Fic and Vids I Have Used to Procrastinate This Year
Pretty much what the title says. Some of them are happy, some of them are sad, some of them are thinky and some of them just make me want to sing along.
Fic
The Spirit and The Letter, by
lightgetsin
Fandom: The Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher)
Characters: Harry Dresden, John Marcone
WARNING: Genderswap! Genderfuck! Whatever you want to term it, somebody loses their penis and magically gains a vagina!
"Hey, I just realized!" Bob said. "You're like a country song: you lost your house, you lost your car, you lost your job, and now you've lost your dick!"
And it just kind of goes like that from there. That is to say, balls-to-the-wall awesome. I...may or may not have read this three or four times in the past month. Be forewarned: Harry does not magically become less chauvinistic. He's still Harry. He just has a vagina.
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Wild Honey 'Verse, by
twentysomething
Fandom: H50
Characters: Danni Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING: Um. Genderfuck ahoy?
I realize that putting these two together in the same post will make it seem as if I only read genderfuck. I swear, I read loads of fic. I do, however, have a soft spot for genderfuck, particularly when one character has always been a girl. The changes it makes to their world are tremendous, even though it's something that shouldn't really make a difference. And, as fandom tends to be a female-centric community, these fics tend to be particularly well-written (as most of us are familiar with being females).
twentysomething is a fabulous writer, and the way she tackles this verse is spot-on. Danni is funny and smart, and so very who I would expect Danny to be as a female. She pushes every one of Steve's buttons, and I truly hope we get more in this 'verse.
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Eye on Authority, Thumb Print's a Forgery, by imogenedisease
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Arthur, Eames
WARNING: Eames goes to prison!
“Don’t cheat at poker,” Arthur says.
There’s an ominous silence.
“Don’t play poker,” Arthur says, getting nervous.”Don’t touch a deck of cards with your grubby little fingers anymore. For your own sake. Please.”
“Everyone is bad at it,” Eames says, sulky. “It’s too easy anyway.”
“They will kill you,” Arthur says. “Kill you dead. Permanently.”
“Will you miss me if I get shanked in the back?” Eames asks. “I’m touched.”
“Don’t get too happy about it,” Arthur mumbles, and runs a hand through his hair.
There’s an outburst in the background.
“Oh,” Eames says. “A potential riot. I must be going love, ta!”
“Don’t get shanked!” Arthur yells, but Eames has already hung up.
This is unbelievably adorable. Unbelievably.
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Mental Unwellness and the Myth of the Veridian Unicorn, by sparky77
Fandom: Better Off Ted
Characters: Ensemble
When the men from the Center for Mental Wellness came to her office with a miserable looking Phil in their custody, Veronica defended him.
"So what if he's hearing voices? As far as I'm concerned that just means we're getting extra input on our projects for no cost. In fact, I wish more of our employees had voices in their heads like Phil. Good job, Phil!" Veronica smiled encouragingly at him and then turned to Ted.
This fic has the best Better Off Ted voices I've ever read. Which essentially makes it another episode of one of my favorite shows. :-D
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Mr. Rosso Goes to Hawaii, by
siria
Fandom: H50
Characters: Danny Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING: Gratuitous violence and whatnot. Also mafia-esque characters and mentions of drug-pushing, though no actual on-screen drug-pushing.
This is a typical
siria fic in that it's well-plotted, features great writing and characterizations, and I got incredibly pissy when it became apparent that there was an ending. Even if you aren't in H50 - and if you're not, good heavens, why?? - you're pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this. Undercover! Undercover as a couple! Emotional constipation! Yelling, gunfighting, badass cops, and did I mention fake marriages?
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Section 271, by Anonymous (Yuletide)
Fandom: Southland
Characters: Cooper, Sherman
WARNING: Violence
"All John said to Ben at the end of roll call was, "Watch yourself," but Ben had learned to decipher the Cooper Code, and what it really meant was your partner today is a real loser, buddy."
