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verushka70Well, I meant to post this like at least a week ago, but RL. Sucks. Still. Even more. I mean, it's great (how sad is that?) that my sister is finally in hospice (I've only been pushing for this for three fucking weeks, but they just had to convince her she needed more chemo and radiation even though every time she asked them "So how many months will I get?" they had to keep reminding her it would only be weeks, because BRAIN CANCER, yup, makes people forget shit... and I know damn well that if she'd had shittier insurance, or no insurance at all, they wouldn't have offered any further treatment but would've said "Get your affairs in order if you haven't already", and I'm not medical POA so I had no power, and chose not to undermine the usurping sister who does)... But... my sister, my only BFF in my family of origin, my emergency contact through every job the last 35 years, as I was hers... is finally on hospice. So. Yeah. It all sucks. And with her goes the last person I can depend on (or want to depend on) in my family of origin. All our parents (stepdad, more fatherly than my father) are gone. It's just us 5 now, and between crazy brother I haven't talked to since before COVID, asshole other older sister (& medical POA), and younger sister I talk to but who lives outta state... well. I'm pretty much alone. But hey, I got a dog and two cats, a FT job, and some pretty awesome friends. That's more than many people - and I am grateful for all of it. My friends are my chosen family. Seriously, I routinely enter "my friends" in my daily gratitude app entries.
But the suckitude of RL was why writing for Yuletide was so important for me. It's been a horrible past 10 months since my sister's diagnosis (and I'm not even counting the 6 weeks I was off (again) with a knee injury (2nd one in 2 years!), and couldn't climb the stairs to her place). I just needed escapism. So badly. So very, very badly. And I got that in spades writing my YT recipient's gift and doing all the (probably unnecessary, but absorbing and enjoyable) research for it.
So here are my Yuletide recs. This merely scratches the surface (1700+ fics in Yuletide 2023, yikes!) - but these are really great.
First, my Yuletide gift! Which is fucking awesome and hot. Yays! (My very first Yuletide "Dear Santa" letter didn't suck, apparently! And wtf, me, Yuletide's only been going FOR TWENTY YEARS now and this is my first participation? Although "to be fair" (cue Letterkenny chorus) it is rather intimidating for newbies. So many choices - difficult when you have ADD/VAST and are bad at decision-making!)
A Regular-Type Life
Words: 1,483
Fandoms: Heat (1995)
Explicit
M/M
Vincent Hanna/Neil McCauley
Summary: It’s not often that Vincent feels stupid but in this moment he feels like one dumb motherfucker.
Comment: I love this. From the title (which is perfect and canonical) to the end, it is them, perfectly - their voices, how they are canonically. And the descriptions - sight, smell, sound, touch - are cinematic. These ~1400 words fly by. And it's HOT.
A Yuletide treat I got! How did I get so lucky? IDK, but this is VERY DARK and oh-so-perfectly so... and oh-so-canonically perfect for Vincent. Hey, it's only his canonical recurring dream... with a twist.
Mr Sandman
Words: 1,556
Fandoms: Heat (1995)
Teen And Up Audiences
M/M
Vincent Hanna/Neil McCauley, Post-Canon, Not A Fix-It, Dreams
Summary: “Pretty sure this is a private function,” Vincent said. What he wanted to say was, who the fuck do you think you are to show up in my dream? but that would be ridiculous. That would be accepting that this dream was anything other than his subconscious jerking him around.
Comment: Dark, but no more than the source. If this were chocolate, it would be 90+% cocoa. Hits all the high points of Heat perfectly, like nails in a coffin. And their voices are totally spot-on. Gorgeous angsty darkness, if you like that sort of thing (I do).
