Falling Stars

I've been rereading Murderbot recently, with the show coming soon and the trailer just released. (Feeling tentatively hopeful? Please let it be good.)

I wanted to share two fanvids that I love a lot, and really capture how I feel about the books.


Next Episode by mithborien

This vid is almost like a teaser trailer intro to the story. Love the slow build, and the inspired inclusion of audiobook narration and show cast photos.

No spoilers except for the beginning of the first book All Systems Red.




I'm Not Your Hero by remnantglow

This animatic is apparently legendary in the fandom, but I only came across it recently. It is so good! Really hits hard with the key moments. Gave me all the emotions.

Spoilers up to and including Network Effect.

Long Live by Llin
Summary: Long live all the magic we made.

All the Star Treks, half a century of story, the torch passed down generation after generation. United by the bonds of friendship and family and optimism about the future. And I love what the first comment has to say.

It ticks me off when I hear people defending grimdark fiction with "because realism". The daily news supplies plenty of realism already. I know about the horrors and injustices that exist. If grimdark fiction mimics reality, then this is a failure of the imagination. Because you know what? Everything great and good that humankind has ever achieved, came from someone looking at the world and thinking, "It doesn't have to be this way." You put a black woman officer on a starship, against the dictates of reality, and you are already changing the future. You have to imagine it before you can make it real.

This is what Star Trek does. It shows us that humankind can make a future, a better future, where we can be our best selves. And that there is a place in it for all of us, whoever we may be, there is a place for us in that future, there is a place on the bridge of the goddamn Enterprise.

Yeah, I have a lot of feelings about this.

I call myself a Star Trek fan, but for me, Star Trek is beyond a fandom. Things like this vid remind me why.

Long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

I don't even want to think ahout how many thousands of words of fic I have read in this fandom in the past few months. It would put War and Peace to shame.

Vid recs

Born This Way by The Warp Zone
If you have ever thought that Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" would be the perfect mutant anthem, well, so did this guy, who donned his Magneto costume, picked up his guitar, and recorded this parody. A music video also exists.

There! Right There! by TIzumis
"Is he gay, or European?" The eternal paradox of Erik Lehnsherr, via Legally Blonde: The Musical.

Charles Xavier in Charge by Psychi
Possibly only amusing if you like '80s sitcoms starring Scott Baio. (Which I do. Unashamedly.)

X-Ponies: First Class by JHaller2
The "My Little Pony" version of the XMFC trailer, aka "Pinkamina's School for Gifted Fillies".

Fic recs

No Yesterdays On the Road by pocky_slash
Charles is kidnapped. Erik and Moira are forced to work together to find him. Cue road trip. Or as the author describes it: "Erik and Moira Drive Across the Country and Talk About Their Feelings." Lovely, long, and plotty, with some great character interactions. Erik trying to be a substitute leader to the children is just awww, and Moira shines the way she should have in the movie, insightful and unflinching and awesome.

Of kittens and teacups and love by Ren
College AU in which Charles and Erik are flatmates. The author says: "The first thing I said after watching the movie was BUT WHY COULDN'T THEY STAY FRIENDS AND LIVE TOGETHER HAPPILY AND ADOPT KITTENS." If you thought the same thing, then you will probably like this story.

i guess i should say thanks or some shit by zarathuse
Modern AU in which, as the author says, "Charles and Erik douche it up in Amsterdam". Charles "what drinking problem" Xavier uses his telepathy to avoid parking fines. Erik "not really stealing" Lehnsherr sucks at being a bartender. They are rather engaging despite being kind of morally dubious slackers.

Perfection by orange_crushed
The author describes this as: "Erik, Charles, literature and existence. But really: obligatory will-they-won't-they mansion fic." Subtle and beautiful.

The best things in life are blue by oddegg
Calvin and Hobbes fusion! Raven lives with her stuffed animal best friend, Hank, and her two long-suffering dads, Charles and Erik. Just as warm and fuzzy as it sounds.

La Habana by Clocks
The summary is: "In Old Havana, a helmet sits in the display window of an antique shop." The story of a legend.

I am not sure how this has happened. I am a long time X-Men fan. I enjoyed this movie. It turned out better than I had expected. This does not explain why I have spent the past few weeks burning through the archives reading every Charles/Erik fic there is.

