch.



Sapphire & Steel, Video Overview

It's the Ides of the Crack-Van Month! That means it's Crossover Day!
((You mean I get to mash the Van into another one?(or two) Can we have a high-speed chase, too!? I think this will be more of a pileup... ))

Fandom: THE MAN FROM UNCLE, SAPPHIRE AND STEEL, NCIS, a hint of FOREVER KNIGHT
Pairing: Sapphire/Steel (and a passel of other characters make appearances, or are mentioned)
Length: it's short!
Author on LJ: hearts_blood
Author Website: she has tags in her journal!
Why this must be read: This story is like the fandom hattrick that will win my heart forever, MFU+NCIS+S&S=PURE WIN!!! In my own personal world of the imagination, Ducky is really Illya in Witness Protection, and hearts_blood takes this idea another step further and does it in a wholly beautiful and lovely way. Honestly, if I say more I will give it away. This story is full of (surprises) sweet caring moments and humour and grumpy!Illya and worried!Napoleon and is beautiful and lovely and needs to be read if you are at all a fan of MFU, NCIS and/or S&S. Her little world in this story explains so much and is worth a visit.

Old Friends

And please remember, if you enjoy this story, a comment to the author is all the payment they get! Show them some love!

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Length: drabble
Author on LJ: eponymous_rose
Author Website: http://eponymous-rose.livejournal.com/21929.html
Why this must be read: This is a tag for Assignment #2. Assignment #2 has an ending that tends to shock people and eponymous rose does an excellent job of capturing the emotions and feel of the characters right at the end.

Eastertide


And I'm done for the month. Thank you.

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: Sapphire/Steel UST and a wee bit of Steel/Silver if you squint
Author on LJ: nemo_everbeing
Author Website: ???
Why this must be read: Nemo_everbeing gives a harsh look at Steel. As is stated throughout the series they were created for a purpose. This is a fic that looks at what Steel was made for and then asks if that's all he wants. Silver was made for a different purpose and sometimes Steel may envy him for that, but Steel is Steel and his purpose is his being.

( click for snippet )


And This Gray Spirt

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: Sapphire/Steel
Length: Drabble
Author on LJ: fantasyjax
Author Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3481/
Why this must be read: Like any good drabble this packs a lot into 100 words. A brilliant look at Steel's thoughts regarding Sapphire while he's recovering from his journey into absolute zero during Assignment #1.

Cold

There's also a nice bit of Six/Evelyn if you scroll up.

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Length: 836
Author on LJ: mab_browne
Author Website: http://mab.slashzone.org/
Why this must be read: What exactly happens to the people effected by the Break after Sapphire and Steel leave? This fic answers that question for Rob, the main kid in Assignment #1. The author paints a vivid picture of a life forever changed by two winter days and how that is concluded by a visit from Sapphire.

( snip snip )

Left Behind

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Title:“Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.” (It wouldn't fit in the subject bar)
Pairing: Very slight Steel/Sapphire and Gold/Diamond
Length: 631
Author on LJ: philleegirl
Author Website:
Why this must be read: It's fun to see Steel interact with other people. Especially well created original characters like Diamond. The banter is witty and the ending is sweet.

( snip snip )

“Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.”

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: Silver/Steel
Author on LJ: nakeisha
Author Website: http://www.partners-forever.co.uk/
Why this must be read: Silver/Steel is the main slash pairing in Sapphire and Steel. Predictably I'm not a huge fan of it. That being said I like this piece because it is another example of the not-humanness of the characters. In a subtle way with a bit of a twist in that Silver needs to be reminded of the fact that they aren't human and can't be expected to react as humans would.

Quietening Silver

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None, maybe a slight Sapphire/Steel and Sapphire/Silver vibe.
Length: Short
Author on LJ: doreyg
Author Website: ??
Why this must be read: This is a small Sapphire centric piece. Once again something that works with the non-human component. A brief look at how Sapphire and Steel might have been paired up and why.

Bound

I missed crossover day but was kindly given permission to post late. This one is Sapphire and Steel/Torchwood.

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Length: ~2330 words
Author on LJ: jadesfire2808
Author Website: Complete list of stories
Why this must be read:

I love this fic because it once again emphisises the fact that Sapphire and Steel aren't human and don't think like humans. Their concern is Time and fixing problems with it not with making sure people have happy endings. This can cause any number of problems during the course of an investigation though. This story takes place after the Torchwood episode Out of Time and deals with just how Sapphire and Steel would have to fix the problem presented by the episode. Specifically Emma. Jack here is spot on with his arguments to stop them and Sapphire and Steel are perfect in their interactions.

