Last Minute Yuletide Recs
The problem is, this year - like every year, really - I read Yuletide fics that I find interesting via recs before exploring the archive on my own (for most stories). As it currently stands, I still have about 50 open tabs of recced fics I want to read, and that's only the first phase of reading! Obviously, this rec list is by no means all encompassing. But I did want to post whatever I could before the author reveal, just for the record.
1776:
The Talk of Southern Gentlemen - I've never seen 1776, so for me this was just a fic about some of the Founding Fathers of the US, you know, drinking in a tavern, but I thought it was charming - warm and funny, with language that sounds just like I imagine them.
"What?" Dickinson laughed. "When did you meet the famous Mrs. Adams?"
"Dear John, the roads to Boston are open to all -- you shouldn't let Adams think that living in Boston is a great privilege God did not bestow on the rest of us."
Bible - Old Testament:
Not Shoot an Arrow There - Oh my god, wow, I love this SO much. In the aftermath of one of the Old Testaments many cases of divine destruction, Gabriel shows a little doubt, told from the POV of one of the other angels. Gorgeous, gorgeous, hitting so many buttons of mine. Showing that the side opposite mankind also has feelings. ♥
Big (the movie):
wring the water from wine - Yes, the movie where Tom Hanks played a boy who got turned into an adult. At the end of the movie, Josh turns back into a boy; this is a fic about what happened then. It really resonated with me, and it's excellently written.
Blue Beetle:
Meet the Parents - Jamie/Tim. From the summary: "Superhero or not, Jaime's boyfriend has to meet the parents." THE ONLY WAY I CAN COMMENT ON THIS FIC IS THROUGH CAPSLOCKS. Okay, no, I'll restrain myself; but really, Tim visiting the Reyes family is something I've been practically fantasizing about forever, so much that I actually requested it for Yuletide, and even though this fic wasn't written for me, it sure felt like it. And this is so much better than how I imagined, and by god Tim needs some Reyes normalcy and it was such a delight to see him in that environment, and seeing Jamie in between, and... I want more of this series, now.
"Yeah." Jaime threw Tim a self-conscious grin. "Look at it this way...at least they didn't insist on meeting your parents. I mean, can you imagine? Batman in El Paso?"
"It's cute that you think he isn't here," Tim said cryptically.
Sundae Blues - another BB fic, this time from Milagro's POV, and it is just adorable. She and Brenda and Paco save the day, and Jamie is such a dork. ♥ ♥ ♥
Generation Kill:
The Temptation of the LT - Brad/Nate, NC-17, excellent voices, hot, long, funny, and OMG, Ray.
On How Sergeant Colbert is Nothing At All Like Winnie the Pooh, and Other Important Lessons That Can Be Learned While Observing the Sergeant Laying under a Jeep - SUCH AN AWESOME RAY VOICE I CANNOT EVEN. So funny, and RAY, and BRAD, and all the other characters - I loved it.
Brad once described these little episodes as a tactical retreat in order to preserve his sanity. Ray is completely in favor of Brad preserving what remains of his fragile grasp on sanity, but he's not feeling all that charitable right now. This is no tactical retreat. That fucker is hiding.
Ray hates it when Brad does this shit. Everyone freaks the fuck out. It's like being stuck in some 1950s melodrama where mommy has retreated to the bedroom with a valium and a bottle of vodka, and Ray is stuck reassuring all the little brats that it's okay. Mommy is just resting.
Psych:
Gus Goes for the Gold Star - Gus/Shawn. I've only ever watched one or two episodes of this show, but this is an incredibly charming meta fic, about Gus participating in yuletide, that made me kind of fall in love with both of the characters. It's funny, and geeky, and well written, and fun.
"Shawn? Who's Shawn?" Shawn says, voice rising into a falsetto. "Perhaps you mean: AerynsGirl44?"
"You did NOT," Gus says. "You absolutely did not."
"I absolutely did not what?" Shawn hops up to perch on the edge of Gus' desk. Which he can easily do, because Gus actually keeps his desk neat instead of buried in takeout menus, action figures and unidentified things made in China that he won at the skee-ball arcade. "Spend the last seven years building up a complex and convincing alternate identity as a forty-three-year-old insurance adjuster and internet fangirl from Schenectady, all in order to write you a really awesome Ladyhawke story? ... No, I didn't," Shawn admits, grinning. "But wouldn't it be awesome if I did?"
