197: My Happy Place

[thefourthvine]

Things have been kind of rough for the House of TFV lately. But one major good thing has been that we have finally gotten my desk and computer all set up. Which means I can retreat to one of my fannish happy places: vids. And these vids are happy indeed.

The One That Made Me Wonder What Kind of Gum Uhura Likes. Apple Candy, by talitha78. Star Trek Reboot.

First off, I think I should just issue a blanket recommendation of every single thing talitha78 does, because, wow, she has made so very many vids that make me so very, very happy; I had this set all assembled and then realized, whoops - two of the vids were by her. So I had to pick just one of them, and I will have you know that it was not easy.

This one won, of course. It's like it was made for me. Although - okay. My associations with this song have been documented before, but - am I the only one who, having watched this vid, now also wants a Kirk/Uhura/Spock vid to Jessie's Girl? Come ON. "I've been funny, I've been cool with the lines" - that could, if you're willing to posit the existence of a time machine, have been written about Reboot Kirk! Don't tell me you aren't now seeing the vid in your head in all its glory. (If you aren't, there's a download at that link. I'm just saying.)

But. As glorious as the Jessie's Girl vid would be - and, oh, I think we can all agree it would be the kind of thing that makes the angels, if not sing, at least giggle - this vid is even better. I'm not going to tell you why - I went off on that whole tangent in part just to avoid telling you why - but I am going to say that I went into this vid expecting to love it (Apple Candy and Kirk/Uhura/Spock, by a vidder of known awesomeness: the download might as well have come with little sparkly hearts on it), got most of the way through, and realized I was going to love it even more than that. It is just that wonderful.

The One That Actually Made Me Tear up from Sheer Love the First Time I Saw It. One Night Fandoms, by thingswithwings and eruthros. Multifandom. Very nearly panfandom, in fact.

yuletide is coming 'round again, people! It is truly my favorite time of the year. (No, you are not allowed to remind me about this in two months, when I'm quietly weeping over my keyboard and occasionally moaning "why did I volunteer to write this?" in IM. Yes, there's some pain involved. Pain is part of the fun. Really.) And, in anticipation, I have started re-watching this vid, which made me so happy last year that I was afraid my ears might fall off.

This is Yuletide. If you've never done it: this is what it's like! It's all the things you love even though no one else does, things most people have never even heard of. Things you keep wistfully telling your friends that, no, really, they should try it, they'd love it, it's awesome, and you will TOTALLY loan it to them or even buy it, and you know they never will try it, and you don't know why, because, seriously, so wonderful. Things, in short, you definitely never expected to see in a real fanwork. And they're all in this vid. Just like they're all in Yuletide.

True fact: the first few times I watched this vid, I was just looking hopefully for my past Yuletide sources - the ones I've written, the ones I've requested. It took me several rotations to be able to set that aside and admire the beauty of the way this vid is put together - and it is beautiful, no doubt.

But most of all, it's Yuletide. Watch it. And then start planning out your signup sheet.

The One That Is a Tribute to the Thespian Skills of Momoa and Flanigan. Is She Really Going Out With Him?, by sherrold and wickedwords. Stargate: Atlantis.

I just. I can't even tell you how wonderful this is. It caused me to guffaw openly, because - okay. I haven't seen any SGA canon since the first season, and even then I didn't watch very much of it. I'm just not a visual media girl, is the thing, and frankly, if you're going to give me a choice between watching some people galumph around space and bonk into things or reading about those same people galumphing around space, bonking into things, and fucking, well. I am going to go with the latter. (And it's not the fucking that makes the difference, actually; it's the reading, although I'm not going to say the fucking doesn't help. I do love the subtext, but - what's the opposite of subtext? Domtext? Anyway. I love that, too.)

But my point is, I haven't seen any of the later SGA canon, and so my first reaction to this vid was to say, "They SHOWED that? Like, on the air? Did they forget about the part where the subtext is supposed to be sub?"

And then I realized this is probably all skillful editing, and the makers of Stargate didn't actually undergo some kind of bizarre brainswap. But, since I haven't seen the canon, I can pretend they did. This will always be canon to me.

