Some of my favourite stories of the last couple of Yuletides have been for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and this year was no exception. My gift,
The Measure of a Man, focuses on Damar, whose journey from unthinking loyal Cardassian to leader of a rebellion is one of the most fascinating parts of the series for me, and who is handled wonderfully here. (Also a little bit of Damar/Garak slash, which is delightful.) Other exquisite slash includes
Fool, which is unrequited Garak/Bashir and gets the tone of their conversations just right, and
Strange and Distant Shores, which has a happier ending for them both. There's also a great Bashir/O'Brien,
The Ways of the Universe.
There are some great Laurie/Travis stories in Cougar Town fandom, including
A Million Beginnings,
To Love Somebody, and
Trouble with Anna Kournikova. There is also gen -
A Home for my Heart - which gets the voices and dynamics of the Cul-de-Sac crew just right.
Another long-time favourite is The Baby-sitters Club - this year we have
With Gentle Curves and Tender Feelings and
Escapades Out On The D Train, two great Claudia/Ashley fics (their love is so artsy!). And I love Janine Kishi, so was delighted to see
Five times Janine Kishi got an A, and one time she didn't. There's also a great look at Kristy and Mary Anne as they graduate high school,
Six Months, and last-but-not-least there is Charlotte/Stacey fic, pairing of my heart -
It's All the Rest of What I Want With You.
Other stories I immensely enjoyed:
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he doesn't act (he thinks), which is an amazing Dead Poets Society/House crossover.
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Closing Time, Then and Now, which is fic for the Leonard Cohen song (whoever nominated this fandom this year - nice one).
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Pain and Painting, a Blackadder fic with perfect voices.
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Parallel or Together, fic for A Place of Greater Safety (and historical RPF).
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Priceless, a crossover between Bring It On and 10 Things I Hate About You, complete with earnest college feminism.
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A Black Christmas Carol reads like a Black Books episode.
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The Frost Fair is a super-adorable Tangled fic.
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Old Gold is Wonder Boys fic, Tripp and Crabtree in college.
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Quite Ridiculous is a bit of absurd QI fic.
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The Sex Song of J. A. Prufrock is... well, Prufrock. At a party.
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Truth in the Telling is fic for The President's Daughter series (Ellen Emerson White), Meg/Preston in the future. So very them.
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you can't explain away the poetry is a gorgeous History Boys piece.