it's beautiful under my tree
so i am kind of sick of hearing myself talk right now, but! i come bearing mtyg backstreet and crossover recs, which i was thinking about maybe posting later/tomorrow, but!
here they are early, at mette's insistence. i don't read a good half of the pairings, though, which is why you tend to see big gaping holes where certain pairings should be. /o\ but okay, this is my 2008 rec list:
let me preclude this by saying that i LOVED the aj/nick haul this year (OMG BSB OTP <33333333), okay, and i totally lucked out because most of them are totally amazing but since i cannot rec them all, here are the ones that deserve particular mention.
the beginning, sir (and not a minute sooner). aj/nick, duh, and it was so FUCKING FANTASTIC, WHAT. i'm just going to 'fess up here and say that, even though i haven't finished all the stories yet, this is probably going to be my favourite of the lot. and possibly of last year's, too. (the ones that were written for me aside, of course!) i just, this story hits SO MANY of my kinks: FAIRYTALES. HOT, HOT KISSING. UST. BOYS AND THEIR SHARP TOYS. PINING. ACTION HERO!NICK. guh. and the pacing of it, and the boys' dynamics (so spot on, idek), and just the way the whole thing came together was just absolutely amazing. this is storytelling at its best, and the result is just stunning.
the prince and the ... stable boy?. aj/nick. this story made me howl. it was so freaking funny, and the narration. wow. insanely hilarious and i kind of love the author's turn of phrase, a lot. it doesn't get any less funny the second/third/fourth time you read it. how do you go wrong with genius lines like two blondes don't make a right? seriously, you guys. king!kevin, queen!howie, prince!nick and stable-boy!aj, with a good dose of britney in the mix!
when one door closes. aj/brian, with a side of letterboys. this reminded me a lot of last year's this paper trail leads right back to you in that it's not really so much a fic about the letterboys hooking up (because that is, actually, pretty much mentioned only in passing) as it is about the aj/brian friendship, and their history, and the closure that they both need in order to move on. i love friendship!fic, so this really did it for me.
sweet like coffee. chris/nick, with surprise guest stars tattoo guy/specs. i love established relationships, and i love aus, so this was the perfect read. chris and nick are adorably domestic, and them trying to play matchmaker for their customers is just adorable to the nth degree. the surprise twist at the end is so cute, no matter which part of fandom you're from.
prove them wrong. lance/nick. reunion fic like nothing i have ever seen, although that could just be due to the fact that i haven't actually read much recently. this is amazing, and i love all the boys, even justin in all his selfish asshattery ways, and the miscommunication thing isn't something that reels me in, usually, but i like that it doesn't overpower the story here, and it totally works as a side plot, and any story that can handle all the dynamics and relationships so well (and throw in a really likeable omc along the way) totally gets my vote!
also, ain't nobody here but us chickens gets a quick, honorable mention. but i cannot get over the squick that this pairing brings me, so we're not mentioning that! JUST REMEMBER: do not read this unless you have a handy plate of fried chicken at your disposal!
here they are early, at mette's insistence. i don't read a good half of the pairings, though, which is why you tend to see big gaping holes where certain pairings should be. /o\ but okay, this is my 2008 rec list:
let me preclude this by saying that i LOVED the aj/nick haul this year (OMG BSB OTP <33333333), okay, and i totally lucked out because most of them are totally amazing but since i cannot rec them all, here are the ones that deserve particular mention.
the beginning, sir (and not a minute sooner). aj/nick, duh, and it was so FUCKING FANTASTIC, WHAT. i'm just going to 'fess up here and say that, even though i haven't finished all the stories yet, this is probably going to be my favourite of the lot. and possibly of last year's, too. (the ones that were written for me aside, of course!) i just, this story hits SO MANY of my kinks: FAIRYTALES. HOT, HOT KISSING. UST. BOYS AND THEIR SHARP TOYS. PINING. ACTION HERO!NICK. guh. and the pacing of it, and the boys' dynamics (so spot on, idek), and just the way the whole thing came together was just absolutely amazing. this is storytelling at its best, and the result is just stunning.
the prince and the ... stable boy?. aj/nick. this story made me howl. it was so freaking funny, and the narration. wow. insanely hilarious and i kind of love the author's turn of phrase, a lot. it doesn't get any less funny the second/third/fourth time you read it. how do you go wrong with genius lines like two blondes don't make a right? seriously, you guys. king!kevin, queen!howie, prince!nick and stable-boy!aj, with a good dose of britney in the mix!
when one door closes. aj/brian, with a side of letterboys. this reminded me a lot of last year's this paper trail leads right back to you in that it's not really so much a fic about the letterboys hooking up (because that is, actually, pretty much mentioned only in passing) as it is about the aj/brian friendship, and their history, and the closure that they both need in order to move on. i love friendship!fic, so this really did it for me.
sweet like coffee. chris/nick, with surprise guest stars tattoo guy/specs. i love established relationships, and i love aus, so this was the perfect read. chris and nick are adorably domestic, and them trying to play matchmaker for their customers is just adorable to the nth degree. the surprise twist at the end is so cute, no matter which part of fandom you're from.
prove them wrong. lance/nick. reunion fic like nothing i have ever seen, although that could just be due to the fact that i haven't actually read much recently. this is amazing, and i love all the boys, even justin in all his selfish asshattery ways, and the miscommunication thing isn't something that reels me in, usually, but i like that it doesn't overpower the story here, and it totally works as a side plot, and any story that can handle all the dynamics and relationships so well (and throw in a really likeable omc along the way) totally gets my vote!
also, ain't nobody here but us chickens gets a quick, honorable mention. but i cannot get over the squick that this pairing brings me, so we're not mentioning that! JUST REMEMBER: do not read this unless you have a handy plate of fried chicken at your disposal!