Yuletide recs!
22 Yuletide Recs, various fandoms
The Social Network RPS
Chance Encounter - pre-Jesse/Andrew - HS fic snippet of my heart! I wanted like a million more words of Andrew helping Jesse and taking him out to lunch and falling in love with him. Treat for me! :) [PG, 871 words, no warnings]
There's a guy balled up and shaking, sitting upstairs in the Fine Arts building on the floor. He's got his arms wrapped around his middle, and he's curled in tight, like he's trying to keep from revealing too much of himself to the world, and for a moment, Andrew feels like he's looking in on something he shouldn't be seeing, like he's a pervert peeking in a girl's bedroom window.
New Girl
like strings and cans through halls - pre-Nick/Jess - Basically a super loldorable scene from the show. All of the roommates are there, and Schmidt is hilarious. The Jess/Nick stuff is precious and just *hearts in eyes*. My Yuletide gift. Wee!
Here’s the thing. Jess is not an idiot. Jess is actually pretty far from being an idiot. It’s clear to her that yeah, it’s possible that Nick has had some not-so-platonic feelings for her for quite some time. Because it’s not just his feet pointing at her. It’s how he disliked Paul so much more than the other guys did, and how their eyes meet sometimes. And the whole naked thing, and the way he smiles at her, and how he says her name, like a man from Chicago.
The Arts and Crafts of Moving On - pre-Nick/Jess - Jess moves on from Spencer with the help of some arts and crafts and her friends. [Teen, 4570 words, no warnings]
“Crafting break?” Jess asks her four walls. When they don't bother to answer her, she tugs open her desk drawer and gives her Magic 8 Ball a vigorous two-handed shake. All signs point to yes, it tells her, and Jess throws her arms up with a victorious cry. She texts Cece in all caps with enough exclamation points to get the message across and starts making a list.
The Sun's In My Heart - gen - Jess's friends help her deal with the sudden death of her grandmother. Very touching. [PG, 3850 words, warnings: off screen OC death]
“Jess,” Nick said, and his eyes were warm and compassionate and that really couldn't be a good thing. “Your Mom said your grandmother died last night.”
Last Friday Night - Katy Perry Video
Sometimes I Don't Hate You Anymore - Kathy Beth Terry/Steve Johnson, Aaron Christopherson/OMC/OFC - Kathy Beth Terry knows exactly who she is. A nice look into the minds of the three main characters of the video: Kathy Beth, Rebecca and Aaron. [Teen, 2370 words, no warnings]
Kathy Beth Terry knows a lot of stuff. She knows about the solar system and how to make a model of a volcano using vinegar and baking soda. She knows about the states of matter and how there aren't just three, but four, even though most people forget about plasma (she feels really bad for plasma; does plasma get sad?). She even knows about raising chickens, and is reading a book about mice. Mice are awesome.
Tangled
Christmas Rose - Eugene/Rapunzel - Eugene and Rapunzel's life post-movie. [PG, 3250 words, no warnings]
At any given moment Eugene was absolutely certain of two things. The first thing he was sure of was that he loved Rapunzel with all his heart. The second thing he was sure of was that the first thing was definitely going to be the death of him one day.
You Belong With Me - University of Rochester Yellowjackets (Music Video)
A Real Florence Nightingale - Glasses Guy/Jock Guy - This is a college story, where Glasses Guy is sick and Jock Guy is visiting. Whatever, it's adorable. [PG, 1300 words, no warnings]
"An hour." Devon glances over at his alarm clock, almost hidden under the mound of used tissues, which is really gross, now that he thinks about it. He's going to have to bleach his entire room, and he has like 45 minutes to do it. "I will definitely be ready in an hour and waiting at the station."
And so the vampire fell in love with Frankenstein - Glasses Guy/Jock Guy - This is the story of the video, with a bit of a surprise twist at the end. Basically, it's adorable high school boys in love. That is really all that you need to know. [PG, 3900 words, no warnings
Devon doesn't really know why he does it -- just his weird, socially awkward, spur-of-the-moment way of introducing himself, he supposes -- but he writes DEVON'S ROOM on a piece of paper and tapes it to his window, writing facing the house next door. After a minute, the guy -- Ed, Devon reminds himself -- glances out the window and catches sight of Devon's sign. He looks straight at Devon and smiles broadly. A colony of tiny acrobats sets up camp in Devon's stomach. Then Ed rummages through one of the boxes, retrieves a pen and paper, and a minute later holds up a sign of his own: NICE TO MEET YOU!
