Yuletide Recs!
Hi everyone! *waves* I'm way, way, WAY behind on everything and haven't even finished reading all the Yuletide fic I have bookmarked yet, but thought I should make a post 1) Mentioning I'm still alive and 2) Reccing my favorite stories so far!
Above the cut, I absolutely have to mention my own gift first: The Conditional Tense. It's Boston Legal fic,written under astronomically difficult circumstances--I've been feeling so badly about that, because what kind of lunatic asks for a fic in a fandom she's only consumed 20% of, and then wants it to reference the ending she hasn't seen yet? I'd been kind of praying my poor author didn't get matched with the Boston Legal prompt, and when I saw that was it, I was almost afraid to read it for a while. But I eventually steeled myself and read it, and oh, it's perfect. Just the right mix of snark and affection and angst and reassurance. Both Alan and Denny are written perfectly--I could see and hear them so clearly in my mind, and it's just a gorgeous, bittersweet and funny story.
More recs below the cut!
Like What She Sees (Blue Beetle, Traci 13). I love Traci and this story is a wonderful interweaving of her scattered bits of canon to make a full character study. Hopeful and thoughtful and full of life, just like her.
The Queen Sent Messengers (Fairy Tales, Rumplestiltskin). A strange, elliptical and haunting story from the POV of the messenger who brings Rumplestiltskin's name to the Queen.
And Into the Clear (Pretender, Miss Parker). A short, terse story with a wonderfully brusque Parker-voice that feels just right. It's rapier-sharp and dances away after scoring a hit.
"We Should Have Met in Finavir" (Tigana/Fionavar, Dianora/Brandin). No one who reads Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana could avoid having their heart break at the story of Dianora and Brandin. This story takes a few lines from the book as a jumping-off point and weaves them a happy ending that feels perfect and believable and true to both worlds.
I didn't want to like Fair (The Hazards of Love), because I could tell quickly it was a resistent reading of the canon in which the romance was downplayed, but I was drawn in by the lush prose and dreamlike quality of the narrative and ended up loving it. What if Margaret survived the flood at the end of the album and was re-captured by the Queen? Does a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters and giving them fuller motivation.
And They're There For You (The Graveyard Book, Bod, Silas, and Miss Lupescu). arch_schatten (and everyone else), READ THIS FIC IMMEDIATELY! It's a delicate missing scene that really feels like it just happened to get left out of the book, and explores the Silas-Bod-Miss Lupescu "family" in beautiful and quiet ways. This and my gift fic are probably my favorite things I've read of Yuletide, the ones that just gave me the most sheer joy to read.
Ink Space (The Sandman, Lucien, Daniel, hints of Lucien/Daniel). Lucien deals with the changes in Dream and tends his library. The relationship with Lucien and Daniel is deft and subtle, but the real joy of this stoiry is the descriptions and discussion of the Library of the Dreaming, that amazing place.
Bearing Witness (Babylon 5, Londo, G'Kar, Vir). A set of interlinked missing scenes running though the five seasons, showing Londo and G'Kar through Vir's eyes, and revealing a great deal about Vir Cotto in the process. The missing scenes feel like canon, all three characters ring with life, and the ending is absolutely exquisite.
I hope everyone is having a good holiday season! I've had almost no time to myself, but a great deal of quality time with my family and my in-laws, which has left me frazzled but also content. I might even get some writing done this afternoon, for the first time in well over a week.
Above the cut, I absolutely have to mention my own gift first: The Conditional Tense. It's Boston Legal fic,written under astronomically difficult circumstances--I've been feeling so badly about that, because what kind of lunatic asks for a fic in a fandom she's only consumed 20% of, and then wants it to reference the ending she hasn't seen yet? I'd been kind of praying my poor author didn't get matched with the Boston Legal prompt, and when I saw that was it, I was almost afraid to read it for a while. But I eventually steeled myself and read it, and oh, it's perfect. Just the right mix of snark and affection and angst and reassurance. Both Alan and Denny are written perfectly--I could see and hear them so clearly in my mind, and it's just a gorgeous, bittersweet and funny story.
More recs below the cut!
Like What She Sees (Blue Beetle, Traci 13). I love Traci and this story is a wonderful interweaving of her scattered bits of canon to make a full character study. Hopeful and thoughtful and full of life, just like her.
The Queen Sent Messengers (Fairy Tales, Rumplestiltskin). A strange, elliptical and haunting story from the POV of the messenger who brings Rumplestiltskin's name to the Queen.
And Into the Clear (Pretender, Miss Parker). A short, terse story with a wonderfully brusque Parker-voice that feels just right. It's rapier-sharp and dances away after scoring a hit.
"We Should Have Met in Finavir" (Tigana/Fionavar, Dianora/Brandin). No one who reads Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana could avoid having their heart break at the story of Dianora and Brandin. This story takes a few lines from the book as a jumping-off point and weaves them a happy ending that feels perfect and believable and true to both worlds.
I didn't want to like Fair (The Hazards of Love), because I could tell quickly it was a resistent reading of the canon in which the romance was downplayed, but I was drawn in by the lush prose and dreamlike quality of the narrative and ended up loving it. What if Margaret survived the flood at the end of the album and was re-captured by the Queen? Does a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters and giving them fuller motivation.
And They're There For You (The Graveyard Book, Bod, Silas, and Miss Lupescu). arch_schatten (and everyone else), READ THIS FIC IMMEDIATELY! It's a delicate missing scene that really feels like it just happened to get left out of the book, and explores the Silas-Bod-Miss Lupescu "family" in beautiful and quiet ways. This and my gift fic are probably my favorite things I've read of Yuletide, the ones that just gave me the most sheer joy to read.
Ink Space (The Sandman, Lucien, Daniel, hints of Lucien/Daniel). Lucien deals with the changes in Dream and tends his library. The relationship with Lucien and Daniel is deft and subtle, but the real joy of this stoiry is the descriptions and discussion of the Library of the Dreaming, that amazing place.
Bearing Witness (Babylon 5, Londo, G'Kar, Vir). A set of interlinked missing scenes running though the five seasons, showing Londo and G'Kar through Vir's eyes, and revealing a great deal about Vir Cotto in the process. The missing scenes feel like canon, all three characters ring with life, and the ending is absolutely exquisite.
I hope everyone is having a good holiday season! I've had almost no time to myself, but a great deal of quality time with my family and my in-laws, which has left me frazzled but also content. I might even get some writing done this afternoon, for the first time in well over a week.