Yuletidiness!
Happy Yuletide, all! I've been enjoying reading through lots of fic today, and overall I think it's been a pretty good year for Yuletide. I got three whole stories, myself, after ending up on the pinch hit list just before the default deadline: a story from my regular pinch-hitter, plus two full-length treats, giving me two hits of Maddie Westen being awesome, and one of Kermit the Frog being flustered. That's "The Hostage", "As the Worm Turns", and "The Whole Yule Ball of Wax", respectively. Many thanks to my lovely (and Yuletide-saving!) anonymous writers.
I also figured I'd post a few recs. Again, there was lots of good stuff this year, but these are the stories that, for one reason or another, just really grabbed my attention and impressed or delighted me. (Mind you, my reading has been a bit haphazard, so quite likely I've still missed some very good stuff, even in the fandoms I know.)
So. Recs!
From the regular Yuletide collection:
"These Lifeless Things": Breaking Bad. "In the aftermath, Skyler can't help but remember." Post-canon Skyler fic, with an emphasis on the relationship between Skyler and Marie. Beautifully written, beautifully characterized, and emotionally devestating.
"The Proper Choice": Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series. "Seivarden hardly knows who she is anymore. She's not the person Breq wishes she was, that much is sure." I remember being surprised and just a smidge disappointed by the way that Ancillary Justice pretty much skipped over the long, long trip back into Radch space. But this fic gives us a glimpse into that time, and, since it's Seivarden's POV, it also gives us an inside look at some character development that canon only shows us indirectly, from the outside. Very well-written, and the characters and the world feel spot-on.
"there's not a word yet (for old friends who've just met)": The Muppet Show. "Beaker's sure there's some kind of heartwarming moral in all this, but all he wants to do is get through this safe, sane, and intact. The Muppets may have other plans." This fic is AMAZING. It's Beaker-POV! And it actually takes him completely seriously as a human being (er, Muppet being?), while somehow simultaneously also capturing perfectly the hilarious insanity that is the Muppets. And it's sweet. And full of heart. And the character voices are perfect. You may not have ever realized you wanted a character study of Beaker with a nice little helping of Beaker/Honeydew, but you do. Trust me. You do.
"All at Sea": Sapphire and Steel. "Where is Silver at the end of Assignment Six? Why, he's working to save Sapphire and Steel, of course. Well, that's the plan at least. Before he can do that, he needs to save himself." I just really love all the little details in this this, about Silver and how he works and how he thinks. It's a great take on the ineffable weirdness that is Sapphire and Steel. And, of course, it answers a big, burning question about the last episode.
And some short stuff from the Madness collection:
"Bake Cake Not War": Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death. "Now that the Daleks and the Master have given up being evil, how are they going to spend their time? And what role will the Doctor play in their new lives?" OK, this one is sheer, ridiculous crack, even by the cracky standards of its source material. But it made me laugh SO HARD.
"I Am Groot (Groot's Story)": Guardians of the Galaxy (movie). "Groot's perspective on Guardians of the Galaxy." First, I looked at it and laughed. Then I realized there was more to it than met the eye, and I thought, oh, how clever! Then I realized it was just absolutely lovely. The only thing left to say is, I AM GROOT.
I also figured I'd post a few recs. Again, there was lots of good stuff this year, but these are the stories that, for one reason or another, just really grabbed my attention and impressed or delighted me. (Mind you, my reading has been a bit haphazard, so quite likely I've still missed some very good stuff, even in the fandoms I know.)
So. Recs!
From the regular Yuletide collection:
"These Lifeless Things": Breaking Bad. "In the aftermath, Skyler can't help but remember." Post-canon Skyler fic, with an emphasis on the relationship between Skyler and Marie. Beautifully written, beautifully characterized, and emotionally devestating.
"The Proper Choice": Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series. "Seivarden hardly knows who she is anymore. She's not the person Breq wishes she was, that much is sure." I remember being surprised and just a smidge disappointed by the way that Ancillary Justice pretty much skipped over the long, long trip back into Radch space. But this fic gives us a glimpse into that time, and, since it's Seivarden's POV, it also gives us an inside look at some character development that canon only shows us indirectly, from the outside. Very well-written, and the characters and the world feel spot-on.
"there's not a word yet (for old friends who've just met)": The Muppet Show. "Beaker's sure there's some kind of heartwarming moral in all this, but all he wants to do is get through this safe, sane, and intact. The Muppets may have other plans." This fic is AMAZING. It's Beaker-POV! And it actually takes him completely seriously as a human being (er, Muppet being?), while somehow simultaneously also capturing perfectly the hilarious insanity that is the Muppets. And it's sweet. And full of heart. And the character voices are perfect. You may not have ever realized you wanted a character study of Beaker with a nice little helping of Beaker/Honeydew, but you do. Trust me. You do.
"All at Sea": Sapphire and Steel. "Where is Silver at the end of Assignment Six? Why, he's working to save Sapphire and Steel, of course. Well, that's the plan at least. Before he can do that, he needs to save himself." I just really love all the little details in this this, about Silver and how he works and how he thinks. It's a great take on the ineffable weirdness that is Sapphire and Steel. And, of course, it answers a big, burning question about the last episode.
And some short stuff from the Madness collection:
"Bake Cake Not War": Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death. "Now that the Daleks and the Master have given up being evil, how are they going to spend their time? And what role will the Doctor play in their new lives?" OK, this one is sheer, ridiculous crack, even by the cracky standards of its source material. But it made me laugh SO HARD.
"I Am Groot (Groot's Story)": Guardians of the Galaxy (movie). "Groot's perspective on Guardians of the Galaxy." First, I looked at it and laughed. Then I realized there was more to it than met the eye, and I thought, oh, how clever! Then I realized it was just absolutely lovely. The only thing left to say is, I AM GROOT.