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
the heart will not retreat - Hannah/Jacob - The morning after their not-so-scandalous first night together, Hannah thinks things over. [Teen, 1350 words, no warnings]
Fuck. It really isn't fair. Just like her, really, to go and fall for the random guy from the bar she had just wanted to bang. Fuck. Screw. Whatever. Wasn't that why she hadn't gone home with him in the first place, because she knew he would break her heart? But he had been so kind, so vulnerable and ridiculous and-Stop it.
This Post-Postmodern Age Is All Business - Hannah/Jacob - Post-movie, Hannah is trying to juggle being a junior associate at a law firm and her relationship with Jacob. [Teen, 8080 words, no warnings]
If anything, it should be easier: most days she only sets foot in two buildings, her new law firm and her apartment block. Court is a bit of a pipe dream at this point; she's pretty sure she saw the inside of a court room more often when she was shadowing a third-year associate as part of her internship last summer. Now she's starting to wonder if it even exists, or if it's just some sort of sustained hallucination due to all the caffeine she's ingested on the reg for the past five weeks.
Easy A
The Company You Keep - Brandon/Josh - How Brandon and Josh meet, and the events that lead up to Brandon dropping out of school and running away. Really, this is the only story I've read that's sufficiently justified this to me as a happy ending. [Teen, 3150 words, warnings: homophobia]
All he’d really wanted was for the guys to lay off the gay-bashing, and it had worked better than he hoped. What he didn’t expect was for them to start including him in their straight guy rituals. He didn’t expect invitations to hang out, to be included in conversations in the halls and the locker room about sports and girls and a bunch of other subjects he didn’t actually know anything about.
The Magic School Bus/Mary Poppins
As I Always Say - gen - Ms. Frizzle and Mary Poppins, Time Ladies. Now that I've said it, it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The focus is on Ms. Frizzle and her life, her teaching, and her love for her children. [PG, 1720 words, no warnings]
Ms. Frizzle smiles and shrugs. It was, but no rougher than the other places (October, 1962, under the desk exercises every week; the 1940s and an institution for the blind, hardly any parents visiting-neither, of course, is on this particular résumé). “I was looking for a change,” is all she says. When she crosses her legs, Euclid’s proof works itself out on the folds of fabric above her knee. Mr. Ruhle doesn’t notice.
Whitney
The Great Gift Giving Incident of 2011 - Whitney/Alex - Alex dares to question Whitney's ability to buy good Christmas gifts. A bet ensues. [Teen, 4570 words, no warnings]
“Don’t worry. It’s taken care of. You can continue to live in your happy bubble of the-holidays-were-created-to-cause-me-pain,” Alex replied.
“You make me sound like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas and all Happiness from Those Whom She Loved.”
Against The Wall
Life Lessons: Ambition vs Family - gen - The story of Abby, set pre-series. [PG, 3000 words, no warnings]
She twirled into the main area of her loft, lost in the music until she heard someone clearing his throat. She stopped mid-spin, almost falling to the floor, and looked up to see her brother, leaning against her kitchen island with a cup of a coffee and a smirk on his face. She immediately felt like the dorky little kid again who tried to keep up with her cool older brothers, but never could, and she attempted to hide the hairbrush behind her back. Stupid brothers, she thought to herself, when he chuckled at her.
"Hey there, Billy Joel. If I knew I was getting serenaded, I would’ve had my lighter ready."
Octopus Steals My Video Camera and Swims off with It While It's Recording (Youtube)
Texts from Cephalopods - gen - It's the texting octopus dudebro texting his beleaguered friend, the squid. It's just silly and cute, with videos linked in the story. [PG, 1600 words, no warnings]
Octopus: squiiiiiiiid
Squid: What is it?
Octopus: i got htis guys camera lol
Squid: You got what?
Octopus: lemme send you a pic
Clueless
Unreasonable Degrees of Happiness - Cher/Josh - It's Cher and Josh, making their relationship work. [PG, 3600 words, no warnings]
“Josh,” she hisses, while he’s giving a chin-up hello to someone he said was called ‘Chet’. “Where’s the party?”
He looks confused. “We’re here. This is the party.”
Breakfast Club
Turn a New Page, Tear the Old One Out - John Bender/Brian Johnson - Bender makes the decision not to be like his father. He joins the Army and pulls himself together. An amazing story. One of my favorite things about Yuletide is that we're almost guaranteed one excellent Breakfast Club fic. Love it. [Explicit, 8060 words, warnings: terrible parenting]
John spent most of last night examining his options, which were sparse. Prison would just be playing into everyone's expectations. He could try to pick up some work in Chicago, but the city was so close to Shermer that it didn't feel like an escape, wasn't a big enough fuck you to everyone in this town.
