Yuletide Recs
It's been fun browsing the Yuletide collection while snowbound at my parents house this week. First, I'd like to put in a plug for my 4 (4!) gift fics in Greek & Roman Mythology. They are all retellings of the Orpheus & Eurydice myth and they kick ass. You can read about them in this post.
Kushiel's Legacy is actually one of my main year-round fandoms. We're small but medium-large for Yuletide and get a solid batch of fics written every year. This year did not disappoint. Here are my favorites, but all of this years fics were very strong.
Only Ever One
Relationships: Mavros Shahrizai/Original Male Character
Characters: Mavros Shahrizai, Thierry Valois, Roshana Shahrizai, Baptiste Shahrizai
This one stars everyone's Kushielverse boyfriend, Mavros Shahrizai, who is unable to get a date to the fete des chaines, the party of the year in Kusheth. It has sexual competition among the Shahrizai clan! Whips and chains! True love! All very in keeping with Jacqueline Carey's style.
Letters and Signals
Characters: Melisande Shahrizai
A stocking stuffer of a ficlet about Melisande- yay! Set between Kushiel's Dart and Kushiel's Chosen, Melisande plays her game against an absent Phedre. Also has some very cool world building about D'Angeline religion and the worship of Elua's Companions.
Being some kind of reminiscence, written by the proprietress under some duress inflicted by a poet, of the life of the founder of Atelier Favrielle of the City of Elua, Terre D'Ange, upon the twentieth anniversary of its founding.
Characters: Favrielle no Eglantine, Phedre no Delaunay
Favrielle fic! There were several excellent stories about Favrielle this year, which was very exciting. But as a history nerd, I looooved the fact that this one was written very much in the style of an Early Modern text. And I really felt the author nailed Favrielle in all her bitterness and brilliance.
Downton Abbey
We're a Pair, You and I
Relationships: Sarah O'Brien/Thomas Barrow
Characters: Thomas Barrow, Sarah O'Brien
This is the twisted-glorious-sexy-wrong fic I have always wanted about O'Brien and Thomas. They are both amazingly in character and the sex is..ahem..really hot. It actually fits in well with what happens in s3 between them. And, yes, O'Brien is such a top.
Breaking Bad
Partners, Proteges, and Pawns
Relationships: Gus/Gale
Characters: Gus, Gale, Walt, Jesse, Mike
Gus and Gale are a pair I never would have thought of on my own but I really adored them here. It makes sense to me that someone as ruthless and closed off as Gus would be drawn to Gale's innocence and openness. Set during the maneuvering of s3.
Mad Men
Best Marks Go to Cheaters and Memorizers
Characters: Peggy Olson, Ken Cosgrove
One of the things I love most about Mad Men is the way the show depicts platonic work relationships. This fic (and I know it's been rec'd elsewhere, but I just have to rec it again) does a great job of rendering Ken and Peggy's bargain to escape SCDP together. It has fantastic insight into both characters, what motivates them creatively, and the lines they are and aren't willing to cross.
To Boldly Go
Characters: Sally Draper, Don Draper, Megan Calvet
Sally Draper, Star Trek fangirl!!! It doesn't get much better than that. Sally's youthful obsession with her favorite show will strike a chord with anyone who's ever been a fan boy or girl. And it slides right in to the canon of season 5.
Project Runway RPF
It's a Delightful Day in the Neighborhood
Characters: Tim Gunn
I know this has been rec'd elsewhere, but I can't help myself. I love me some Tim Gunn and Project Runway and this is just PERF! Tim critiques his corner of NYC in his impeccably elegant voice. If you've ever spent any substantial amount of time in NYC (or any other similar metropolis) you will recognize how spot-on and hilarious it is.
Les Adieux a la Reine (Farewell My Queen)
La reine scelerate
Relationships: Marie Antoinette/Gabrielle de Polignac, Marie Antoinette/Sidonie Laborde
Characters: Gabrielle de Polignac, Marie Antoinette, Sidonie Laborde
I love this movie (obvi, I wrote a femslash12 fic for it) and I was so happy to see there was fic for it for Yuletide. This one both captures the characters perfectly and contains some steamy 18th century femmeslash. *fans self* Because we could all use a little smut on these cold winter nights. The Thin Man
The Case of the Missing Martini Olive
Relationships: Nick Charles/Nora Charles
Characters: Nick Charles, Nora Charles, Asta
Short, sweet, and with all the crackling banter one would expect from the incomparable Nick and Nora. This fic reminds my why they are soooo wonderful and how I just want to marry both of them. Or get invited over for cocktails. This entry was originally posted at http://kmo.dreamwidth.org/ Comment here or there as the spirit moves you.