Yuletide Recs
I actually made it through the archives before reveals this year!It is because I was writing a paper, so I was on my laptop and procrastinating.
I figured I'd do quick recs, so here are 17 fics in 15 fandoms
Black Books
The Land Beyond The Shelves (4291 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Bernard Black, Manny Bianco, Fran Katzenjammer
Summary: Bernard has many rules that he lives by, but unfortunately for the sake of his quiet Sunday afternoon, 'don't follow fairies into magical lands' isn't one of them.
Bernard is led into the magical land of the Bookshop by the green fairy of absinthe, and he has to save the Bookshop from the Amazons. So much fun, so great.
Brick
moonlight (1115 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, The Brain/Brendan
Summary: Six years after the events of Brick. Brendan is still shaking things up, with the help of Brain, who wants to do more than just op from afar.
This wasn't a pairing I necessarily expected, coming out of the movie, but the author really sold it with the noir tone and some great phrases.
By the Sword
Nonstarter (536 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Danny Gallagher and Alexander Villard
Summary: Danny Gallagher knows what it's like to fall from grace.
Written for meeeee. This is the only Madness fic I've managed to read so far, but it's really great and definitely captures the melodramatic feel of the movie.
DC Comics
Never Having to Say (1095 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Secret Six - Floyd Lawton and Thomas Blake
Summary: Friendship means never having to say a lot of things. Post-series, non-new52, so current DCU canon is disregarded.
Just really fun - a series of phone conversations between Deadshot (Lawton) and Catman (Blake).
Rub-a-Dub Dub (A Bunch of Capes in the Tub) (1156 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Bruce Wayne (Batman) plus cast from Justice League Unlimited cartoon
Summary: “Holy cats!” Oliver said, dropping the sponge. There was still conditioner in his beard.
“I think you mean, holy bats,” Bruce intoned.
A bunch of times Batman ambushed people in the shower, and a time or two someone ambushed him.
I'm not familiar with the cartoon, but I guess Batman interrupts people's showers a lot? It's a concept I can get behind, anyway. My favorite part was the many iterations of Amanda Waller.
Discworld
Going It Alone (1983 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, Esmerelda "Granny" Weatherwax, Mustrum Ridcully, Gytha "Nanny" Ogg
Summary: Some walked the path to a witch's door with fearful desperation; some walked it with false bravado, and some with foolish daydreams. Esme walked it with a tent, and set it up on the lawn.
Granny-centric fic, scenes from her youth. It's great and very in-character, with a lot of ties to canon. Some awesome moments - I especially liked the scenes with young Ridcully.
Gallifrey
Operation: Get Leela Back (1979 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Romana II, Narvin, Leela, Sixth Doctor
Summary: It didn’t take Romana long to realise that an eternity with only Narvin and a bunch of psychopaths for company wasn’t going to be bearable for long. (Set after the end of Gallifrey series 4).
Really funny hijinks-style coda to series 4. If you're familiar with Gallifrey at all, you should definitely read.
Hark! A Vagrant
Shipmates (3948 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Pirate/Nemesis
Summary: "A pair of immoveable combatants, locked in an eternal struggle.” He puffed his pipe. “That’s what one o’ them newspapers called us,” he added, complacently.
If you, like me, have kind of a thing for nemeses pairings, you should really check this out. It's really well written, hilarious, and it even has a happy ending.
Hobbes and Bacon
Attack Chickens, Children, and Other Hazards of Suburban Life (1361 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Susie/Calvin, Hobbes, Calvin's Mother, Calvin's Father, Bacon
Summary: “I'd hate to have a kid like me.” - Calvin, The Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes
If you're not familiar with Hobbes and Bacon, it's a fanstrip of Calvin and Hobbes where Calvin's grown up and had a kid with Susie Derkins. They name her Bacon. It's awesome (here's the first strip). And this fic is really great, somehow managing to keep Calvin in character while making him a reasonable approximation of an adult (which is probably the most his parents were hoping for).
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
John Childermass's Last Employer (12574 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, implied John Childermass/Gilbert Norrell.
Summary: To the city of York, in the year of our Lord 1780, there came a young man who had fallen upon hard times.
Probably my favorite fic this Yuletide (which wasn't written for me). It's a brilliant look into Childermass' backstory and how he came to be in Norrell's service. The prose is gorgeous and understated, just like the canon.
Journey to the West
Jingu All The Way (2319 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Sun Wukong (Monkey)
Summary: The Monkey King meets a Demon from over the Eastern Sea.
Pretty much the best way to mix mythologies ever. Great canon voice in conjunction with hilarious crack.
Lackadaisy
Relatively Unreasonable (2162 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Dom Drago/Zib, Mordecai Heller, Viktor Vasko, Ivy Pepper
Summary: “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” says Dom, sliding into the booth across from him. This is a joke; Zib’s never laid eyes on him outside the big house. It occurs to him that maybe the reverse isn’t true - alto sax is the sort of girl that demands attention, and Lackadaisy’s bright for a cellar but dim for a dance hall. You don’t see much from the stage.