The Avengers
Dazed and Confused - Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Steve and Tony sleep together and Steve finds himself...distracted. (Full disclosure: I know nothing about The Avengers, but I DO love about Robert Downey, Jr., so there you go.) [Mature, 4160 words, no warnings]
Nude looks good on him, Steve thinks distantly, with the tiny portion of his mind that isn't occupied going hrnnng. His dick aches a little just from looking, heavy against the body-warmed sheets.
Bridesmaids
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better - pre-Annie/Helen, Annie/Nathan - Annie starts realizing some things about herself, with some help from Megan and Lil. There is no cheating in this story, which I was afraid of at first, since it squicks me out. It is properly complicated and Annie ends the story just sort of moving in the right direction. [Teen, 4370 words, no warnings]
When Annie comes home from work one evening, Helen’s standing in the front room fully dressed, putting on a pair of diamond drop earrings. Knee length black dress with a conservative neckline and a somewhat scandalous dropped back. She looks elegant but still sexy. Annie never looks that good in clothes. Helen turns to the side to face her and she just stares for a second before speaking. “You look… nice.”
Sports Night
The Team Player - Kim/Calvin Trager, Dana/Dan/Casey - The pairings are secondary. This is a gen story about how Kim saved Sports Night by being a total HBIC. [Teen, 3570 words, no warnings]
She opened her desk drawer and pulled out her palm pilot. It had never had enough memory space for all of her contacts, but it would make a good start on giving Mr. Trager a week he would never forget.
Love Actually
At The Still Point (Of The Turning World). - Juliet/Peter/Mark - Head canon! This story made me rewatch the movie - an excellent life decision. I just want Mark to be happy, and he loves them both, ok? [Mature, 1630 words, no warnings]
The problem with Mark has always been that he's determined to be a martyr. This was clear when they were five years old and Mark said, "okay, take my toys, go ahead, fine, it's not like I like them or anything", and then sulked for half an hour until Peter finally grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back to the sandbox.
99 Red Balloons (Song)
Falling In Love on Free Day - OFC/OFC - An interesting take on that classic son, about two high school girls falling in love before the world ends. [Teen, 2300 words, warnings: war]
Twitter: polyfandomrecs
The Social Network RPS
Chance Encounter - pre-Jesse/Andrew - HS fic snippet of my heart! I wanted like a million more words of Andrew helping Jesse and taking him out to lunch and falling in love with him. Treat for me! :) [PG, 871 words, no warnings]
There's a guy balled up and shaking, sitting upstairs in the Fine Arts building on the floor. He's got his arms wrapped around his middle, and he's curled in tight, like he's trying to keep from revealing too much of himself to the world, and for a moment, Andrew feels like he's looking in on something he shouldn't be seeing, like he's a pervert peeking in a girl's bedroom window.
New Girl
like strings and cans through halls - pre-Nick/Jess - Basically a super loldorable scene from the show. All of the roommates are there, and Schmidt is hilarious. The Jess/Nick stuff is precious and just *hearts in eyes*. My Yuletide gift. Wee!
Here’s the thing. Jess is not an idiot. Jess is actually pretty far from being an idiot. It’s clear to her that yeah, it’s possible that Nick has had some not-so-platonic feelings for her for quite some time. Because it’s not just his feet pointing at her. It’s how he disliked Paul so much more than the other guys did, and how their eyes meet sometimes. And the whole naked thing, and the way he smiles at her, and how he says her name, like a man from Chicago.
The Arts and Crafts of Moving On - pre-Nick/Jess - Jess moves on from Spencer with the help of some arts and crafts and her friends. [Teen, 4570 words, no warnings]
“Crafting break?” Jess asks her four walls. When they don't bother to answer her, she tugs open her desk drawer and gives her Magic 8 Ball a vigorous two-handed shake. All signs point to yes, it tells her, and Jess throws her arms up with a victorious cry. She texts Cece in all caps with enough exclamation points to get the message across and starts making a list.
The Sun's In My Heart - gen - Jess's friends help her deal with the sudden death of her grandmother. Very touching. [PG, 3850 words, warnings: off screen OC death]
“Jess,” Nick said, and his eyes were warm and compassionate and that really couldn't be a good thing. “Your Mom said your grandmother died last night.”
