Fanwork Recs - December 8, 2014
Dec. 8th, 2014 05:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ladybusinessFanwork is awesome and sharing fanwork is even more awesome. Join us as we keymash and squee over our favorite fanwork, from fic (both written and podfic) to art to vids and meta and back again. In our final 2014 installment of Fanwork Recs, Jodie looks back at her favorite vids produced this year and Renay attempts to clear her to-rec file to prepare for incoming holiday exchanges while she desperately tries to figure out what she loved most.
Recommendations included:
- Alien — art (1)
- Borgen — vid (1)
- Call the Midwife — vid (1)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier — art (2), vid (1)
- Final Fantasy VIII — art (1)
- Final Fantasy X — art (1)
- Guardians of the Galaxy — fic (1)
- The Hunger Games — vid (1)
- MCU — fic (3), art (6), vid (1)
- The Musketeers — vid (1)
- The 100 — vid (1)
- Pacific Rim — vid (1)
- Peaky Blinders — vids (2)
- Person of Interest — vid (1)
- The Raven Cycle — vid (1)
I was going to do a "favorites of the year" thing here as discussed in the planning stages of this iteration of Fanwork Recs, but then I realized way too late it's not possible for me. I have at least two more weeks of shoving as much fanwork into my eyes as possible as holiday exchanges debut. Given these things, I'm not even close to done with 2014 fanwork yet. And also I'm just not emotionally prepared for it to be the end of the year in fanwork. Be ready for me to toss my 2014 favorites into my end of year post if I can narrow it down.
[ART] [Alien] Ripley by
Really striking, mostly due to the way Ripley is centered in the piece. But the overlay part is perfect and chilling.
[VID] [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] (can't) give it up by voordeel (1:15) (Steve/Bucky) (CW: lots of quick cuts, flashing)
This vid is all about really awesome parallels and the interplay between Bucky's past and his present; who he is now, and who he was when he went to war, both before and after Steve rescued him. The editing here is gripping and visceral. The violence of what Bucky's been made into is spotlighted effectively with the sound editing especially. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
[ART] [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] Steve by
Hipster!steve is AMAZING. Specimen. Artists, how do you make super thin/think squiggly lines look so amazing as hair/fabric?
[ART] [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] — captain by
This punched me in the heart due to the phrase and the imagery of the debris around them. MY SOUL HURTS.
[ART] [Final Fantasy VIII] Never fall asleep where friends can find you! by
I love this. The whole thing is a hilarious comedic romp from beginning to oh-so-predictable (IT HAS TO HAPPEN, IT'S PERFECT) end.
[ART] [Final Fantasy X] Lulu by robbertopoli
Super gorgeous lines and use of whitespace. My favorite part here is the sweep of her hair and her assured expression.
[FIC] [Guardians of the Galaxy] speaking sound by
I am a big sucker for team fic and this story delivers perfectly, while developing both Rocket as a complicated character full of more than just bluster and deepening his relationships will all of his teammates. Especially touching here is Rocket's interactions with Gamora, her steadiness and understanding, and their shared experience where their bodies overlap with technology. The story is bittersweet — Rocket's frustration and anger and fear are a thread the whole way through — but it's not unhappy. This is a story about someone who used his voice to define his place in the world, as an individual and as a member of a team, and how the loss forces a perspective change on him that's not altogether unwanted, in the end.
[FIC] [MCU] On The Other Side of a Downward Spiral by
Men with babies. It's my weakness. I wish there was an original fiction genre for this: men with babies in science fictional settings because I would buy all of it. BABIES.
(I don't even want babies. I just want to read about dudes with babies, and dudes having babies while falling in love, or dudes acquiring babies after they've fallen in love. MEN WITH BABIES!)
I have read, re-read, and re-re-read this story so many times I have lost count. IT IS ADORABLE and also so incredibly tense. Bucky having access to a baby who likes him and grounds him is perfection, but the undercurrent of the story, where he feels like he may not be right, like he may be messing up and creating an untenable situation is so present and well-done, ugh. I was confused and troubled right along with Bucky, but once everything comes to a head I was SCREECHING because it was so perfectly arranged to be as UNFAIR as possible. Really, I shouldn't be allowed to read these types of things more than five times, max, because I could probably recite this story to you word-for-word at this point. BUT CAN YOU BLAME ME? They let Bucky keep a baby and it was incredibly adorable.
Also, I really loved Thor and Simmons in this. There should be at least 30 more of this. At least.