Five stories a soldier wandered through
Words: 1,280
Fandoms: Der Stiefel von Büffelleder | The Boots of Buffalo Leather (Fairy Tale), The Grave Mound (Fairy Tale), The Princess in the Coffin (Fairy Tale)
Not Rated
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Gen
The Soldier (Buffalo Boots), Baba Yaga, Procrustes
Summary:: Definitely worth passing this way again, although I suppose the hut may have moved on, since it has four fine chicken legs of its own. Very convenient. Can you imagine if the army had huts on legs, rather than having to set up tents? You should look into it.
Comment: The soldier's calm pragmatism while wandering through whimsy and potential danger in these fairy tales is the perfect take on this. Wonderful.
The Calm before the Storm
Words: 1,349
Fandoms: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Gen
Captain of the Demeter (Dracula), Epistolary, Unreliable Narrator
Summary: The Demeter's log was not the only tale of note to be found upon the ship.
Comment: This slowly builds a very effective level of suspenseful dread.
ég þráði, að þú náðir, að ná mérniuu
Words: 2,207
Fandoms: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
M/M, Multi
Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Brides of Dracula/Dracula, Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker, Internalized Homophobia, Sexual Tension, Desire, Loneliness
Summary: He does not know himself, not in this castle which makes life in England seem like a distant reality, something that barely exists at all. He no longer understands his own wants and desires. All seems strange and new and unpredictable, yet they speak with such familiar tones that he struggles to put into words the discord of these emotions. He does not understand why his own gaze lingers on the count just like the other man’s lingers on him.
Comment: This also builds effective suspense, but intermingles dread, desire, fear, and sensuality into a Dracula-lover's dream.
Sanguine
Words: 1,226
Fandoms: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
John Seward, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
John is having bad dreams. Most of all, he dreams that Quincey might not be as dead as everyone thinks he is.
Comment: This is a fabulous follow-up AU focused on John... mixing curiosity, dread, fascination, fear, obsession. I loved it.
Welcome to the Exchange Cafe, We've Got Loyalty Cards!
Words: 1,182
Fandoms: Fandom Exchange Stages (Anthropomorphic), Object and Concept Anthropomorphism
General Audiences
Gen
Nominations (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Sign-Ups (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Creation Period (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Reveals (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, POV Second Person, Anthropomorphic
Summary: Normal cafe rules do not apply here.
Comment: OMG I LOLed so hard again and again with this - it's hysterical. Truly captures the massive gift exchange experience - at least, it captured my newbie Yuletide sign-up and participation (except I didn't do the write-everything-at-the-last-minute thing, I actually posted my fic well before the deadline).
Still
Words: 1,267
Fandoms: The Fugitive (Movies)
Not Rated
Gen
Samuel Gerard & Richard Kimble, Richard Kimble, Samuel Gerard
Summary: When Richard is finally freed, someone is there to meet him—someone he doesn't expect.
Comment: This is a nice continuation of the "I thought you didn't care"/caring dynamic they had at the end of the movie. (But if you squint, it might be slashy.)
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Words: 1,628
Fandoms: Galaxy Quest (1999)
Teen And Up Audiences
F/M
Gwen DeMarco/Jason Nesmith, Gwen DeMarco, Jason Nesmith
Summary: Everything after the convention is a blur.
Comment: This is simply awesome and a really fitting coda. I love Gwen and her POV, but it's got the others, too. Excellent.
Things Janet Knows
Words: 1,208
Fandoms: The Good Place (TV)
Summary:
Nothing.
Everything and nothing.
Heightened awareness of everything and nothing.
Twenty-three additional layers of increased capacity to process everything and nothing.
Comment: I completely loved this take on the super Janet. It is awesome. Plus Janet/Jason!
historia naturalis gentis anglorum
Words: 1,015
Fandoms: Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum | Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Bede
General Audiences
The Sparrow (Bede), The Staffordshire Hoard, Blood, POV Animal, Nature, Battle,Ecohistory, the passage of time, unnecessary Latin
Summary: A sparrow's life may be short, but her memory is long.
Comment: This is a beautiful meditation on the history of the English people, from the somewhat detached perspective of the sparrow. Really captures that mono no aware feeling.