Last Friday Night - Katy Perry Video
Sometimes I Don't Hate You Anymore - Kathy Beth Terry/Steve Johnson, Aaron Christopherson/OMC/OFC - Kathy Beth Terry knows exactly who she is. A nice look into the minds of the three main characters of the video: Kathy Beth, Rebecca and Aaron. [Teen, 2370 words, no warnings]
Kathy Beth Terry knows a lot of stuff. She knows about the solar system and how to make a model of a volcano using vinegar and baking soda. She knows about the states of matter and how there aren't just three, but four, even though most people forget about plasma (she feels really bad for plasma; does plasma get sad?). She even knows about raising chickens, and is reading a book about mice. Mice are awesome.
Tangled
Christmas Rose - Eugene/Rapunzel - Eugene and Rapunzel's life post-movie. [PG, 3250 words, no warnings]
At any given moment Eugene was absolutely certain of two things. The first thing he was sure of was that he loved Rapunzel with all his heart. The second thing he was sure of was that the first thing was definitely going to be the death of him one day.
You Belong With Me - University of Rochester Yellowjackets (Music Video)
A Real Florence Nightingale - Glasses Guy/Jock Guy - This is a college story, where Glasses Guy is sick and Jock Guy is visiting. Whatever, it's adorable. [PG, 1300 words, no warnings]
"An hour." Devon glances over at his alarm clock, almost hidden under the mound of used tissues, which is really gross, now that he thinks about it. He's going to have to bleach his entire room, and he has like 45 minutes to do it. "I will definitely be ready in an hour and waiting at the station."
And so the vampire fell in love with Frankenstein - Glasses Guy/Jock Guy - This is the story of the video, with a bit of a surprise twist at the end. Basically, it's adorable high school boys in love. That is really all that you need to know. [PG, 3900 words, no warnings
Devon doesn't really know why he does it -- just his weird, socially awkward, spur-of-the-moment way of introducing himself, he supposes -- but he writes DEVON'S ROOM on a piece of paper and tapes it to his window, writing facing the house next door. After a minute, the guy -- Ed, Devon reminds himself -- glances out the window and catches sight of Devon's sign. He looks straight at Devon and smiles broadly. A colony of tiny acrobats sets up camp in Devon's stomach. Then Ed rummages through one of the boxes, retrieves a pen and paper, and a minute later holds up a sign of his own: NICE TO MEET YOU!
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
the heart will not retreat - Hannah/Jacob - The morning after their not-so-scandalous first night together, Hannah thinks things over. [Teen, 1350 words, no warnings]
Fuck. It really isn't fair. Just like her, really, to go and fall for the random guy from the bar she had just wanted to bang. Fuck. Screw. Whatever. Wasn't that why she hadn't gone home with him in the first place, because she knew he would break her heart? But he had been so kind, so vulnerable and ridiculous and-Stop it.
This Post-Postmodern Age Is All Business - Hannah/Jacob - Post-movie, Hannah is trying to juggle being a junior associate at a law firm and her relationship with Jacob. [Teen, 8080 words, no warnings]
If anything, it should be easier: most days she only sets foot in two buildings, her new law firm and her apartment block. Court is a bit of a pipe dream at this point; she's pretty sure she saw the inside of a court room more often when she was shadowing a third-year associate as part of her internship last summer. Now she's starting to wonder if it even exists, or if it's just some sort of sustained hallucination due to all the caffeine she's ingested on the reg for the past five weeks.
Easy A
The Company You Keep - Brandon/Josh - How Brandon and Josh meet, and the events that lead up to Brandon dropping out of school and running away. Really, this is the only story I've read that's sufficiently justified this to me as a happy ending. [Teen, 3150 words, warnings: homophobia]
All he’d really wanted was for the guys to lay off the gay-bashing, and it had worked better than he hoped. What he didn’t expect was for them to start including him in their straight guy rituals. He didn’t expect invitations to hang out, to be included in conversations in the halls and the locker room about sports and girls and a bunch of other subjects he didn’t actually know anything about.
The Magic School Bus/Mary Poppins
As I Always Say - gen - Ms. Frizzle and Mary Poppins, Time Ladies. Now that I've said it, it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The focus is on Ms. Frizzle and her life, her teaching, and her love for her children. [PG, 1720 words, no warnings]
Ms. Frizzle smiles and shrugs. It was, but no rougher than the other places (October, 1962, under the desk exercises every week; the 1940s and an institution for the blind, hardly any parents visiting-neither, of course, is on this particular résumé). “I was looking for a change,” is all she says. When she crosses her legs, Euclid’s proof works itself out on the folds of fabric above her knee. Mr. Ruhle doesn’t notice.