Though it seems like I am far from the only one struck by sudden obsession. Even E! Online, in the article Magneto and Professor X Had Sex at the Movies This Summer - Did You See It?, notes that:

It's pretty clear that the primary story arc of the summer blockbuster is how much Erik and Charles are madly in love, and how it all goes horribly wrong due to a combination of external forces and internal character flaws.

and:

No, seriously, "playing chess" is obviously PG-13 movie code for "And then Magneto and Professor X did it... again."

Also, I love that "bromance world tour" and "beach divorce" have become part of the fandom vocabulary. Not to mention "satellite of love".

Vid rec

Rolling in the Deep by arefadedaway
I have rewatched this vid a ridiculous number of times. The vidder notes that she considered naming it "ALL THE FEELINGS", and it totally *is*. It sums up everything about Charles and Erik and the decades of their relationship, and it makes me want to point at it and say, "THIS. THIS." It's so epic it's breathtaking, and so personal it's heartbreaking, and the line "we could have had it all" is just, yes. That *is* their epic doomed love story. Which is tragic enough when you just watch First Class, but this vid goes on into the future and takes it to the end of the line. Oh, my heart.

Fic recs

From the waters and the wild by linaerys
They don't even make it off the boat before it happens. The electricity between them is just. Wow.

Not Half As Blinding by keire_ke
An AU where Charles dies, and comes back to life, and there is *angst*, because of all the months that Erik thought that Charles was dead, and that he was responsible, and did I mention the *angst*?

Charm Offensive by Andraste
The summary says it best: "Charles starts seducing Erik's recruits away from him. Literally." Hilariously funny.

The Emperor's New Clothes by ignipes
Another one where the summary says it all: "It's remarkably difficult to entice new soldiers to their just and righteous cause of mutant supremacy when the only thing the potential recruits can think throughout the course of the conversation is, 'I'm just not sure I can follow somebody who wears a silly cape - oh, shit, I hope the telepath didn't hear that.'" The Brotherhood of Mutants tries to fix Erik's sartorial choices.

First Class Facebook by casey_sms
Another great summary: "In which Magneto storms Facebook HQ and holds Mark hostage because he wants Charles's Facebook account details." My favorite line: "I can make him friend you but it would defeat the purpose of the whole idea since it's not being his friend you want but him wanting to be your friend." Aww.

But The Cat Came Back by twelve_pastels
The one where Charles is turned into a cat, and Erik takes in this stray without realising. Crossover with Sherlock.

The story I wrote for escalove was:

Title: Making Memories
Fandom: The Vision of Escaflowne
Rating: G
Summary: Van visits Hitomi on Earth.

Thank you again to kenazfiction for the gorgeous Bright Are the Stars Upon the Margin of the World.

And if you haven't already seen the vid One-Night Fandoms: A Tribute to Yuletide by eruthros and thingswithwings, you should probably check it out. It features an astounding 191 sources in its footage, which is an impressive chunk of the 1010 fandoms covered in Yuletide. Watching it is a little like browsing the archive on fast forward, producing that same burst of delight at glimpsing an old and beloved fandom.

Until the Day I Die (I'll Spill My Heart For You) by Jules
Song: 'Until the Day I Die' by Story of the Year
Spoilers: to 2x10 'Hunted'

As years go by
I race the clock with you
But if you die right now
You know that I'd die too

Oh, Dean. Your devotion to Sam just breaks my heart. Yeah, this vid was on replay a lot, why do you ask?

Welcome to My Life by Jules
Song: 'Welcome to My Life' by Simple Plan
Spoilers: to 2x03 'Bloodlust'

I love that this song is pretty much one huge melodramatic teenage angstfest, and yet it fits Dean Winchester perfectly. Because some days, it really does suck to be him.

I Woke Up in a Car by Ringwench
Song: 'I Woke Up in a Car' by Something Corporate
Spoilers: to 1x22 'Devil's Trap'

Originally a tribute to the Metallicar, but also life on the road, and how a car can come to mean home. Also shows Sam's journey over the course of Season One, from reluctant passenger to equal driver in their quest. A great song, and a great road trip vid, and what I love most about it is the sheer *joy* that shines through it.

Shuffle Your Feet by Luminosity
Song: 'Shuffle Your Feet' by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Spoilers: to 2x08 'Crossroad Blues'

One of the reasons I'm hooked on vids is because they keep introducing me to cool new music. And this song, with its infectious melody and foreboding lyrics, is the perfect accompaniment to a mytharc vid with a strong undercurrent of doom. It's Season Two, the dark is closing in on the boys, and like the song keeps asking, "Who knows if I'll see you again?"