The Mother Tending to Her Fruit
Words: 1,016
Fandoms: The Huntsman (Movies)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
F/F
Ravenna/Snow White (The Huntsman)
Summary: It's a woman-eat-woman world and Ravenna intends to keep ruling it.
Comment: This is a darkly seductive (grooming?) and sensually menacing take on Ravenna's keeping of Snow White.
Love is Patient
Words: 1,280
Fandoms: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Not Rated
F/M
George Bailey/Mary Hatch Bailey Mary Hatch Bailey George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), Character Study, 5 Times, Canon Compliant
Summary: Over the years, Mary spends so much time waiting for George.
Comment: A lovely take on their entire history, pre-history, and a happy ending.
Brain, Humbug!
Words: 1,059
Fandoms: iZombie (TV)
General Audiences
Gen
Ravi Chakrabarti & Major Lilywhite & Liv Moore, Ravi Chakrabarti & Liv Moore, Liv Moore, Ravi Chakrabarti, Major Lilywhite, Clive Babineaux, Humor, Christmas, Zombie Shenanigans (iZombie), Morgue Antics, Liv and Major Eat Opposite Brains (iZombie)
Summary: When you're a zombie, your holiday spirit highly depends on your diet.
Comment: Could've been a missing episode/series of scenes. Awesome. Really captures the feelings of the show and the ensemble. And Ravi. Dear, hot, silly, trickster Ravi.
lilacs out of the dead land
Words: 3,047
Fandoms: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
Mature
F/M
Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester, Adèle Varens, Post-Canon, Older Man/Younger Woman, Unhealthy Relationships, Power Dynamics, Non-Consensual Touching, Unreliable Narrator, Epistolary
Summary: I had, within me, that rich world of imagination that I could always retreat to, and so I transformed myself.
Comment: This Jane has complex feelings about everything with Edward... and it's very well done, from the appropriate prose language and dialogue, comparable to the tone of the source, to Jane's perspective. Dysfunctional but not undeservedly so, if you will. Very well done.
The Visitation
Fandoms: The Lion in Winter (1968)
General Audiences
Gen
Eleanor of Aquitaine & Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine/Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, Post-Canon, Ghosts, Loneliness, Dysfunctional marriage - Freeform, Comfort
Summary: Eleanor hadn’t had any visitors in some time—not even her favored child, Richard—when Henry came to call on her.
Comment: Though it's been quite a while since I saw the source, it is - and they are - very memorable... And this is SO THEM. It's an interesting take on Eleanor's complex feelings for and about Henry, post-canon. Well done indeed.
Merely of Average Height
Words: 2,367
Fandoms: Monty Python's Flying Circus: Archaeology Today
Teen And Up Audiences
Major Character Death
M/M
Archaeology Today Presenter (Monty Python Archaeology Today), Sir Robert Eversley (Monty Python Archaeology Today), Time Travel, Epistolary(kinda)
Summary: The continuing adventures of a very unhinged ex-television presenter. He is bound by no laws, be they of man, nature, or God.
Comment: This epistolary follow-up on the sketch had me in hysterics. It is that good. Extremely funny and very, very well done.
Contempt, Farewell
Words: 1,429
Fandoms: Much Ado About Nothing (2011), Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Mature
F/M
Beatrice/Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Emotional Baggage, Mild Sexual Content, Dom/sub Undertones
Summary: Three times Beatrice kissed Benedick, and one time she didn't.
Comment: I love these two together, feisty, fighting, and loving... and this completely does them justice. It's beautifully written and, at the end, erotic, too.
Home
Words: 1,020
Fandoms: True Detective (TV 2014)
Teen And Up Audiences
Gen
Rustin "Rust" Cohle & Martin "Marty" Hart, Rustin "Rust" Cohle, Martin "Marty" Hart, Healing, partners, Hope, Yuletide Treat
Summary: "He should’ve known that Marty would be like this: reliable."