(And it totally makes me want the accompanying fan fiction, where Ronon and John have to go on a mission by themselves, because Teyla's with Kanaan or however you spell his name, and Rodney's with Keller - because she's really going out with him, WTF? - and they're the two pathetic team members who never get laid and always have time to do extra work. They end up at a skuzzy bar getting totally wasted and weeping into their beverages - Ronon drinks a Pegrithian spirit called Skaar, and John starts with Skaar but gets sidetracked into this sweet liqueur that they mix with bright red berry juice and serve with chunks of fruit and a whipped topping and a little carving of a big-eyed animal that looks suspiciously like Hello Kitty. And the natives feel sorry for them, what with all the weeping and pathos, and they come back with an incredible trade agreement and terrible hangovers and a piece of paper with the name and Gate address of a guy who is supposed to be good at solving problems. They don't know if he's a therapist or an assassin. Or both. Neither of them goes to see him, but they do take out the paper and look at it from time to time.)

The One That Proves That Some Songs Compel Even the Planet Earth to Do a Little Dance. Mothership, by laurashapiro. Doctor Who.

If you don't chairdance while watching this vid, your butt has no rhythm and no soul. Sorry, that's just how it is. Because this is a shiny, happy, gleaming vid that just insists that you get your wiggle on.

But you should know that Best Beloved and I had a slight difference of opinion while watching it. We were getting down, grooving, enjoying the astonishing way the clips and the motion work with the music here - seriously, it's amazing - and just the general wonderfulness of it all. (The earthling was sitting in my lap, bouncing to the music. The boy knows when it's time to get down.) And then the vid ended, and we had this conversation:

BB: Aw, that was great. A tribute to all things -
Me, delightedly: TARDIS!
BB, giving me a Look: - Doctor.

And right there you have the essence of our difference of opinion about Doctor Who. Best Beloved seems to believe it's about this guy. Whereas I know in my heart it's about the tech. (Could you have all the things that happen in these clips without the TARDIS? No. No, you could not. The TARDIS is far more essential than the Doctor, obviously.) But, whatever you happen to believe - I understand there are even some people who believe this show is about the companions, which, whatever: I love you even if you're strange - you will adore this vid. If for no other reason than you can get your groove on. (With the TARDIS!)

(When you're done getting your groove on, marvel that this song is apparently a cappella. I don't even know what to do with that. I mean, I knew the human mouth was a marvel, but, wow.)

Comments

[celli]

*hugs* I hope things improve soon (even past the level of Computer Availableness).

[thefourthvine]

*hugs back*

Thank you. I hope so, too.

[scrollgirl]

IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM??? Thank you *so much* for this rec! Oh my God, hilarious. But it's okay, John will comfort poor Ronon with some really hot sex during their surfing vacation and all will be good :D

[thefourthvine]

Isn't it an AWESOME vid? I love it to a ridiculous degree.

[laurashapiro]

Eee, thank you for the rec! I wondered where the sudden influx of feedback was coming from. (:

::uses icon with TARDIS in::

I'm not going to take sides between you and BB, BTW. I had several thesis statements for the vid, but one of them was "MY SHOW!!!" So yanno, if your show is about the great joy that is the TARDIS, that totally works for me.

[thefourthvine]

Thank you for the vid!

*uses icon with appropriate Doctor Who focus*

I had several thesis statements for the vid, but one of them was "MY SHOW!!!"

I admit, I'm curious about the other thesis statements. I don't suppose you can be lured into revealing them? (I hope one of them is "literal isn't always bad, people," because I love so much how you use some totally literal shots here and they work perfectly. Sometimes I think fear of the literal goes too far, although I, too, have experienced those vids where every repetition of "turn around, bright eyes" features a given character actually turning around.)

So yanno, if your show is about the great joy that is the TARDIS, that totally works for me.

The TARDIS is obviously the main character. I' sticking to that. I just don't understand why more people don't vid her. *yearns*

[laurashapiro]

Well, the main theme for the vid is "Doctor/Earth OTP". Also, I was trying to make it a bit of a Ten character study, celebrating the more manic side of him. Also, it's the anti-Handlebars. (: Finally, I was really just trying to capture the way watching the show makes me feel, and to make people who watched the vid feel the way I do when I watch the show.

[fish_echo]

Ahahahahaa, best fic outline ever! (the Ronon & John one) *downloads associated vid*

And, as always, thanks for the recs :)

OMFG, Yuletide! I'm getting caught up in the giddy!

[thefourthvine]

John and Ronon just really need to get drunk together a lot more often. Ronon could talk about his feelings! John could cry! I don't know why this isn't a major trope in the fandom.

(I am caught in the giddy, too! YULETIDE OMG IT IS THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR.)

[toft]

But my point is, I haven't seen any of the later SGA canon, and so my first reaction to this vid was to say, "They SHOWED that? Like, on the air? Did they forget about the part where the subtext is supposed to be sub?"

That pretty much encapsulates my experience with SGA as a whole. Oh SGA.

[watersword]

Yuuuuuuuuletiiiiiiide!