This is basically Dom/Zib UST plus a bunch of awesome ensemble moments. I think that's most of what I want from Lackadaisy fic.
Retirement Benefits (2355 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Mordecai Heller, Viktor Vasko, Mitzi May
Summary: With Atlas dead, Lackadaisy seems marked for a swift demise. Mordecai isn't keen on following it, and hopes Viktor will share his common sense. Doubtful.
Less light and fun, but a really interesting take on Mordecai leaving the Lackadaisy crew. Canon-typical violence.
Master Li and Number Ten Ox
Best Served Hot (5806 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Number Ten Ox and Master Li
Summary: I thought, when the girl barged in nearly begging us to ruin her wedding, that we were in for a lighthearted romp, something I could tell to delight the children back home. With Master Li, though, nothing is ever quite that simple.
Really good case fic. Watch out for some canon-typical body horror and violence, although it was mild enough that even I didn't have any trouble with the horror - while still being really effective. A good trick to pull off.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
A Pain in My SIDEKICK (2655 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Wonderella and Queen Beetle.
Summary: Queen Beetle is going to get a sidekick whether she wants one or not.
Written for meeeee. Wonderella decides that Queen Beetle needs a sidekick, and the search goes about as well as you'd expect.
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (and Chinese Mythology)
Songs for the Jingwei Bird (5170 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, Jingwei Bird/Ocean
Summary: The little bird flew slowly but surely across the water, the twigs in her beak cutting through tendrils of fog.
I'm not familiar with the canon, but my impression is that this is largely an original work anyway. And it's awesome! Great use of the story-within-a-story.
The Thick of It
Rise of the Nerds (1474 words) by Anonymous
Gen (with lots of swearing), Phil Smith, Emma Messinger, and Peter Mannion
Summary: In which Phil relates to the world in references, and someone’s going to lose their ability to deal with it one of these days. Emma doesn’t understand half the shit that comes out of Phil's mouth most of the time and she’d really appreciate it if he’d did his pop culture wanking in his own time and not in the office. Peter would just rather be somewhere else entirely.
I think the summary says it all? I was pretty fond of Peter, Phil and Emma in the last two seasons, and the author captures them really well.
And that's it! Back after reveals with my fics. Have a great New Year's, guys!
This entry was originally posted at http://neveralarch.dreamwidth.org/54343.html. Comment wherever you want.
I figured I'd do quick recs, so here are 17 fics in 15 fandoms
Black Books
The Land Beyond The Shelves (4291 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Bernard Black, Manny Bianco, Fran Katzenjammer
Summary: Bernard has many rules that he lives by, but unfortunately for the sake of his quiet Sunday afternoon, 'don't follow fairies into magical lands' isn't one of them.
Bernard is led into the magical land of the Bookshop by the green fairy of absinthe, and he has to save the Bookshop from the Amazons. So much fun, so great.
Brick
moonlight (1115 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, The Brain/Brendan
Summary: Six years after the events of Brick. Brendan is still shaking things up, with the help of Brain, who wants to do more than just op from afar.
This wasn't a pairing I necessarily expected, coming out of the movie, but the author really sold it with the noir tone and some great phrases.
By the Sword
Nonstarter (536 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Danny Gallagher and Alexander Villard
Summary: Danny Gallagher knows what it's like to fall from grace.
Written for meeeee. This is the only Madness fic I've managed to read so far, but it's really great and definitely captures the melodramatic feel of the movie.
DC Comics
Never Having to Say (1095 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Secret Six - Floyd Lawton and Thomas Blake
Summary: Friendship means never having to say a lot of things. Post-series, non-new52, so current DCU canon is disregarded.
Just really fun - a series of phone conversations between Deadshot (Lawton) and Catman (Blake).
Rub-a-Dub Dub (A Bunch of Capes in the Tub) (1156 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Bruce Wayne (Batman) plus cast from Justice League Unlimited cartoon
Summary: “Holy cats!” Oliver said, dropping the sponge. There was still conditioner in his beard.
“I think you mean, holy bats,” Bruce intoned.
A bunch of times Batman ambushed people in the shower, and a time or two someone ambushed him.
I'm not familiar with the cartoon, but I guess Batman interrupts people's showers a lot? It's a concept I can get behind, anyway. My favorite part was the many iterations of Amanda Waller.
Discworld
Going It Alone (1983 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, Esmerelda "Granny" Weatherwax, Mustrum Ridcully, Gytha "Nanny" Ogg
Summary: Some walked the path to a witch's door with fearful desperation; some walked it with false bravado, and some with foolish daydreams. Esme walked it with a tent, and set it up on the lawn.
Granny-centric fic, scenes from her youth. It's great and very in-character, with a lot of ties to canon. Some awesome moments - I especially liked the scenes with young Ridcully.
