Rectember: Rarepair (Hetalia, Germany/South Italy)

[thewriterinpink]

Staring at the Sun by VampireNaomi is a rarepair Hetalia fic between Germany and Romano that captured me instantly, at first because Germany being with the other Italy was an interesting concept to me, but then how the story unfolded made me not want it to end because I was having so much fun with it. This story single handedly made me wish there were more fics of this pair exactly like this one because it was just that good. I think the author was especially good at charactization and forming the relationship into something believable and heartwarming. There is no flaws in the execution of the AU and details within the story sells the idea of these two really being humans living in the time period selected. Being in Romano's head was such a treat too, he was amazing from start to finish, I loved him so much! This story is just 10k+ of pure goodness and worth giving a shot if you have any interest in this fandom or these characters, whether you like the couple or not. Trust me, you'll be singing the tune of this rarepair once you're finished reading, it's impossible not to. It was posted this year, but I still think it hasn't fully gotten the attention it deserves in the amount of time it has had, so go give it love if you're interested! 

Here's the summary: It's 1962. The bitter humdrum of Lovino Vargas's life is broken by the arrival of a German tourist who's running away from something. 

I didn't think I was going to have anything to rec since I don't bookmark stories I enjoyed all that often, so I'm glad I can participate this early on in the event with a story I was meaning to rec for awhile. :)

Rectember: Vids in spaaace

[lucymonster]

This was almost a Star Wars themed reclist, but the Imperial Radch series snuck in as well.

Ancillary Justice book trailer by bironic
A beautiful space opera for anyone who enjoys sci-fi and canon characters of colour. The fancast is perfect. Made me ache for a real movie adaptation of the series.

The Mandalorian by bachaboska
Fun Poe Dameron/Mando mashup. Did a great job matching up the background settings from both sets of footage. Also did a great job making me ship it in unexpected earnest.

Kylo Ren | Look What You Made Me Do by xpunshesx
Exactly as tongue-in-cheek as the title promises. I've watched it several times and it never fails to make me giggle.

Rey & Kylo || Empty Spaces by tstudios
This is a very shippy vid. You won't enjoy it if you don't like Reylo. If you do, though, it's gorgeous and distills all their violent chemistry into just a few minutes.

Rectember: Red vs Blue fanvids

[texelations]

I have a whole playlist of favorites, but just to choose a few:

• Blue Lips – (Blue Lips by Regina Spektor) – Church-focused
  
  
  He took a step, but then felt tired
  He said, "I'll rest a little while."
  But when he tried to walk again
  He wasn't a child


• Oh No – (Oh No! by Marina and the Diamonds) – Carolina-focused
  
  
  Don't do love, don't do friends
  I'm only after success
  Don't need a relationship
  I'll never soften my grip


• Riot – (Riot by Three Days Grace) – Project Freelancer-focused
  
  
  If you feel so empty, so used up, so let down
  If you feel so angry, so ripped off, so stepped on
  You're not the only one refusing to back down
  You're not the only one, so get up

You can check out the rest of my favorites here but be warned I happen to enjoy my angst, especially when it comes to Church/Tex.

Rectember: Vid

[slightweasel]

Infinity by violace - a fanvid for the video game No Man's Sky. You don't need to know the canon at all to be able to follow it. I've never played the game, but this vid has stuck with me ever since the first time I watched it. The footage is so pretty, and the song is just so gloriously beautiful and affecting.

Rectember: Beach Comber I and II by Tinediserp [Hetalia fic]

[yuuago]

This one is both a rare pair rec and an old favourite. :D

"Beach Comber" is a Hetalia Sweden/Norway fic by Tinediserp. It's short, in ambiguously modern setting, and in two parts:
Part I (PG-rated; cozy fluff)
Part II(R-18; sex outdoors)

Links go to the author's livejournal; it unfortunately wasn't posted anywhere else.