I'm just going to let that stand on it's own.
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Fix Definitely As Desired, by giddygeek
Fandom: H50
Characters: Danny Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING: I also did not want this one to end. SADFACE.
"I'm just saying," Steve is saying, "that you don't really seem to have settled in here."
Steve decides to fix that. HAPPYFACE.
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This Kid I Once Knew, by Anonymous (Yuletide)
Fandom: Calvin & Hobbes
Characters: Susie Derkins
WARNING: You might cry. Maybe. Just sayin'.
"[S]he never has been in the habit of speaking about Calvin. When she still lived next door to him and they went to school together, she didn't want to get associated with his weirdness in people's minds. And then after the divorce when she and her mom moved out--she told stories about Calvin once or twice at her new school, because they were good stories, her parents' reactions on snowy days to his snowman extravaganzas and Mrs. W.'s face when Calvin had worn a cape to school and the time he'd thrown a snowball at her in the middle of summer and missed. But it felt too much like she was inviting people to laugh at the kid who'd bought her a bike horn for her sixth birthday party and helped her out of a puddle once when that asshole Moe had pushed her down, and so she'd stopped."
I wish I knew who this author was so I could buy him or her a giant mug of cocoa. Sometimes there is a silence where words want to be, and sometimes we can't fill that vacuum, no matter how much we try.
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The Closest Approximation, by Anonymous (Yuletide)
Fandom: Community
Characters: Troy Barnes, Abed Nadir
WARNING: :-D
"It occurs to Troy one day that a lot of Abed's films involve the two of them having sex."
And he follows that to its natural conclusion.
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In A Certain Light, by airgiodslv
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Arthur, Eames
WARNING: Uh. Wingfic?
The towel has slipped from Arthur’s shoulders to his neck as he bends over. In its absence, Eames can see lean muscle, the jut of shoulder blades pushing against the skin. And something else.
For a moment, he’s almost certain there’s light rising from Arthur’s back, fragmenting and splitting as it travels, spreading in a wide arc over his torso. There’s the faintest hint of colour, faded violet and summer-sky blue, a shimmer of pale green blurring into yellow. Lines of light stretching up, out, fracturing into dozens upon dozens before they disappear.
Then the clouds gain their strength again, Arthur straightens, and all Eames had seen had been a trick of the light, nothing more.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Arthur says, brushing by him on his way into the bedroom.
Eames stays where he is, staring through the window into the dull, gray-washed daylight, and watches the rain.
I actually generally dislike wingfic. It's a fetish that rings pretty false for me, since humans don't actually have wings. This fic, though, incorporates the wings without making it all about ooh! feathers! and I have wings! trauma. It's a measure of intimacy, and a clever one at that.
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Vids
Finite Simple Group (of Order Two) by
thingswithwings
Fandom: Better Off Ted
Characters: Lem Hewitt, Phil Myman
WARNING: This vid is a danger to cheek muscles everywhere.
This vid tops my list of What to Watch When I'm Sad. It's honestly the most adorable thing I've ever seen - okay, aside from a few vid links which I'm not allowed to post here - and it makes me so incredibly happy. I'm left singing at the top of my lungs and beaming like a little kid.
Better Off Ted is one of the few shows I have watched over and over and over again - also on that list are Arrested Development, Scrubs, and Star Trek - and I can recite most of the lines along with the characters. After finishing the season for a fifth? - something like that - time this summer, I went looking for BoT vids because I couldn't believe there wasn't at least one Phil/Lem dedicated vid. And you know what I found? This! It was exactly what I was hoping for.
There's an adorable math-jokes song (most of which I don't get, but I can look up any vocab I'm unfamiliar with), and hand-holding, chest-bumps, Dr. Bhamba trying to get in on that - you know you'd want to hit it, too - radiation-suit-sharing, ridiculous dancing, and that scene with Veronica in the elevator always makes me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I see it. There are two options for dl'ing, andI'd recommend downloading the subtitled version for a better understanding of the lyrics. And if Finite Simple Group makes you want to see the source? Send me an email.