Comment: This is True Detective S1 comfort food, just like you'd expect them to be... And you can still see the slash if you squint. A great job. Reminded me of that scene in the hospital where Marty goes to Rust's room by wheelchair and they end up flipping each other the bird and Marty says, "Don't ever change" as he backs out of Rust's room via wheelchair.
Just as every cop is a criminal (and all the sinners saints)
Words: 8,184
Fandoms: The Usual Suspects (1995)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
M/M
Dean Keaton/Roger "Verbal" Kint | Keyser Söze implied, Dean Keaton/Dave Kujan, Dave Kujan, Edie Finneran, Dean Keaton, Roger "Verbal" Kint | Keyser Söze, Michael McManus (The Usual Suspects), Fred Fenster, Todd Hockney, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Blood and Violence, Investigations, Fix-It of Sorts
Summary:
The first time Agent Kujan hears about them, he is sitting by the window in Jeff Rabin’s office. He is reaching for a cigarette before he remembers that he isn't allowed one. Instead, he reaches out and snatches up the phone.
(A rumor’s not a rumor that doesn’t die.)
Comment: Though long, this is a masterful AU canon divergence that is completely in tune with the source. From the perfect title (shout-out to Sympathy for the Devil!) on, it's suspenseful and well worth the time investment to read 8100+ words. All their voices are spot-on. Kujan's obsession is front and center, but all the characterizations are canonical and the AU twist is genius. Extremely well done.
The Cruellest Month
Words: 1,131
Fandoms: The Waste Land - T. S. Eliot
Teen And Up Audiences
Gen
Madame Sosostris (The Waste Land - Eliot), Tiresias (The Waste Land- Eliot), Phlebas (The Waste Land - Eliot), Tarot, 2020, Cicadas, lockdown - Freeform
Summary: It is March, and it will be March.
Comment: Using the recent instabilities of the world, through a pandemic lens, if you will, this is completely in character for The Waste Land. It's pretty fantastic.
Hardware Store (the Prince remix)
Words: 1,001
Fandoms: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Teen And Up Audiences
F/M
Weird Al Yankovic (Weird), Original Elephant Characters, Jim "Kimo" West (Weird), Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (Weird), Steve Jay (Weird), Prince (Musician), Crack Treated Seriously, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Drug Use, Humor, Zombie Yankovic will be fed, Caper Fic, Heist, Missing Scenes, Song Backstory, canon-typical alcohol use
Summary: Sometimes "going to the hardware store"* is an euphuism for a daring elephant heist involving Prince, an attack poodle, a bored Sheila E. and several pure kilos of Columbian cocaine.
* Note: this fic may or may not contain a free ballpeen hammer.
Comment: Since the source is crack treated seriously, I mean... of course this is, too - and it completely works. Could've been missing scenes from the source. Hilarious. The author did a great job.
These are mostly bite-sized (<1,500-2000 words) YT fics except for The Usual Suspects fic, which is ~8100 words, but very worth it. They're not even fandoms I typically read, but Yuletide offers such a huge and seductive smorgasbord, I can't resist a banquet of much-needed escapism right now. They're all good fics, but several really knock it out of the park, not just in a particular fandom or as fanfic but as generally great writing.
I feel like that piano-playing muppet on Sesame Street who would make a few mistakes on the piano, and then slam his head on the keys going "Oh, I'll never get it!" except I'm going, "I'll never get through ALL THIS YULETIDE FIC!" It's difficult to get through even while excluding Yuletide fandoms with filters... I ran into an AO3 error, I excluded so many fandoms I'm not into... and there were still hundreds left to filter before the filtering crapped out with an error.
Here endeth the recs portion of this post! Following is standard update post stuff. As if I do that regularly... (I don't...)
