some yuletide recs
This is the result of my initial run through the archive. I have a ton still to read, but I wanted to get as much as I could up before the reveal. Aaaaand, I still have comments to go back and leave for a lot of these, the ones that I read earlier this week in the static archive while AO3 was in the middle of flooding issues.
Also, I apologize in advance if these have all been rec'd out a hundred times before. I haven't had the chance to glance back over my flist to see what everyone else has done yet. I was going to do quotes/give more details/whatever, but coding was a bitch (and also I got lazy).
Anastasia (1997)
The Art in a Con - Dimitri and Vlad try one more for old times' sake.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Shades of Bittersweet - What if Belle married Gaston? A series of vignettes set ten years after Gaston's ultimatum.
Castle
--This is one of the biggest fandoms in the archive, and these are my two favorites. I forced myself to narrow it down to two.
and the bells were ringing out - “Christmas laser tag! Like regular laser tag, but even more awesome in its festivity.” Beckett, Alexis, and Castle have a Chez Castle Christmas.
Four Times Alexis Was the Adult (and One Other) - Recreational activities, in the style of the Castle family.
Friday Night Lights
bright and clear - “Eric Taylor,” she declares, “you are my hero.” Two decades later, he still is.
Fringe
--There is SO MUCH QUALITY in this section, it was hard to pick favorites. Basically, read them all. They're awesome.
13 Ways of Looking at a Betrayal - Sometimes the crossing isn't as difficult as the arrival.
The Art of Fugue - (Astrid is a hero. The world may not know it, but she is.) Five days in the life of Astrid Farnsworth.
The Shape of a Sooner State - It is the little things that are hardest to remember.
From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E. L. Konigsburg
Secret Moments - Claudia and Angel told in moments.
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Little Brown Bird - Every time Rhett met Melanie, his respect for her grew a little more.
Good Wife
--Another fandom full of AMAZING fics, quite a few of which were written for my friends. These two are my favorites.
For I come without answers - "Have either of them asked you yet?" Kalinda asks. Alicia doesn't pretend to be surprised by the question.
we're gonna brush the sky - Six meals Alicia and Will shared together.
Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Achilles Heel - Finnick’s Games. The ones he plays in, the ones he wins, and the ones he’s still a pawn in ever after.
Fish in a Barrel - You've trained your whole life for this moment: The moment when you rise into the arena and cheat the odds. The Sixty-Fifth Hunger Games are about to begin.
Here's the Smell of Blood Still - Thirteen things that Haymitch remembers, and twelve things he'd rather forget.
i'll know my name as it's called again - Katniss and Peeta return to District 12.
Lie to Me
Zero to Sixty - Normally Cal can make it from his office to the exit in sixty seconds, but not when Gillian, Ria, Eli and Emily all want a piece of him.
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Armistice Summer - In the summer of 1806, Anne Elliot meets Commander Wentworth for the first time.
Virtue and Importance - The Wentworths, in port, and in love.
Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen
Assistance - Colonel Brandon cannot be in two places at once. Fortunately, he has friends.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
The Bend of Her Hair - She’d heard Danny tell the story, to Bec, about the night she was born and what a miracle she was, when their daughter was soft and sleepy in her little white bed. She’d heard Danny tell the story, to people they half-knew, which had a patina of joy and love on it, so rich and so burnished, that it made a flush come to her cheeks.
The Mentalist
the red holly - The team come together to care for a baby during a case over Christmas-time.
(In spite of the summary, this fic is awesome. One of the best team/gen fics I've read. Fantastic dialogue, and both humorous and quietly heartbreaking.)
Red Wine Stains - Only Patrick Jane can manage to get bored in bed. A bit of post-coital banter set in a vaguely post-Red John future where Lisbon and Jane are an established couple.
(This is the only fic from Yuletide Madness I'm including here. It's also the only one I've read. It was one of my gifts. ♥)
What You See Is What You Get (If You're Looking Hard Enough) - Patrick Jane is only human.
(Because every fandom needs a well-done Steampunk AU. Seriously, this is highly entertaining.)
Winnie the Pooh
In Which Eeyore does not have the Worst of Worst Days - No summary, but I feel like the title basically explains it all anyway.
In Which Pooh Thinks Very Big Thoughts - Something falls into the Hundred Acre Woods, Christopher Robin reveals a secret, and Pooh thinks very big thoughts indeed.