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Run With Me by chaila43
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)
Characters: River Song, Ten, Eleven, Amy Pond, Rory Williams
WARNING: Whooo!
Please understand, I am a firm believer in Eleven/Amy/Rory...except when River Song is onscreen. I know we don't quite know who she is yet, and, well, maybe we never will. But The Doctor/River is kind of the best thing I've seen this side of the Atlantic (or is it that side of the Atlantic?), and this vid is responsible for a number of pieces written far later than I wanted them done.
The editing choices are interesting, moving back and forth between using instrumentation as the decisive factor in when to cut and using vocal instrumentation as the cue to cut, but every time I watch this vid, I learn something new about River. The constant references to her past and The Doctor's future, cutting in and out with shots of her blue notebook, carry the vid in a spiraling sequence.
It becomes apparent that River is so close to The Doctor as to be a part of him. She knows things about him that he doesn't even know yet - the snapping of fingers, the adventures she carries in her blue notebook - and there's one shot of her dipping a small curtsy at 2:36 that speaks to her whimsy and her strength. She is everywhere, and for that very reason is both alluring and frightening.
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Heartbreaker, by destina and barkley
Fandom: Southland
Characters: John Cooper, Ben Sherman
WARNING: Some gratuitous drug use. Also some hotass-ness.
I am a firm believer that Sherman and Cooper are either already fucking making sweet, sweet love, or will be very, very soon. Heartbreaker confirms all of that for me. And makes me grin, besides.
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(Words Are) Futile Devices, by lolachrome
Fandom: BBC Sherlock
Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes
WARNING: PTSD-heavy. Unlike the show, I think this vid does a pretty good job of communicating how PTSD can manifest itself.
Futile Devices showcases the evolution of the relationship between John and Sherlock. The editing fits well with the mood of the vid and the show, and can be read either textually John/Sherlock or as gen. Whichever floats your boat, but I have to note the contrast between John always watching, seeking Sherlock with his gaze, and the way Sherlock grabs him and refuses to let go, both physically and mentally. It's a beautifully-done vid, mesmerizing and requiring memorization.
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Sex and Reruns, by
greensilver
Fandom: Community
Characters: Ensemble
WARNING: This is not a vid you can watch only once. Clear your afternoon.
If you want an example of cutting perfectly on various beats, you have got to add this vid to your to-watch list. It's gorgeous, and happy, and I cannot say enough good things about this vid. It's a reminder that loads of crap falls on everybody, but what's left at the end of the day are your friends, and the relationships you've chosen to nurture.
We all might make bad decisions sometimes but we also make good ones, and those are what we should dwell on. You can absolutely grin your way through this vid.
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Ada, by braver_creature
Fandom: Inglourious Basterds
Characters: Shoshanna
WARNING: The vidder chose not to warn. I'll honor that here, and if you have questions, feel free to message me. I believe you can also message the author at her livejournal account.
This is a love song to Shoshanna of Inglourious Basterds. Exactly what was needed, she did. It's beautiful, but not an easy vid to watch.
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Are We Real?, by wistful_fever
Fandom: H50
Characters: Ensemble, Danny Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING:
There's already been a handful of great vids to come out of H50 fandom - Cupid's Chokehold, Something's Gotta Give - but this is far and away my favorite. It's strong, it's clever, and the song narrates perfectly what's happening in Steve's head. The vidder said this song seemed to vid itself to H50, and I'd have to agree that they fit like interlocking puzzle pieces.
Are We Real? reminds us of what Steve's lost, what he's so recently gone through, and gives us a little hint as to why he is the way he is. And maybe we're inclined to cut him a little slack after watching.
