Yuletide haul the first
So Christmas this year was, for the most part, pretty damn good. I still have to get gifts from my father's side of the family, but so far I have Battlestar Galactica 2.0 and 2.5 on DVD (finally), Lost in a Good Book and The Well of Lost Plots from the Thursday Next series (which I need to make a proper rec post about, because it is gleefully unpretentious metafiction), my very own Scrabble set, assorted clothes-type things, and money. And Mother paid for my Katsucon badge, too, which is awesome. Chicago is also good. Cold as fuck, but good.
I have a pretty good fannish haul, too.
From Yuletide, I lucked out and got THREE stories, all of which are wonderful:
My primary story: The Waters are Rising, (A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman, Holmes and Watson, G). A Study and Emerald is the kind of ungodly fusion of Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft that only Neil Gaiman could conceive of and execute, and I always wanted to know more about how Holmes and Watson got started in this universe. This fic delivers. I'm especially fond of how deliberate and methodical Holmes's voice is here; it's very true to him.
And the treats, both for the same prompt: Jedem gibt er das Seine (Elisabeth, Death and Rudolf, R), which is a gorgeous piece about Rudolf's isolation and dependence on Death, how Death drives him towards the Mayerling Incident, and the aftermath of that. I don't want to give away the end, but suffice to say that it's fabulous. The fic is taut and gripping and intense, and this writer has a wonderfully sharp and manipulative take on Death.
Circulation (Elisabeth, Death/Rudolf, R), which deals with how Rudolf's sexual obsession with Death manifests. When he's fourteen. And imagining what Death's touch feels like. And there is detached sensation and dissociation and CHOKING FETISH and basically this story is all of my kinks wrapped up with a big red bow on top. A big red bow of OH MY GOD THE LAST LINE IS AWESOME.
(I'll do a proper Yuletide rec post later, when I've read more fic, but there are several absolutely brilliant things up already. I will be interested to see if people can guess which fic is mine. In some ways, it's rather obvious if you know me and my driving obsessions.)
Also, I got this fantastic Russia/China art for The Wind, the Sun and the Eagle, and I cannot emphasize enough how absofuckinglutely gorgeous this is and how the colors are perfect and the body language is even more perfect and how I am utterly transfixed by Russia's HANDS oh lord. I love Hetalia fandom so friggin' much.
I should have a fic ready to post by tonight -- a Christmas present for someone who's made this year immeasurably better, and means more to me than I can possibly say. *grin* After that, I have a few more present-type things to take care of, and I will probably get back to posting proper fic when the new year starts and people come back from vacation.
I have a pretty good fannish haul, too.
From Yuletide, I lucked out and got THREE stories, all of which are wonderful:
My primary story: The Waters are Rising, (A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman, Holmes and Watson, G). A Study and Emerald is the kind of ungodly fusion of Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft that only Neil Gaiman could conceive of and execute, and I always wanted to know more about how Holmes and Watson got started in this universe. This fic delivers. I'm especially fond of how deliberate and methodical Holmes's voice is here; it's very true to him.
And the treats, both for the same prompt: Jedem gibt er das Seine (Elisabeth, Death and Rudolf, R), which is a gorgeous piece about Rudolf's isolation and dependence on Death, how Death drives him towards the Mayerling Incident, and the aftermath of that. I don't want to give away the end, but suffice to say that it's fabulous. The fic is taut and gripping and intense, and this writer has a wonderfully sharp and manipulative take on Death.
Circulation (Elisabeth, Death/Rudolf, R), which deals with how Rudolf's sexual obsession with Death manifests. When he's fourteen. And imagining what Death's touch feels like. And there is detached sensation and dissociation and CHOKING FETISH and basically this story is all of my kinks wrapped up with a big red bow on top. A big red bow of OH MY GOD THE LAST LINE IS AWESOME.
(I'll do a proper Yuletide rec post later, when I've read more fic, but there are several absolutely brilliant things up already. I will be interested to see if people can guess which fic is mine. In some ways, it's rather obvious if you know me and my driving obsessions.)
Also, I got this fantastic Russia/China art for The Wind, the Sun and the Eagle, and I cannot emphasize enough how absofuckinglutely gorgeous this is and how the colors are perfect and the body language is even more perfect and how I am utterly transfixed by Russia's HANDS oh lord. I love Hetalia fandom so friggin' much.
I should have a fic ready to post by tonight -- a Christmas present for someone who's made this year immeasurably better, and means more to me than I can possibly say. *grin* After that, I have a few more present-type things to take care of, and I will probably get back to posting proper fic when the new year starts and people come back from vacation.