[FIC] [MCU] Unquiet by
There are some stories that set you on edge and you don't quite understand why, because they seem like standard fare. For the record, I love standard fare, it's why there will never be enough baby fic, you know, ever. But since I didn't read the additional tags before reading this story, once I got into the meat of it things felt eerie and not right, slightly off every time Bucky had an episode. It reminded me, a little, of being watched. Not unknowingly, but similar to how it feels when you're in a room with another person working on something and suddenly you can tell they're watching you. That weird, itchy feeling followed me all the way through the story. I think it's totally worthwhile to read it with no knowledge of what happens (there's not character death or anything), but the additional tags have the answer if you're not into creepy feelings (which apparently I am).
[FIC] [MCU] falling for you by
This story comes with a) heartbreak, b) tears, c) heartwarming art, d) feelings about Steve Rogers and his feelings. But it's pretty much been my go-to happy place for weeks now because the middle makes me feel joyous and there's such pretty art to go with it. I'm never gonna be over Steve and Tony saving each other pretty much ever, probably.
[ART] [MCU] The winter Soldier by
I've started to really appreciate the myriad ways fanartists in this fandom use red, and have noticed in myself a habit of characterizing Bucky by the way they choose to do so. Here, I would go, "This is totally Bucky Barnes in Winter Soldier mode!, rather than just, "Oh, that's Bucky." I don't know why this is happening, but it's fascinating.
[ART] [MCU] Bucky by
I'm in awe of the pencil work here which captures not just the dejected slump of his neck (which isn't really visible but you can still see it) but his whole mood. Amazing.
[ART] [MCU] Natasha by
I inflicted this piece on EVERYONE ONLINE AROUND ME when I first saw it because I was so in love with everything about it: the colors, her expression, the texture of her hair. It's like every additional Natasha art I find makes me weep for the potential fandom/fanart we could have if only Marvel would take pity on us. This is so gorgeous. I want at least a zillion more.
[ART] [MCU] steve rogers fandom bicycle 2k14 by
This cracks me up because it's so accurate for me, I will 100% ship Steve with all of these characters (Clint is excused because I ship him with Natasha or Coulson, Natasha is excused because she and Steve are BFFs). I'm apparently going through another Steve/Tony phase right now, since I sort of shotgunned everything Steve/Bucky related I could find and need to detox, and I suspect I will soon move on to Steve/Peggy because I AM PREDICTING (ASKING FOR??) a surge in Steve/Peggy fic pre-TFA one Agent Carter comes out. I might just need to put
owlmoose on retainer or something. My favorite thing about all these pieces is that I feel like they definitely got all the characterizations right, especially Steve/Thor. So good for me.[ART] [MCU] Bucky & Steve by maxbbs
Babies.
Okay, having established that I am a sucker for babies, it will come to no surprise to anyone that I really liked this. However, I was introduced to these pieces as a set via
...if it doesn't appear soon I may just write it myself.
[ART] [MCU] Bucky, Natasha, Steve, Sam by
Listen, it's the holidays, so everyone needs these assholes in terrible Christmas sweaters and underwear. Appropriately, Natasha's sweater is the best.
[VID] [The Raven Cycle] the raven boys│opening credits by
The Scorpio Races is optioned for film, but I am dying for The Raven Cycle to be optioned for something. I ACHE FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT. This is a quick mock up of what could be an opening and I'm in love with the song choice and the excellent cutting choices/scene selections, especially for Blue and Adam.
2014 was the year I fell in love with fanvids. Here are the 10 vids of 2014 that I recommend you dive into right now:
[VID] [Marvel Cinematic Universe] Hey Ho by
thuviaptarth (2:56) (Warnings: Old film flicker. Camera flashes and other sudden bright lights. Action movie violence [PG-13]. Needles.)By the end of this vid its not Steve and Tony we're really focused on — it's the kids pulled into superhero culture. The kids who will maybe grow up to be goofy star struck soldiers sitting in cars that explode. And the lyric which keeps hitting home is 'the point of sale' as kids buy comics and play with action figures. This footage really reminded me of "Pacific Rim" where the kids play with kaiju action figures and the war is turned into a commercial industry. In fact, the way the vid commented on war and used footage to bring "background" groups like kids and ordinary soldiers into sharper focus reminded me of very much of the whole opening to "Pacific Rim". That was one of my favourite parts of the film, and I responded to seeing a similar style used in this vid.