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This entry was originally posted at http://foursweatervests.dreamwidth.org/48406.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Fic
The Spirit and The Letter, by
lightgetsin
Fandom: The Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher)
Characters: Harry Dresden, John Marcone
WARNING: Genderswap! Genderfuck! Whatever you want to term it, somebody loses their penis and magically gains a vagina!
"Hey, I just realized!" Bob said. "You're like a country song: you lost your house, you lost your car, you lost your job, and now you've lost your dick!"
And it just kind of goes like that from there. That is to say, balls-to-the-wall awesome. I...may or may not have read this three or four times in the past month. Be forewarned: Harry does not magically become less chauvinistic. He's still Harry. He just has a vagina.
____________________________________
Wild Honey 'Verse, by
twentysomething
Fandom: H50
Characters: Danni Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING: Um. Genderfuck ahoy?
I realize that putting these two together in the same post will make it seem as if I only read genderfuck. I swear, I read loads of fic. I do, however, have a soft spot for genderfuck, particularly when one character has always been a girl. The changes it makes to their world are tremendous, even though it's something that shouldn't really make a difference. And, as fandom tends to be a female-centric community, these fics tend to be particularly well-written (as most of us are familiar with being females).
twentysomething is a fabulous writer, and the way she tackles this verse is spot-on. Danni is funny and smart, and so very who I would expect Danny to be as a female. She pushes every one of Steve's buttons, and I truly hope we get more in this 'verse.
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Eye on Authority, Thumb Print's a Forgery, by imogenedisease
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Arthur, Eames
WARNING: Eames goes to prison!
“Don’t cheat at poker,” Arthur says.
There’s an ominous silence.
“Don’t play poker,” Arthur says, getting nervous.”Don’t touch a deck of cards with your grubby little fingers anymore. For your own sake. Please.”
“Everyone is bad at it,” Eames says, sulky. “It’s too easy anyway.”
“They will kill you,” Arthur says. “Kill you dead. Permanently.”
“Will you miss me if I get shanked in the back?” Eames asks. “I’m touched.”
“Don’t get too happy about it,” Arthur mumbles, and runs a hand through his hair.
There’s an outburst in the background.
“Oh,” Eames says. “A potential riot. I must be going love, ta!”
“Don’t get shanked!” Arthur yells, but Eames has already hung up.
This is unbelievably adorable. Unbelievably.
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Mental Unwellness and the Myth of the Veridian Unicorn, by sparky77
Fandom: Better Off Ted
Characters: Ensemble
When the men from the Center for Mental Wellness came to her office with a miserable looking Phil in their custody, Veronica defended him.
"So what if he's hearing voices? As far as I'm concerned that just means we're getting extra input on our projects for no cost. In fact, I wish more of our employees had voices in their heads like Phil. Good job, Phil!" Veronica smiled encouragingly at him and then turned to Ted.
This fic has the best Better Off Ted voices I've ever read. Which essentially makes it another episode of one of my favorite shows. :-D
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Mr. Rosso Goes to Hawaii, by
siria
Fandom: H50
Characters: Danny Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING: Gratuitous violence and whatnot. Also mafia-esque characters and mentions of drug-pushing, though no actual on-screen drug-pushing.
This is a typical
siria fic in that it's well-plotted, features great writing and characterizations, and I got incredibly pissy when it became apparent that there was an ending. Even if you aren't in H50 - and if you're not, good heavens, why?? - you're pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this. Undercover! Undercover as a couple! Emotional constipation! Yelling, gunfighting, badass cops, and did I mention fake marriages?
____________________________________
Section 271, by Anonymous (Yuletide)
Fandom: Southland
Characters: Cooper, Sherman
WARNING: Violence
"All John said to Ben at the end of roll call was, "Watch yourself," but Ben had learned to decipher the Cooper Code, and what it really meant was your partner today is a real loser, buddy."
I'm just going to let that stand on it's own.
____________________________________
Fix Definitely As Desired, by giddygeek
Fandom: H50
Characters: Danny Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING: I also did not want this one to end. SADFACE.