Prices

I missed crossover day but was kindly given permission to post late. This one is Sapphire and Steel/Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: Willow/Tara (Buffy)
Length: 1800
Author on LJ: ?
Author Website: http://www.cyberpomo.com/
Why this must be read: This fic takes place at the very end of the Buffy episode Seeing Red. Here Time offers Willow a deal to save Tara's life and she takes it. Through a series of time loops we are shown how Time is using Willow as well as Sapphire and Steel working to stop her. Seeing Red is one of the most emotional episodes of Buffy (for me anyways) and this fic makes it all the more painful. A good kind of pain though.

( Snippet to entice )

Assignment Sunnydale

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: Steel/Jet/Lead (m/f/m)
Author on LJ: kickair8p
Author Website:
Why this must be read: I don't tend to read anything outside of gen when it comes to Sapphire and Steel. When I do read something with a pairing I like it to be something that focuses on the fact that the characters aren't human. It's one of the things I find most appealing about the characters and when the author focuses on that I find it fascinating the ways in which it can work out. Kickair8p writes a lovely PWP that also manages to highlight all the ways in which the people involved aren't human in any way. I like that.

Needs

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: doreyg
Author Website: None that I know of
Why this must be read: One of the great things about Sapphire and Steel is that there is the potential to add so many original characters. Jet is only mentioned in passing in Assignment #1 but Dorey creates a fully fleshed out character that I love to read about. The Jet shown here is different from the characters that Sapphire and Steel gave us, but could quite easily fit into an assignment.

Mirror, mirror don’t you dare break yourself again…

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: eponymous_rose
Author Website: Her fic index
Why this must be read: As previously stated I love assignment fic. I especially love it when the trigger is something so common place you'd never think of it. Music is an obvious trigger for a break, but not one commonly seen. Eponymous rose uses the setting to show the way Sapphire and Steel work together as well as how they work with each other. The friendship between the two can be a subtle thing at times and she hits it just right.


Lieder ohne Worte

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: nopejr
Author Website: http://nopespace.com/allfics.htm
Why this must be read: My favorite type of Sapphire and Steel fic is fic set during an assignment. This fic is a brilliant look at a break in Time from the perspective of the person caught in the middle of it. Nope manages to capture the bizarre feel to a break while at the same time showing how everything looks just fine to the person stuck in the middle.

( Snippet )

Entitled

Sapphire and Steel was a British TV series that ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network The series was created by PJ Hammond and stared Joanna Lumley as Sapphire and David McCallum as Steel. There were a total of six serials made before the show was canceled. In 2004 Big Finish secured the rights to Sapphire and Steel and began producing audio dramas. The third series of which are currently being released. Big Finish was forced to recast Sapphire and Steel though with Susannah Harker and David Warner.

( Cut to spare you for length )

Title: The Reality Affair by Jill Sylvan (G)
Pairing: None
Length: 85K
Author on LJ: Don't think so
Author Website: Unknown

Why this story must be read:

OK it's Crack Van Collision Day - and I have a confession to make. *takes deep breath* I'm not a big crossover fan. *cowers and shields soft parts from incipient blows from outraged fans* There. I've said it.

IMO it isn't easy to sustain the characteristic attributes of more than one fandom simultaneously. One of them can so easily be diminished in stature by becoming a mere plot device to service the other. The result can then feel unbalanced.  Alternatively the need to lay equal emphasis on more than one universe can become unwieldy, with pairings/canons vying with each other for attention. It must be said, however, that some authors are such stars that they never fall into these traps and produce stunning fanfic that melds together several fandoms seamlessly. 

I'll leave you to judge which category this falls into...


Oh BTW, you probably need to be particularly warm and fluffy (whatever substance you use to achieve this feeling) before embarking on this one - and have the Kleenex handy... 

The Reality Affair

Title: A Common Dilemma by Ren
Pairing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs/Donald 'Ducky' Mallard. Silver/Steel
Author on LJ: feenixandashes
Author Website: N/A

Why this must be read:
Ren is the only other writer I know who not only writes about both Gibbs/Ducky and Silver/Steel as individual pairings, but also crossovers. As such A Common Dilemma seemed the natural crossover story to choose from the various excellent Gibbs/Ducky crossovers out there.

The story is told in two parts: the first from the point of view of Silver and Steel, the second from the point of view of Gibbs and Ducky. Each part looks at the relationship of the couple and how it has developed over the time they have been together. The story shows how regardless of whether you are human or not, there will always be external obstacles to be overcome in any lasting relationship. We are shown four men, very much in love, two human, two 'elements', focussing on their own relationship and pondering about the nature of the other couple. The story is rich with lasting affection, love, an element of 'perfection' and what it would be like if . . . and yet it all very believable. The four men never actually meet; in fact they have no idea who the other couple are, however, Ren leaves us with the certainty that if they did, they would get along. She keeps all four characters very much in character and as individuals, and despite Steel and Ducky being played by the same actor, they are not the same character. There is a mixture of emotion in the story, most of it happy, but there is more than a touch of sadness, poignancy and wistfulness.

( Extracts )

---

A Common Dilemma (Part One)
A Common Dilemma (Part Two)