[VID] [The Hunger Games] Losing My Religion by
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rhoboat (3:40) (Katniss) (Warning: Violence)My favourite moment of this vid comes when 'That was just a dream' is laid over shots of Katniss emerging into the games environment shown in Catching Fire. That moment both erases her previous win in The Hunger Games, and shows how false the promise of permanent security is when it's offered by a corrupt government.
Watching this vid, I also suddenly understood that though Katniss spends Catching Fire preparing to returning to the arena, she would never have been ready to go back. Her face shows her bewilderment as she moves from seeing the arena as a far off dream to a terrifying reality. We all know Jennifer Lawrence's face is amazing, but Losing My Religion really pushes you to look at her acting under a magnifying glass.
[VID] [Borgen] Damned If She Do by chaila (04:00) (Birgitte Borgen)
A fantastic Birgitte appreciation vid from one of my favourite vidders. I love the material that's picked out for use, particularly Birgitte's hate face, the debate from series one and the footage used for the section that accompanies 'there's been a perception of sweethearts passing through'.
[VID] [Call the Midwife] Black Flowers by
meddow (4:12 minutes) (Sister Bernadette/Patrick, Sister Julienne)"Call the Midwife", unsurprisingly, often focuses on the young midwife's struggles and leaves the nun's stories as an important but the secondary element. I was so excited to see a vid that put the nun's sisterhood at its centre and managed to show that they're as close knit a group as the midwives.
[VID] [The Musketeers] Again by
franzeska (3:08) (Ensemble)This vid is so much fun! The Musketeers may be dramatic and angsty in places — as you can probably guess from the number of minor characters who perish in this vid - but it's also a big fluffy period piece about ridiculous dudes with nice smiles who care about each other. I loved seeing a vid embrace that side of the show, and it was cool to see a vid which could include all of the angst (Milady/Athos — I will never be over it) and yet not end up weighed down by tragedy. I especially liked that this vid mocks the Cardinal by calling him 'a big rain cloud', which is both adorable and appropriate.
[VID] [Person of Interest] Hey Big Spender by
This vid is such a fun ride. You’ve got John being the suited force of machismo that he genuinely is in the show, and Finch totally digging it because, under those dapper, civilised suits, he’s the guy who commissions John to break into people’s houses for "the greater good". They’re made for each other and drastically unsuited for others, so this vid puts them together for everyone else’s safety.
The vid also makes great use of some of the more over the top action shots (John, the sunglasses and the truck) and milks them for all the hotness they’ve got. And the unusual version of the song amps up the violence and sex theme of the show. Great work sexing up POI!
[VID] [The 100] Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Acid Yoghurt (2:31) (Ensemble)
I like how this vid captures the essence of The 100 — grim popcorn SFF. The slightly creepy, raspy version of the song gives it a feel of underlying menace which fits with a program where terrible things are constantly happening. And this vid is also really good at showing how the grimdark atmosphere brings the cast together, especially unlikely, wary allies like Bellamy and Clarke.
[VID] [Peaky Blinders] Blood on Your Shirt by fadedwordsofluck (3:58) (Full cast) (Warnings: suicide attempt, violence)
Blood on Your Shirt is my favourite Peaky Blinders vid of 2014. It's a slick visual experience; the shots it chooses, and the way it mixes them together, are crucial to the successful realisation of the narrative it builds.
[VID] [Peaky Blinders] Sail by frklinee (2:03) (Thomas Shelby, Inspector Chester Campbell) (Warnings: suicide attempt, violence)
This vid is all about the bombastic male posturing that Peaky Blinders contains. If you're interested in seeing a lingering, raw treatment of this show's violence then this is the vid for you.
[VID] [Pacific Rim] brother by
gwyn_r (3:52) (Ensemble)Finishing up with a vid for one of my very best fandoms — Pacific Rim.
I had forgotten how many team relationships there were in this film (I've been kind of focused on Mako) but this vid is a great reminder that the big theme of Pacific Rim is cooperation. The shots chosen for the main body of this video show all the main characters multiple times, which emphasises that all the characters in the film were instrumental in cancelling the apocalypse. I like it when the Hansens get credit; even if Chuck is a total dick sometimes it doesn't stop him being a big goddamn hero in other areas. Compartmentalised Chuck Hansen feelings — I haz them, partly because of his relationship with his dog which makes an appearance here.
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Date: 2014-12-08 12:26 pm (UTC)Can I watch the Raven Cycle vid without having read the third book or do I need to save it?
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Date: 2014-12-08 08:50 pm (UTC)And that GoTG fic sounds amazing, will have to get around to that.
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