Gallifrey
Operation: Get Leela Back (1979 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Romana II, Narvin, Leela, Sixth Doctor
Summary: It didn’t take Romana long to realise that an eternity with only Narvin and a bunch of psychopaths for company wasn’t going to be bearable for long. (Set after the end of Gallifrey series 4).
Really funny hijinks-style coda to series 4. If you're familiar with Gallifrey at all, you should definitely read.
Hark! A Vagrant
Shipmates (3948 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Pirate/Nemesis
Summary: "A pair of immoveable combatants, locked in an eternal struggle.” He puffed his pipe. “That’s what one o’ them newspapers called us,” he added, complacently.
If you, like me, have kind of a thing for nemeses pairings, you should really check this out. It's really well written, hilarious, and it even has a happy ending.
Hobbes and Bacon
Attack Chickens, Children, and Other Hazards of Suburban Life (1361 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Susie/Calvin, Hobbes, Calvin's Mother, Calvin's Father, Bacon
Summary: “I'd hate to have a kid like me.” - Calvin, The Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes
If you're not familiar with Hobbes and Bacon, it's a fanstrip of Calvin and Hobbes where Calvin's grown up and had a kid with Susie Derkins. They name her Bacon. It's awesome (here's the first strip). And this fic is really great, somehow managing to keep Calvin in character while making him a reasonable approximation of an adult (which is probably the most his parents were hoping for).
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
John Childermass's Last Employer (12574 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, implied John Childermass/Gilbert Norrell.
Summary: To the city of York, in the year of our Lord 1780, there came a young man who had fallen upon hard times.
Probably my favorite fic this Yuletide (which wasn't written for me). It's a brilliant look into Childermass' backstory and how he came to be in Norrell's service. The prose is gorgeous and understated, just like the canon.
Journey to the West
Jingu All The Way (2319 words) by Anonymous
Gen, Sun Wukong (Monkey)
Summary: The Monkey King meets a Demon from over the Eastern Sea.
Pretty much the best way to mix mythologies ever. Great canon voice in conjunction with hilarious crack.
Lackadaisy
Relatively Unreasonable (2162 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Dom Drago/Zib, Mordecai Heller, Viktor Vasko, Ivy Pepper
Summary: “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” says Dom, sliding into the booth across from him. This is a joke; Zib’s never laid eyes on him outside the big house. It occurs to him that maybe the reverse isn’t true - alto sax is the sort of girl that demands attention, and Lackadaisy’s bright for a cellar but dim for a dance hall. You don’t see much from the stage.
This is basically Dom/Zib UST plus a bunch of awesome ensemble moments. I think that's most of what I want from Lackadaisy fic.
Retirement Benefits (2355 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Mordecai Heller, Viktor Vasko, Mitzi May
Summary: With Atlas dead, Lackadaisy seems marked for a swift demise. Mordecai isn't keen on following it, and hopes Viktor will share his common sense. Doubtful.
Less light and fun, but a really interesting take on Mordecai leaving the Lackadaisy crew. Canon-typical violence.
Master Li and Number Ten Ox
Best Served Hot (5806 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Number Ten Ox and Master Li
Summary: I thought, when the girl barged in nearly begging us to ruin her wedding, that we were in for a lighthearted romp, something I could tell to delight the children back home. With Master Li, though, nothing is ever quite that simple.
Really good case fic. Watch out for some canon-typical body horror and violence, although it was mild enough that even I didn't have any trouble with the horror - while still being really effective. A good trick to pull off.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
A Pain in My SIDEKICK (2655 words) by Anonymous
Teen, Wonderella and Queen Beetle.
Summary: Queen Beetle is going to get a sidekick whether she wants one or not.
Written for meeeee. Wonderella decides that Queen Beetle needs a sidekick, and the search goes about as well as you'd expect.
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (and Chinese Mythology)
Songs for the Jingwei Bird (5170 words) by Anonymous
Gen/pg, Jingwei Bird/Ocean
Summary: The little bird flew slowly but surely across the water, the twigs in her beak cutting through tendrils of fog.
I'm not familiar with the canon, but my impression is that this is largely an original work anyway. And it's awesome! Great use of the story-within-a-story.
The Thick of It
Rise of the Nerds (1474 words) by Anonymous
Gen (with lots of swearing), Phil Smith, Emma Messinger, and Peter Mannion
Summary: In which Phil relates to the world in references, and someone’s going to lose their ability to deal with it one of these days. Emma doesn’t understand half the shit that comes out of Phil's mouth most of the time and she’d really appreciate it if he’d did his pop culture wanking in his own time and not in the office. Peter would just rather be somewhere else entirely.
I think the summary says it all? I was pretty fond of Peter, Phil and Emma in the last two seasons, and the author captures them really well.
And that's it! Back after reveals with my fics. Have a great New Year's, guys!
This entry was originally posted at http://neveralarch.dreamwidth.org/54343.html. Comment wherever you want.