Whitney
The Great Gift Giving Incident of 2011 - Whitney/Alex - Alex dares to question Whitney's ability to buy good Christmas gifts. A bet ensues. [Teen, 4570 words, no warnings]
“Don’t worry. It’s taken care of. You can continue to live in your happy bubble of the-holidays-were-created-to-cause-me-pain,” Alex replied.
“You make me sound like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas and all Happiness from Those Whom She Loved.”
Against The Wall
Life Lessons: Ambition vs Family - gen - The story of Abby, set pre-series. [PG, 3000 words, no warnings]
She twirled into the main area of her loft, lost in the music until she heard someone clearing his throat. She stopped mid-spin, almost falling to the floor, and looked up to see her brother, leaning against her kitchen island with a cup of a coffee and a smirk on his face. She immediately felt like the dorky little kid again who tried to keep up with her cool older brothers, but never could, and she attempted to hide the hairbrush behind her back. Stupid brothers, she thought to herself, when he chuckled at her.
"Hey there, Billy Joel. If I knew I was getting serenaded, I would’ve had my lighter ready."
Octopus Steals My Video Camera and Swims off with It While It's Recording (Youtube)
Texts from Cephalopods - gen - It's the texting octopus dudebro texting his beleaguered friend, the squid. It's just silly and cute, with videos linked in the story. [PG, 1600 words, no warnings]
Octopus: squiiiiiiiid
Squid: What is it?
Octopus: i got htis guys camera lol
Squid: You got what?
Octopus: lemme send you a pic
Clueless
Unreasonable Degrees of Happiness - Cher/Josh - It's Cher and Josh, making their relationship work. [PG, 3600 words, no warnings]
“Josh,” she hisses, while he’s giving a chin-up hello to someone he said was called ‘Chet’. “Where’s the party?”
He looks confused. “We’re here. This is the party.”
Breakfast Club
Turn a New Page, Tear the Old One Out - John Bender/Brian Johnson - Bender makes the decision not to be like his father. He joins the Army and pulls himself together. An amazing story. One of my favorite things about Yuletide is that we're almost guaranteed one excellent Breakfast Club fic. Love it. [Explicit, 8060 words, warnings: terrible parenting]
John spent most of last night examining his options, which were sparse. Prison would just be playing into everyone's expectations. He could try to pick up some work in Chicago, but the city was so close to Shermer that it didn't feel like an escape, wasn't a big enough fuck you to everyone in this town.
The Avengers
Dazed and Confused - Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Steve and Tony sleep together and Steve finds himself...distracted. (Full disclosure: I know nothing about The Avengers, but I DO love about Robert Downey, Jr., so there you go.) [Mature, 4160 words, no warnings]
Nude looks good on him, Steve thinks distantly, with the tiny portion of his mind that isn't occupied going hrnnng. His dick aches a little just from looking, heavy against the body-warmed sheets.
Bridesmaids
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better - pre-Annie/Helen, Annie/Nathan - Annie starts realizing some things about herself, with some help from Megan and Lil. There is no cheating in this story, which I was afraid of at first, since it squicks me out. It is properly complicated and Annie ends the story just sort of moving in the right direction. [Teen, 4370 words, no warnings]
When Annie comes home from work one evening, Helen’s standing in the front room fully dressed, putting on a pair of diamond drop earrings. Knee length black dress with a conservative neckline and a somewhat scandalous dropped back. She looks elegant but still sexy. Annie never looks that good in clothes. Helen turns to the side to face her and she just stares for a second before speaking. “You look… nice.”
Sports Night
The Team Player - Kim/Calvin Trager, Dana/Dan/Casey - The pairings are secondary. This is a gen story about how Kim saved Sports Night by being a total HBIC. [Teen, 3570 words, no warnings]
She opened her desk drawer and pulled out her palm pilot. It had never had enough memory space for all of her contacts, but it would make a good start on giving Mr. Trager a week he would never forget.
Love Actually
At The Still Point (Of The Turning World). - Juliet/Peter/Mark - Head canon! This story made me rewatch the movie - an excellent life decision. I just want Mark to be happy, and he loves them both, ok? [Mature, 1630 words, no warnings]
The problem with Mark has always been that he's determined to be a martyr. This was clear when they were five years old and Mark said, "okay, take my toys, go ahead, fine, it's not like I like them or anything", and then sulked for half an hour until Peter finally grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back to the sandbox.
99 Red Balloons (Song)
Falling In Love on Free Day - OFC/OFC - An interesting take on that classic son, about two high school girls falling in love before the world ends. [Teen, 2300 words, warnings: war]
Twitter: polyfandomrecs