*is dead of yuletide joy*
I don't know how I keep being lucky enough to receive more than one Yuletide fic, but at least this year I wrote more than one? I was trying to pay back some karma, you know? But my gift fics are both so fucking wonderful, I'm not sure that plan worked!
It's fascinating, the two fics are actually from the same fandom, and a tiny one at that -- "Delilah," the Dresden Dolls song. I mean, talk about your small canon! But they somehow manage to be incredibly different, while still both fitting the song perfectly.
Never Met A More Impossible Girl is a snapshot of Amanda and Delilah's friendship after years and years of what we hear in the song, honest and brutal and smart and resigned and tired and emotional. The rhythm of the text is gorgeous, and the second-person pov voice shockingly convincing. These two women and their relationship feel real. ~1000 words of personal history and steadfast love and suppressed despair. Beautifully done.
Have The Night, The Morning Too, meanwhile, runs with the idea that part of Amanda's bitterness is intertwined with her own feelings for Delilah. This fic takes a perfectly-paced arc from Mandy and Delilah's first meeting to... well. A resolution. And it evokes all the feelings in between so palpably, I found myself with tears spilling out of my eyes at the end, but it crept up on me so slowly I hadn't even noticed tearing up. It doesn't shy away from the painful truths (neither of these fics do, which is something I adore about both of them), yet feels hopeful at the core. And I love these characters, they feel so real, and like people I would be friends with. 4k+ words of friendship and miscommunication and love and desire. I don't have the words to explain how brilliant this is, how warm and absorbing and true. It just is.
Everyone should read these two fics (and give the authors feedback!), especially anyone interested in the complexities of female friendship. Such wonderfully drawn relationships! I love them both so much. So much. My heart is just aching with love.
In other news, at least one of my recipients seems to love her story, so I'm happy! Even if that's the only comment I get this year, it is enough.
It's fascinating, the two fics are actually from the same fandom, and a tiny one at that -- "Delilah," the Dresden Dolls song. I mean, talk about your small canon! But they somehow manage to be incredibly different, while still both fitting the song perfectly.
Never Met A More Impossible Girl is a snapshot of Amanda and Delilah's friendship after years and years of what we hear in the song, honest and brutal and smart and resigned and tired and emotional. The rhythm of the text is gorgeous, and the second-person pov voice shockingly convincing. These two women and their relationship feel real. ~1000 words of personal history and steadfast love and suppressed despair. Beautifully done.
Have The Night, The Morning Too, meanwhile, runs with the idea that part of Amanda's bitterness is intertwined with her own feelings for Delilah. This fic takes a perfectly-paced arc from Mandy and Delilah's first meeting to... well. A resolution. And it evokes all the feelings in between so palpably, I found myself with tears spilling out of my eyes at the end, but it crept up on me so slowly I hadn't even noticed tearing up. It doesn't shy away from the painful truths (neither of these fics do, which is something I adore about both of them), yet feels hopeful at the core. And I love these characters, they feel so real, and like people I would be friends with. 4k+ words of friendship and miscommunication and love and desire. I don't have the words to explain how brilliant this is, how warm and absorbing and true. It just is.
Everyone should read these two fics (and give the authors feedback!), especially anyone interested in the complexities of female friendship. Such wonderfully drawn relationships! I love them both so much. So much. My heart is just aching with love.
In other news, at least one of my recipients seems to love her story, so I'm happy! Even if that's the only comment I get this year, it is enough.