And on that note: HAPPY NEW YEAR, FLIST!
Also, I apologize in advance if these have all been rec'd out a hundred times before. I haven't had the chance to glance back over my flist to see what everyone else has done yet. I was going to do quotes/give more details/whatever, but coding was a bitch (and also I got lazy).
Anastasia (1997)
The Art in a Con - Dimitri and Vlad try one more for old times' sake.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Shades of Bittersweet - What if Belle married Gaston? A series of vignettes set ten years after Gaston's ultimatum.
Castle
--This is one of the biggest fandoms in the archive, and these are my two favorites. I forced myself to narrow it down to two.
and the bells were ringing out - “Christmas laser tag! Like regular laser tag, but even more awesome in its festivity.” Beckett, Alexis, and Castle have a Chez Castle Christmas.
Four Times Alexis Was the Adult (and One Other) - Recreational activities, in the style of the Castle family.
Friday Night Lights
bright and clear - “Eric Taylor,” she declares, “you are my hero.” Two decades later, he still is.
Fringe
--There is SO MUCH QUALITY in this section, it was hard to pick favorites. Basically, read them all. They're awesome.
13 Ways of Looking at a Betrayal - Sometimes the crossing isn't as difficult as the arrival.
The Art of Fugue - (Astrid is a hero. The world may not know it, but she is.) Five days in the life of Astrid Farnsworth.
The Shape of a Sooner State - It is the little things that are hardest to remember.
From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E. L. Konigsburg
Secret Moments - Claudia and Angel told in moments.
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Little Brown Bird - Every time Rhett met Melanie, his respect for her grew a little more.
Good Wife
--Another fandom full of AMAZING fics, quite a few of which were written for my friends. These two are my favorites.
For I come without answers - "Have either of them asked you yet?" Kalinda asks. Alicia doesn't pretend to be surprised by the question.
we're gonna brush the sky - Six meals Alicia and Will shared together.
Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Achilles Heel - Finnick’s Games. The ones he plays in, the ones he wins, and the ones he’s still a pawn in ever after.
Fish in a Barrel - You've trained your whole life for this moment: The moment when you rise into the arena and cheat the odds. The Sixty-Fifth Hunger Games are about to begin.
Here's the Smell of Blood Still - Thirteen things that Haymitch remembers, and twelve things he'd rather forget.
i'll know my name as it's called again - Katniss and Peeta return to District 12.
Lie to Me
Zero to Sixty - Normally Cal can make it from his office to the exit in sixty seconds, but not when Gillian, Ria, Eli and Emily all want a piece of him.
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Armistice Summer - In the summer of 1806, Anne Elliot meets Commander Wentworth for the first time.
Virtue and Importance - The Wentworths, in port, and in love.
Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen
Assistance - Colonel Brandon cannot be in two places at once. Fortunately, he has friends.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
The Bend of Her Hair - She’d heard Danny tell the story, to Bec, about the night she was born and what a miracle she was, when their daughter was soft and sleepy in her little white bed. She’d heard Danny tell the story, to people they half-knew, which had a patina of joy and love on it, so rich and so burnished, that it made a flush come to her cheeks.
The Mentalist
the red holly - The team come together to care for a baby during a case over Christmas-time.
(In spite of the summary, this fic is awesome. One of the best team/gen fics I've read. Fantastic dialogue, and both humorous and quietly heartbreaking.)
Red Wine Stains - Only Patrick Jane can manage to get bored in bed. A bit of post-coital banter set in a vaguely post-Red John future where Lisbon and Jane are an established couple.
(This is the only fic from Yuletide Madness I'm including here. It's also the only one I've read. It was one of my gifts. ♥)
What You See Is What You Get (If You're Looking Hard Enough) - Patrick Jane is only human.
(Because every fandom needs a well-done Steampunk AU. Seriously, this is highly entertaining.)
Winnie the Pooh
In Which Eeyore does not have the Worst of Worst Days - No summary, but I feel like the title basically explains it all anyway.
In Which Pooh Thinks Very Big Thoughts - Something falls into the Hundred Acre Woods, Christopher Robin reveals a secret, and Pooh thinks very big thoughts indeed.
And on that note: HAPPY NEW YEAR, FLIST!