The Queen and the Soldier:
Cruel Hope and Gray Despair. If you don't know the source, this one's easy to make up: it's a Suzanne Vega song, which you can hear here and read the lyrics to here. It's one of my favorite of her songs, haunting lyrics and a tragic narrative, and the story takes it so much further than that, into a dark and creepy direction exploring the relationship between the Queen and the soldier, seeing the transformation she underwent over time. The story really struck a chord with me, as a political allegory, even, and not to mention the beautiful, beautiful writing.
The man who was once a soldier has braved the vast chasm of death only to confront the brittle cold of Hell, and his every step across it is laced with the glass shards of doubt. He puts knife to the soles of his feet, the hot pain a welcome distraction from his sharp-toothed thoughts. One foot down, and he tells himself she will still be the girl from lifetimes ago, haughty and stubborn and afraid; the next step, she becomes the ruler of iron and thorn who threw him to death without ever meeting his eyes again; every step, she is queen, she is fallen angel, she is forever beyond his reach and he is a fool to even try. He has always been a fool.
Red River:
A Good Swiss Watch - OMG RED RIVER FIC GUYS RED RIVER FIC. You know how I've become a huge westerns fan this year? Well, when I saw Red River, the first thing I thought was that there's GOTTA be Yuletide slash for this, because honestly. John Wayne (Dunson) and Montgomery Clift (Matt)'s relationship is a twisty, complicated thing of love and beauty, and it was wonderful to see it elaborated on here, in a very gentle, subtle way that feels like an old western: slow, quiet, cowboy-calm. I also like how exploring, in general, the slashiness of the movie doesn't hurt the way Tess is portrayed. (If you want to see the "infamously gay" scene the title refers to, voila. "Do you wanna see mine?")
Shakespeare - Hamlet/Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead:
Whittenberg Days - perfect crossover between the two. The author got both of the very different styles exactly right, and it's simply a joy to read. I can't even quote anything, because one liners wouldn't make any sense out of the context of the (brilliant and smappy) dialogue, so I only urge you to read.
Speed:
Walk the Wire - I am so, so, so happy this fic exists, because I love this movie and I love Jack and Annie's relationship and I really wanted to know what happened next! This short story has Annie dealing with the aftermath of the whole experience, with and without Jack, does it in a realistic way, and it's incredibly satisfying to read.
The next day she decides to go to work and makes sure she's at the bus stop five minutes early. Her hands are shaking, and her heart is racing, but she makes herself get on when the bus pulls up and she sits in her usual spot. She rides the bus the whole way to work with her eyes closed, breathing faint and laboured, but she rides the bus the whole way to work and that's something.
1776:
The Talk of Southern Gentlemen - I've never seen 1776, so for me this was just a fic about some of the Founding Fathers of the US, you know, drinking in a tavern, but I thought it was charming - warm and funny, with language that sounds just like I imagine them.
"What?" Dickinson laughed. "When did you meet the famous Mrs. Adams?"
"Dear John, the roads to Boston are open to all -- you shouldn't let Adams think that living in Boston is a great privilege God did not bestow on the rest of us."
Bible - Old Testament:
Not Shoot an Arrow There - Oh my god, wow, I love this SO much. In the aftermath of one of the Old Testaments many cases of divine destruction, Gabriel shows a little doubt, told from the POV of one of the other angels. Gorgeous, gorgeous, hitting so many buttons of mine. Showing that the side opposite mankind also has feelings. ♥
Big (the movie):
wring the water from wine - Yes, the movie where Tom Hanks played a boy who got turned into an adult. At the end of the movie, Josh turns back into a boy; this is a fic about what happened then. It really resonated with me, and it's excellently written.
Blue Beetle:
Meet the Parents - Jamie/Tim. From the summary: "Superhero or not, Jaime's boyfriend has to meet the parents." THE ONLY WAY I CAN COMMENT ON THIS FIC IS THROUGH CAPSLOCKS. Okay, no, I'll restrain myself; but really, Tim visiting the Reyes family is something I've been practically fantasizing about forever, so much that I actually requested it for Yuletide, and even though this fic wasn't written for me, it sure felt like it. And this is so much better than how I imagined, and by god Tim needs some Reyes normalcy and it was such a delight to see him in that environment, and seeing Jamie in between, and... I want more of this series, now.
"Yeah." Jaime threw Tim a self-conscious grin. "Look at it this way...at least they didn't insist on meeting your parents. I mean, can you imagine? Batman in El Paso?"
"It's cute that you think he isn't here," Tim said cryptically.
Sundae Blues - another BB fic, this time from Milagro's POV, and it is just adorable. She and Brenda and Paco save the day, and Jamie is such a dork. ♥ ♥ ♥
Generation Kill:
The Temptation of the LT - Brad/Nate, NC-17, excellent voices, hot, long, funny, and OMG, Ray.
