Some Non-Yuletide Recs
Hum. In some ways I wish I was rolling around in Yuletide fic right now in a way that I am not because I'm oh, visiting with my friends. But I'm having a fabulous, if agoraphobic!, visit and there will be time for that later.
But I did beta (and therefore, read) two really fantastic fics in the last couple of days:
++ Matchsticks by fireworkfiasco - HP - Neville/Luna, Neville/Hannah - PG13 - This is a really lovely, sad-wistful piece set after DH. She does a really good job of weaving between flashback and present, bringing the two together by the end. Neville and Luna break my heart in this story...but in a pretty way. About 5000 words.
++ dreaming long grass and birds on the wire by oxoniensis - SPN - Sam/Dean - R - First-time wingfic where Sam not only has wings (at will) but can turn into a bird. Okay, I have a very special place in my heart for fic that takes its crack seriously, and that's what this story does - it uses the "genre" of wing!fic and uses it to do really interesting things in terms of character and metaphor. Also, it's employs beautiful, poetic framing/narrational language that um, cradles very in-character Sam and Dean dialogue. And I recommend this as someone who is both not the easiest sell on Wincest and also not a big reader of wing!fic. About 2000 words.
But I did beta (and therefore, read) two really fantastic fics in the last couple of days:
++ Matchsticks by fireworkfiasco - HP - Neville/Luna, Neville/Hannah - PG13 - This is a really lovely, sad-wistful piece set after DH. She does a really good job of weaving between flashback and present, bringing the two together by the end. Neville and Luna break my heart in this story...but in a pretty way. About 5000 words.
++ dreaming long grass and birds on the wire by oxoniensis - SPN - Sam/Dean - R - First-time wingfic where Sam not only has wings (at will) but can turn into a bird. Okay, I have a very special place in my heart for fic that takes its crack seriously, and that's what this story does - it uses the "genre" of wing!fic and uses it to do really interesting things in terms of character and metaphor. Also, it's employs beautiful, poetic framing/narrational language that um, cradles very in-character Sam and Dean dialogue. And I recommend this as someone who is both not the easiest sell on Wincest and also not a big reader of wing!fic. About 2000 words.