~ ~ ~
Anyway. Due to my desperate need for escapism, I really enjoyed researching for, and writing, my two fic contributions to this holiday season - my first Yuletide fic evah(!), and a last-minute pinch-hit for due South Seekrit Santa:
The Sentimentalists
Fandoms: Casablanca (1942)
Words: 9,558
(it looks incomplete because it says "Chapter 1/2," but chapter 2 is a draft consisting ONLY of author's notes - the fic is complete!)
Teen And Up Audiences
No Archive Warnings Apply
Victor Laszlo/Ilsa Lund, Rick Blaine/Ilsa Lund, Rick Blaine/Victor Laszlo/Ilsa Lund, Post-Canon
Summary:
Ilsa threw her arms around him. Rick tried awkwardly to simultaneously return the hug, and gently disengage from it – Laszlo was right there – as Laszlo beamed at him, apparently uncaring.
Beamed.
Or: Rick winds up in Lisbon after Brazzaville, and is shocked to find Victor and Ilsa still there (for totally legit historical reasons, my research found).
~ and ~
In Your Philosophy
Fandoms: due South
Words: 9,211
Teen And Up Audiences
No Archive Warnings Apply
Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Canon Compliant, Alternate Universe
Summary:
“Drink up. We may need our strength.”
“For mutual auditory hallucinations?” Ray asked.
The rare jewel of a casually confident Kowalski verbal construction delighted Fraser.
“No, for whatever's on the other side of that door.”
Or: from the day they first meet, Ray and Fraser go from disaster to disaster in ways neither could have imagined.
I haven't even gotten around to reading dSSS fics yet, despite my pinch-hit - there is so much I've bookmarked for Yuletide (and I signed up for it first, way before the dSSS pinch hit)! When I get to those, I'll deffo post dSSS recs too.
~ ~ ~
Here's hoping 2024 doesn't suck as bad as 2023. Although considering how it's started, that's probably putting the cart before the horse, as my Omi (grandmother) used to say.
But the suckitude of RL was why writing for Yuletide was so important for me. It's been a horrible past 10 months since my sister's diagnosis (and I'm not even counting the 6 weeks I was off (again) with a knee injury (2nd one in 2 years!), and couldn't climb the stairs to her place). I just needed escapism. So badly. So very, very badly. And I got that in spades writing my YT recipient's gift and doing all the (probably unnecessary, but absorbing and enjoyable) research for it.
So here are my Yuletide recs. This merely scratches the surface (1700+ fics in Yuletide 2023, yikes!) - but these are really great.
First, my Yuletide gift! Which is fucking awesome and hot. Yays! (My very first Yuletide "Dear Santa" letter didn't suck, apparently! And wtf, me, Yuletide's only been going FOR TWENTY YEARS now and this is my first participation? Although "to be fair" (cue Letterkenny chorus) it is rather intimidating for newbies. So many choices - difficult when you have ADD/VAST and are bad at decision-making!)
A Regular-Type Life
Words: 1,483
Fandoms: Heat (1995)
Explicit
M/M
Vincent Hanna/Neil McCauley
Summary: It’s not often that Vincent feels stupid but in this moment he feels like one dumb motherfucker.
Comment: I love this. From the title (which is perfect and canonical) to the end, it is them, perfectly - their voices, how they are canonically. And the descriptions - sight, smell, sound, touch - are cinematic. These ~1400 words fly by. And it's HOT.
A Yuletide treat I got! How did I get so lucky? IDK, but this is VERY DARK and oh-so-perfectly so... and oh-so-canonically perfect for Vincent. Hey, it's only his canonical recurring dream... with a twist.
Mr Sandman
Words: 1,556
Fandoms: Heat (1995)
Teen And Up Audiences
M/M
Vincent Hanna/Neil McCauley, Post-Canon, Not A Fix-It, Dreams
Summary: “Pretty sure this is a private function,” Vincent said. What he wanted to say was, who the fuck do you think you are to show up in my dream? but that would be ridiculous. That would be accepting that this dream was anything other than his subconscious jerking him around.