"I'm just saying," Steve is saying, "that you don't really seem to have settled in here."
Steve decides to fix that. HAPPYFACE.
____________________________________
This Kid I Once Knew, by Anonymous (Yuletide)
Fandom: Calvin & Hobbes
Characters: Susie Derkins
WARNING: You might cry. Maybe. Just sayin'.
"[S]he never has been in the habit of speaking about Calvin. When she still lived next door to him and they went to school together, she didn't want to get associated with his weirdness in people's minds. And then after the divorce when she and her mom moved out--she told stories about Calvin once or twice at her new school, because they were good stories, her parents' reactions on snowy days to his snowman extravaganzas and Mrs. W.'s face when Calvin had worn a cape to school and the time he'd thrown a snowball at her in the middle of summer and missed. But it felt too much like she was inviting people to laugh at the kid who'd bought her a bike horn for her sixth birthday party and helped her out of a puddle once when that asshole Moe had pushed her down, and so she'd stopped."
I wish I knew who this author was so I could buy him or her a giant mug of cocoa. Sometimes there is a silence where words want to be, and sometimes we can't fill that vacuum, no matter how much we try.
____________________________________
The Closest Approximation, by Anonymous (Yuletide)
Fandom: Community
Characters: Troy Barnes, Abed Nadir
WARNING: :-D
"It occurs to Troy one day that a lot of Abed's films involve the two of them having sex."
And he follows that to its natural conclusion.
____________________________________
In A Certain Light, by airgiodslv
Fandom: Inception
Characters: Arthur, Eames
WARNING: Uh. Wingfic?
The towel has slipped from Arthur’s shoulders to his neck as he bends over. In its absence, Eames can see lean muscle, the jut of shoulder blades pushing against the skin. And something else.
For a moment, he’s almost certain there’s light rising from Arthur’s back, fragmenting and splitting as it travels, spreading in a wide arc over his torso. There’s the faintest hint of colour, faded violet and summer-sky blue, a shimmer of pale green blurring into yellow. Lines of light stretching up, out, fracturing into dozens upon dozens before they disappear.
Then the clouds gain their strength again, Arthur straightens, and all Eames had seen had been a trick of the light, nothing more.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Arthur says, brushing by him on his way into the bedroom.
Eames stays where he is, staring through the window into the dull, gray-washed daylight, and watches the rain.
I actually generally dislike wingfic. It's a fetish that rings pretty false for me, since humans don't actually have wings. This fic, though, incorporates the wings without making it all about ooh! feathers! and I have wings! trauma. It's a measure of intimacy, and a clever one at that.
____________________________________
Vids
Finite Simple Group (of Order Two) by
thingswithwings
Fandom: Better Off Ted
Characters: Lem Hewitt, Phil Myman
WARNING: This vid is a danger to cheek muscles everywhere.
This vid tops my list of What to Watch When I'm Sad. It's honestly the most adorable thing I've ever seen - okay, aside from a few vid links which I'm not allowed to post here - and it makes me so incredibly happy. I'm left singing at the top of my lungs and beaming like a little kid.
Better Off Ted is one of the few shows I have watched over and over and over again - also on that list are Arrested Development, Scrubs, and Star Trek - and I can recite most of the lines along with the characters. After finishing the season for a fifth? - something like that - time this summer, I went looking for BoT vids because I couldn't believe there wasn't at least one Phil/Lem dedicated vid. And you know what I found? This! It was exactly what I was hoping for.
There's an adorable math-jokes song (most of which I don't get, but I can look up any vocab I'm unfamiliar with), and hand-holding, chest-bumps, Dr. Bhamba trying to get in on that - you know you'd want to hit it, too - radiation-suit-sharing, ridiculous dancing, and that scene with Veronica in the elevator always makes me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I see it. There are two options for dl'ing, andI'd recommend downloading the subtitled version for a better understanding of the lyrics. And if Finite Simple Group makes you want to see the source? Send me an email.