[concinnity.livejournal.com]

\o/! (and hope things continue on with the getting happier)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And, hey, at least a return to recommending is a step in the right direction, right?

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh God, One Night Fandoms always makes me SO HAPPY. THERE ARE SO MANY OBSCURE THINGS I LOVE AND I LOVE YULETIDE MOST OF ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

God, I know. I want to wrap my arms around the vidders and say, "You get me! You really GET me!" And Yuletide really is my favorite of all fannish events. Even now, I can feel the meta welling up inside me. (Yes, I show love with meta. DON'T JUDGE ME.)

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

juniper200 called Apple Candy "a song for people who can count past two. In bed."

I feel odd about Yuletide, as I got into fandom through some very tiny groups and weird-for-fandom crowds, so I can understand the fuss but at the same time...well, it was like what you describe, but all the time instead of just a few months, and everything was surprising. So yeah.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

That makes me love juniper200 to a ludicrous degree.

See, I feel insanely loving about Yuletide, because Yuletide is why I'm even here. I was floundering in some truly horrible archives, and then I found Yuletide and Dorinda's Ocean's 11 story and my heart just exploded. It was exactly what I'd been looking for! But I can see why, if you came in through Yuletide fandoms but in non-Yuletide settings, it would not be quite the same for you.

[lolitakun.livejournal.com]

A kirk/spock/uhura vid set to "jessie's girl" WOULD be awesome, but idk, I have weird associations with that song- me and friends would change the lyrics to "I wish that I {was} Jessie's girl~" and so on and so forth when that song came on the radio during car rides. It's funny as hell that making the song into a ballad of unrequited man-love is so easy, but now, whenever I hear it, my brain just automatically changes the lyrics to the gay version, and when I imagine the vid set to that song, all I can think of is a vid about Kirk and Uhura's epic bitch fight over the affections of Spock. Which would be cool, but probably not the point.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I make those changes, too! Without even meaning to, about half the time I sing it "I wanna tell him that I love him but the point is probably moot." The song just slashes itself, really.

And, frankly, I would love a vid in which Kirk and Uhura fight over Spock, as long as it ended with them realizing he's Vulcan enough for two. *dreams*

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

It is the slashiest song in the world. I love it so!

[gwynevere1.livejournal.com]

This list makes me happy!

BB: Aw, that was great. A tribute to all things -
Me, delightedly: TARDIS!
BB, giving me a Look: - Doctor.

Pfft. The TARDIS is the true brains of the operation. She just lets her Time Lord pet *think* he's in charge.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Pfft. The TARDIS is the true brains of the operation. She just lets her Time Lord pet *think* he's in charge.

This is obviously true! Otherwise, why is it he can't ever get to where he wants to go? The TARDIS just likes company, that's all, and that's why the Doctor is there. And also he can reach the really itchy place in her central bubble array and sometimes he hits her voom screen just right.

...Why, no, I don't secretly slash the Doctor and the TARDIS. Not at all.

[nightengale.livejournal.com]

Maybe I am slow. (I definitely have not seen later SGA canon.) But I do not get the SGA one at all. :/

I do, however, have to go melt my heart over the Yuletide one. ♥

Thanks as always for the recs, TFV, and I hope that things keep heading uphill for you!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

The SGA one is just about Ronon (who canonically wants Keller) and John (who OBVIOUSLY wants Rodney) agonizing over the fact that McKay and Keller are going out.

But as long as you have the Yuletide one, you have enough happiness to go around. <3 <3 <3 <3!

Thanks for the good wishes. I could use them.

Heck yeah!

[brindel.livejournal.com]

Yay! Fun vids are fun!

And Yuletide, huh? Well, I've almost talked myself into NaNoWrimo, if I manage that Yuletide should be a snap! ...right? *g*

Katamari Damacy icon! Sweet!

[laura47.livejournal.com]

oh hey do you listen to podfic? do you happen to have podfic recommendations? i haven't listened to any yet.

[athenejen]

Thank you so much for these recs (well, all your recs, really, but these in particular tonight). I am about a billion times happier than I was when I started, even though two of them caused me to tear up just a little with empathy and joy and beauty (Apple Candy and Yuletide, unsurprisingly). And one made me dance and one made me laugh, so I got an all-around experience of delight. I really, really, really needed that. You are amazing (and I really hope things get better for you soon).

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for reccing Apple Candy. I have watched that vid probably eleventy million times since you recced it. It's so well-crafted and perfect in every freaking way. LOL It got under my skin so much I had to write fic based on it. (http://lunabee34.livejournal.com/237185.html)

:)