Comment: Dark, but no more than the source. If this were chocolate, it would be 90+% cocoa. Hits all the high points of Heat perfectly, like nails in a coffin. And their voices are totally spot-on. Gorgeous angsty darkness, if you like that sort of thing (I do).
Five stories a soldier wandered through
Words: 1,280
Fandoms: Der Stiefel von Büffelleder | The Boots of Buffalo Leather (Fairy Tale), The Grave Mound (Fairy Tale), The Princess in the Coffin (Fairy Tale)
Not Rated
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Gen
The Soldier (Buffalo Boots), Baba Yaga, Procrustes
Summary:: Definitely worth passing this way again, although I suppose the hut may have moved on, since it has four fine chicken legs of its own. Very convenient. Can you imagine if the army had huts on legs, rather than having to set up tents? You should look into it.
Comment: The soldier's calm pragmatism while wandering through whimsy and potential danger in these fairy tales is the perfect take on this. Wonderful.
The Calm before the Storm
Words: 1,349
Fandoms: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Gen
Captain of the Demeter (Dracula), Epistolary, Unreliable Narrator
Summary: The Demeter's log was not the only tale of note to be found upon the ship.
Comment: This slowly builds a very effective level of suspenseful dread.
ég þráði, að þú náðir, að ná mérniuu
Words: 2,207
Fandoms: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
M/M, Multi
Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Brides of Dracula/Dracula, Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker, Internalized Homophobia, Sexual Tension, Desire, Loneliness
Summary: He does not know himself, not in this castle which makes life in England seem like a distant reality, something that barely exists at all. He no longer understands his own wants and desires. All seems strange and new and unpredictable, yet they speak with such familiar tones that he struggles to put into words the discord of these emotions. He does not understand why his own gaze lingers on the count just like the other man’s lingers on him.
Comment: This also builds effective suspense, but intermingles dread, desire, fear, and sensuality into a Dracula-lover's dream.
Sanguine
Words: 1,226
Fandoms: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
John Seward, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
John is having bad dreams. Most of all, he dreams that Quincey might not be as dead as everyone thinks he is.
Comment: This is a fabulous follow-up AU focused on John... mixing curiosity, dread, fascination, fear, obsession. I loved it.
Welcome to the Exchange Cafe, We've Got Loyalty Cards!
Words: 1,182
Fandoms: Fandom Exchange Stages (Anthropomorphic), Object and Concept Anthropomorphism
General Audiences
Gen
Nominations (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Sign-Ups (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Creation Period (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Reveals (Fandom Exchange Stages Anthropomorphic), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, POV Second Person, Anthropomorphic
Summary: Normal cafe rules do not apply here.
Comment: OMG I LOLed so hard again and again with this - it's hysterical. Truly captures the massive gift exchange experience - at least, it captured my newbie Yuletide sign-up and participation (except I didn't do the write-everything-at-the-last-minute thing, I actually posted my fic well before the deadline).
Still
Words: 1,267
Fandoms: The Fugitive (Movies)
Not Rated
Gen
Samuel Gerard & Richard Kimble, Richard Kimble, Samuel Gerard
Summary: When Richard is finally freed, someone is there to meet him—someone he doesn't expect.
Comment: This is a nice continuation of the "I thought you didn't care"/caring dynamic they had at the end of the movie. (But if you squint, it might be slashy.)
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Words: 1,628
Fandoms: Galaxy Quest (1999)
Teen And Up Audiences
F/M
Gwen DeMarco/Jason Nesmith, Gwen DeMarco, Jason Nesmith
Summary: Everything after the convention is a blur.
Comment: This is simply awesome and a really fitting coda. I love Gwen and her POV, but it's got the others, too. Excellent.
Things Janet Knows
Words: 1,208
Fandoms: The Good Place (TV)
Summary:
Nothing.
Everything and nothing.
Heightened awareness of everything and nothing.