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Run With Me by chaila43
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)
Characters: River Song, Ten, Eleven, Amy Pond, Rory Williams
WARNING: Whooo!
Please understand, I am a firm believer in Eleven/Amy/Rory...except when River Song is onscreen. I know we don't quite know who she is yet, and, well, maybe we never will. But The Doctor/River is kind of the best thing I've seen this side of the Atlantic (or is it that side of the Atlantic?), and this vid is responsible for a number of pieces written far later than I wanted them done.
The editing choices are interesting, moving back and forth between using instrumentation as the decisive factor in when to cut and using vocal instrumentation as the cue to cut, but every time I watch this vid, I learn something new about River. The constant references to her past and The Doctor's future, cutting in and out with shots of her blue notebook, carry the vid in a spiraling sequence.
It becomes apparent that River is so close to The Doctor as to be a part of him. She knows things about him that he doesn't even know yet - the snapping of fingers, the adventures she carries in her blue notebook - and there's one shot of her dipping a small curtsy at 2:36 that speaks to her whimsy and her strength. She is everywhere, and for that very reason is both alluring and frightening.
____________________________________
Heartbreaker, by destina and barkley
Fandom: Southland
Characters: John Cooper, Ben Sherman
WARNING: Some gratuitous drug use. Also some hotass-ness.
I am a firm believer that Sherman and Cooper are either already fucking making sweet, sweet love, or will be very, very soon. Heartbreaker confirms all of that for me. And makes me grin, besides.
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(Words Are) Futile Devices, by lolachrome
Fandom: BBC Sherlock
Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes
WARNING: PTSD-heavy. Unlike the show, I think this vid does a pretty good job of communicating how PTSD can manifest itself.
Futile Devices showcases the evolution of the relationship between John and Sherlock. The editing fits well with the mood of the vid and the show, and can be read either textually John/Sherlock or as gen. Whichever floats your boat, but I have to note the contrast between John always watching, seeking Sherlock with his gaze, and the way Sherlock grabs him and refuses to let go, both physically and mentally. It's a beautifully-done vid, mesmerizing and requiring memorization.
____________________________________
Sex and Reruns, by
greensilver
Fandom: Community
Characters: Ensemble
WARNING: This is not a vid you can watch only once. Clear your afternoon.
If you want an example of cutting perfectly on various beats, you have got to add this vid to your to-watch list. It's gorgeous, and happy, and I cannot say enough good things about this vid. It's a reminder that loads of crap falls on everybody, but what's left at the end of the day are your friends, and the relationships you've chosen to nurture.
We all might make bad decisions sometimes but we also make good ones, and those are what we should dwell on. You can absolutely grin your way through this vid.
____________________________________
Ada, by braver_creature
Fandom: Inglourious Basterds
Characters: Shoshanna
WARNING: The vidder chose not to warn. I'll honor that here, and if you have questions, feel free to message me. I believe you can also message the author at her livejournal account.
This is a love song to Shoshanna of Inglourious Basterds. Exactly what was needed, she did. It's beautiful, but not an easy vid to watch.
____________________________________
Are We Real?, by wistful_fever
Fandom: H50
Characters: Ensemble, Danny Williams, Steve McGarrett
WARNING:
There's already been a handful of great vids to come out of H50 fandom - Cupid's Chokehold, Something's Gotta Give - but this is far and away my favorite. It's strong, it's clever, and the song narrates perfectly what's happening in Steve's head. The vidder said this song seemed to vid itself to H50, and I'd have to agree that they fit like interlocking puzzle pieces.
Are We Real? reminds us of what Steve's lost, what he's so recently gone through, and gives us a little hint as to why he is the way he is. And maybe we're inclined to cut him a little slack after watching.
____________________________________
This entry was originally posted at http://foursweatervests.dreamwidth.org/48406.html. Please comment there using OpenID.