On How Sergeant Colbert is Nothing At All Like Winnie the Pooh, and Other Important Lessons That Can Be Learned While Observing the Sergeant Laying under a Jeep - SUCH AN AWESOME RAY VOICE I CANNOT EVEN. So funny, and RAY, and BRAD, and all the other characters - I loved it.
Brad once described these little episodes as a tactical retreat in order to preserve his sanity. Ray is completely in favor of Brad preserving what remains of his fragile grasp on sanity, but he's not feeling all that charitable right now. This is no tactical retreat. That fucker is hiding.
Ray hates it when Brad does this shit. Everyone freaks the fuck out. It's like being stuck in some 1950s melodrama where mommy has retreated to the bedroom with a valium and a bottle of vodka, and Ray is stuck reassuring all the little brats that it's okay. Mommy is just resting.
Psych:
Gus Goes for the Gold Star - Gus/Shawn. I've only ever watched one or two episodes of this show, but this is an incredibly charming meta fic, about Gus participating in yuletide, that made me kind of fall in love with both of the characters. It's funny, and geeky, and well written, and fun.
"Shawn? Who's Shawn?" Shawn says, voice rising into a falsetto. "Perhaps you mean: AerynsGirl44?"
"You did NOT," Gus says. "You absolutely did not."
"I absolutely did not what?" Shawn hops up to perch on the edge of Gus' desk. Which he can easily do, because Gus actually keeps his desk neat instead of buried in takeout menus, action figures and unidentified things made in China that he won at the skee-ball arcade. "Spend the last seven years building up a complex and convincing alternate identity as a forty-three-year-old insurance adjuster and internet fangirl from Schenectady, all in order to write you a really awesome Ladyhawke story? ... No, I didn't," Shawn admits, grinning. "But wouldn't it be awesome if I did?"
The Queen and the Soldier:
Cruel Hope and Gray Despair. If you don't know the source, this one's easy to make up: it's a Suzanne Vega song, which you can hear here and read the lyrics to here. It's one of my favorite of her songs, haunting lyrics and a tragic narrative, and the story takes it so much further than that, into a dark and creepy direction exploring the relationship between the Queen and the soldier, seeing the transformation she underwent over time. The story really struck a chord with me, as a political allegory, even, and not to mention the beautiful, beautiful writing.
The man who was once a soldier has braved the vast chasm of death only to confront the brittle cold of Hell, and his every step across it is laced with the glass shards of doubt. He puts knife to the soles of his feet, the hot pain a welcome distraction from his sharp-toothed thoughts. One foot down, and he tells himself she will still be the girl from lifetimes ago, haughty and stubborn and afraid; the next step, she becomes the ruler of iron and thorn who threw him to death without ever meeting his eyes again; every step, she is queen, she is fallen angel, she is forever beyond his reach and he is a fool to even try. He has always been a fool.
Red River:
A Good Swiss Watch - OMG RED RIVER FIC GUYS RED RIVER FIC. You know how I've become a huge westerns fan this year? Well, when I saw Red River, the first thing I thought was that there's GOTTA be Yuletide slash for this, because honestly. John Wayne (Dunson) and Montgomery Clift (Matt)'s relationship is a twisty, complicated thing of love and beauty, and it was wonderful to see it elaborated on here, in a very gentle, subtle way that feels like an old western: slow, quiet, cowboy-calm. I also like how exploring, in general, the slashiness of the movie doesn't hurt the way Tess is portrayed. (If you want to see the "infamously gay" scene the title refers to, voila. "Do you wanna see mine?")
Shakespeare - Hamlet/Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead:
Whittenberg Days - perfect crossover between the two. The author got both of the very different styles exactly right, and it's simply a joy to read. I can't even quote anything, because one liners wouldn't make any sense out of the context of the (brilliant and smappy) dialogue, so I only urge you to read.
Speed:
Walk the Wire - I am so, so, so happy this fic exists, because I love this movie and I love Jack and Annie's relationship and I really wanted to know what happened next! This short story has Annie dealing with the aftermath of the whole experience, with and without Jack, does it in a realistic way, and it's incredibly satisfying to read.
The next day she decides to go to work and makes sure she's at the bus stop five minutes early. Her hands are shaking, and her heart is racing, but she makes herself get on when the bus pulls up and she sits in her usual spot. She rides the bus the whole way to work with her eyes closed, breathing faint and laboured, but she rides the bus the whole way to work and that's something.