Twenty-three additional layers of increased capacity to process everything and nothing.
Comment: I completely loved this take on the super Janet. It is awesome. Plus Janet/Jason!
historia naturalis gentis anglorum
Words: 1,015
Fandoms: Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum | Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Bede
General Audiences
The Sparrow (Bede), The Staffordshire Hoard, Blood, POV Animal, Nature, Battle,Ecohistory, the passage of time, unnecessary Latin
Summary: A sparrow's life may be short, but her memory is long.
Comment: This is a beautiful meditation on the history of the English people, from the somewhat detached perspective of the sparrow. Really captures that mono no aware feeling.
The Mother Tending to Her Fruit
Words: 1,016
Fandoms: The Huntsman (Movies)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
F/F
Ravenna/Snow White (The Huntsman)
Summary: It's a woman-eat-woman world and Ravenna intends to keep ruling it.
Comment: This is a darkly seductive (grooming?) and sensually menacing take on Ravenna's keeping of Snow White.
Love is Patient
Words: 1,280
Fandoms: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Not Rated
F/M
George Bailey/Mary Hatch Bailey Mary Hatch Bailey George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), Character Study, 5 Times, Canon Compliant
Summary: Over the years, Mary spends so much time waiting for George.
Comment: A lovely take on their entire history, pre-history, and a happy ending.
Brain, Humbug!
Words: 1,059
Fandoms: iZombie (TV)
General Audiences
Gen
Ravi Chakrabarti & Major Lilywhite & Liv Moore, Ravi Chakrabarti & Liv Moore, Liv Moore, Ravi Chakrabarti, Major Lilywhite, Clive Babineaux, Humor, Christmas, Zombie Shenanigans (iZombie), Morgue Antics, Liv and Major Eat Opposite Brains (iZombie)
Summary: When you're a zombie, your holiday spirit highly depends on your diet.
Comment: Could've been a missing episode/series of scenes. Awesome. Really captures the feelings of the show and the ensemble. And Ravi. Dear, hot, silly, trickster Ravi.
lilacs out of the dead land
Words: 3,047
Fandoms: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
Mature
F/M
Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester, Adèle Varens, Post-Canon, Older Man/Younger Woman, Unhealthy Relationships, Power Dynamics, Non-Consensual Touching, Unreliable Narrator, Epistolary
Summary: I had, within me, that rich world of imagination that I could always retreat to, and so I transformed myself.
Comment: This Jane has complex feelings about everything with Edward... and it's very well done, from the appropriate prose language and dialogue, comparable to the tone of the source, to Jane's perspective. Dysfunctional but not undeservedly so, if you will. Very well done.
The Visitation
Fandoms: The Lion in Winter (1968)
General Audiences
Gen
Eleanor of Aquitaine & Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine/Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, Post-Canon, Ghosts, Loneliness, Dysfunctional marriage - Freeform, Comfort
Summary: Eleanor hadn’t had any visitors in some time—not even her favored child, Richard—when Henry came to call on her.
Comment: Though it's been quite a while since I saw the source, it is - and they are - very memorable... And this is SO THEM. It's an interesting take on Eleanor's complex feelings for and about Henry, post-canon. Well done indeed.
Merely of Average Height
Words: 2,367
Fandoms: Monty Python's Flying Circus: Archaeology Today
Teen And Up Audiences
Major Character Death
M/M
Archaeology Today Presenter (Monty Python Archaeology Today), Sir Robert Eversley (Monty Python Archaeology Today), Time Travel, Epistolary(kinda)
Summary: The continuing adventures of a very unhinged ex-television presenter. He is bound by no laws, be they of man, nature, or God.
Comment: This epistolary follow-up on the sketch had me in hysterics. It is that good. Extremely funny and very, very well done.
Contempt, Farewell
Words: 1,429
Fandoms: Much Ado About Nothing (2011), Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Mature
F/M
Beatrice/Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Emotional Baggage, