My Yuletide fics are the best present I got this year.
I like my new pig socks from Hayley (as I should, I picked them out) and my orange cardigan (a colour I've never worn much of, but it suits me alright) and black jumper from Mum and Dad, and my new slippers from Mum and Dad (they keep my toes much warmer than my old falling-apart ones, although cream's going to get very grubby, very quickly, and I always feel like backless slippers are going to fall off and trip me up on the stairs, so I often kick them off instead) and yay for the customary shower gel (although it can't be that much of a limited edition, seeing as they bought me the same the Christmas before last) and yay for £150 from Mum and Dad that means I can actually afford to travel back to uni.
I feel guilty about not being terribly enthused over notecards, from Beth, and the DVD boxset of Planet Earth, from George. (I want presents! And I want to want the presents! *stamps foot* Um, no.)
But Yuletide is awesome! I think it would be even better if I had a stable Internet connection, and could read and read, and comment, and rec, and do Yuletide madness. I have read only the fic written for me, and only managed to comment on two so far. Actually, that's partly the connection, and partly because I cannot seem to squish my love into a comment box. I also feel guilty because I have FOUR fics for Yuletide and I wrote just one.
Anonymous wrote me a TRILOGY in the Gallifrey audios for Yuletide.
1)
Five Times Romanadvoratrelundar Missed the Signs, and One Time She Couldn't Possibly Ignore Them Rating: General Audiences
Characters: Romana II, Four, Braxiatel, Leela, Darkel, Pandora, Narvin, K-9 Mark II
Pairings: Four/Romana, Darkel/Romana, Brax/Romana, Pandora/Romana, Narvin/Romana, Leela/Romana.
Summary: "The most powerful woman in the known universe has a tendency to attract admirers. She would probably find this a distinct annoyance-if she could ever be bothered to notice."
Word count: 6525 words
2)
Another Time Rating: Mature
Characters: Romana, Braxiatel, Leela, Narvin, K-9 Mark I, K-9 Mark II
Pairings: Romana/Narvin
Summary: "Wherein everyone takes a break from threatening Narvin to save the universe-or possibly the other way around-and it is conclusively proven that Romana's childhood nickname was absurdly ill-chosen."
Word count: 4084 words
3)
A Time For Every Purpose Rating: Explicit
Characters: Romana, Narvin, Leela, Braxiatel, K-9 Mark II, Darkel
Pairings: Romana/Narvin, Andred/Leela
Summary: "Romana knows that relationships are always complicated-but being the President of Gallifrey, she thinks, gives her a far better appreciation of that fact than most people can ever imagine."
Word count: 28,163 words in four chapters
They are fabulous. I suspect I may be quite lonely in my Romana/Narvin shipping (apart from
basicare, who was the recipient of my post-reveal, pre-read text message, the gist of which was :DDDDDDDDDDDDDD, and now, apparently, Awesome Anonymous), but still. I think Awesome Anonymous makes it make sense. There are arguments, psychic explorations and hatesex, along with a surprising amount of happiness. They have everyone's voices just right, there are all the interactions I love so much (Narvin and Brax's animosity, Romana and Leela's care for each other, Leela and Narvin's snarky respect, Brax and Romana's friendship, Romana and Narvin still being deeply opposed on important issues), with a side, in the third one, of Gallifreyan politics and Darkelian scheming. They made me laugh much more than once, and I have been talking about them to everyone around me since Christmas Day. Although I should point out, prompted by another comment on the first fic, that it is intensely spoilery for series three of the audios, as are the others to a lesser degree.
And, for Yuletide Madness, someone wrote me Sabrina the Teenage Witch fic.
Sisterhood Uber Alles Rating: General Audiences
Characters: Hilda Spellman, Zelda Spellman, Salem Saberhagen
Pairings: None
Summary: "Hilda ruminates on times when she and Zelda have fought."
Word count: 694 words
It is lovely. I love them and their relationship as sisters, and this fic presents a few great glimpses of them throughout history, in wonderful Hilda voice.
So, yay for Yuletide! The amazingly awesome gifts make up about fifty times the frustrations of giving, such as the fact that my recipient was so late unlocking their Yuletide letter or the fact that they still haven't commented, and are not listed on the I'll-Be-Away post.