I really like this for the cozy and relaxed relationship between these two; they're so comfortable and sweet together. The difficult times are behind them, and now they can enjoy one another's company. This author's writing is very atmospheric, and it fits really well with Sweden's POV ...Also, Part II is really hot. Or at least, I think so. ;)

Rectember: Vids

[glitteryv]

Behold 6 fanvids across many fandoms featuring women being awesome and/or badass.

I purposely chose fanvids that were on the more recent side of things over what some might consider "classics". All the links go to each vidder's YouTube page. I can't recommend checking their vids enough. They're so creative and talented. :D


* Fly by suchheights is an oldish multifandom vid featuring all kinds of female characters. I still get a bit teary-eyed while watching it because it's just a celebration of women in media we all enjoy.


* Cheap Thrills by hollywoodgrrl is an amazingly edited fanvid about Carol Danvers.


* Killer women by madxthing's length might be on the shorter side of things, but wow is it an effective fanvid abt women, rage, violence, and death. TW/CW for excessive amounts of violence and blood.


* I Know What I Am by Mithborien is THE Oceans 8 fanvid for me. I love the vidder's sense of timing and the editing is on point.


* Butterflies by fray myth taken showcases the great shippiness of Xena/Gabrielle. The song choice is lovely tool.


* Come Away with Me by closetfan focuses on Northern Exposure's Marilyn as a woman who dreams and loves. Its mellow vibe always makes me smile.

Rectember: Fanvids

[doranwen]

I was going to do all the weekly themes in one but fanvids are kind of their own thing, so here are a bunch of my favorite fanvids for a ton of fandoms, and I'll get to the fics later.

All totally SFW as far as I know (though the Alphas and Rookie Blue ones do have some making out in them).

tomorrow, when the war began || it's a brave new world
Fantastic TWTWB movie vid to the song "This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars. It's got some interesting coloring, nice cuts, and is way deeper if you've read the books and know what's going to happen with the different characters.

Alphas TV
An Alphas fanvid with the idea that you're watching TV and changing the channel, so there are different song choices to different parts of it. Uses songs such as "Have a Nice Day" by Bon Jovi, the Imperial March theme from Star Wars (by John Williams), and Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. Ranges from hilarious to heartbreaking.

Idgie and Ruth Love Story Fried Green Tomatoes (FGT)
A well-done video for Fried Green Tomatoes showing the relationship between Idgie and Ruth to Taylor Swift's Love Story.

Leave Me Hypnotized, Love [Push]
One of multiple Push fanvids made to this song (featured in the film) and focusing on Nick/Cassie.

Rizzoli & Isles - Crazy Jane
A funny Rizzoli & Isles vid to Crazy Jane by Dizzy Balloon. The song is too perfect for Jane Rizzoli, lol.

Andy McNally and Sam Swarek ~ Crash and Burn
A lovely Rookie Blue fanvid for the Andy/Sam ship to Savage Garden's Crash and Burn.

Éomer's Bootcamp (I'll Make a Man Out of You)
A very funny LOTR video to the song from Mulan. If you've seen the LOTR films and you've never seen this video, you have to change that right away. :D

LOTR - music video -Fallin
A blast from the past, this LOTR video was reposted in 2007 and made years before that, probably just after the first film came out (note that it isn't remotely hi-def; the version I have on my hdd, which is the original size, was 320x240 - best to watch from a distance if you can't shrink Youtube's version small enough). It's set to Falling by K-Otic and features the Fellowship falling over, and over, and over… :D

One Step At a Time - Women's Murder Club (Cindy)
You'll need to find a way to stretch this back to landscape somehow (download from Youtube and watch with VLC is my recommendation), but it's a great Women's Murder Club video focusing on Cindy and using Jordin Sparks' song One Step at a Time.

Lois & Clark fanvid - That's All - season 1
Very well-done Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman vid to the tune of That's All by Genesis. I particularly love all the newspaper bits.

And I posted my favorite Leverage fanvids in a comment to a community recs post earlier, but I reposted that to my own DW to save my recs, so if anyone didn't see them before, here they are.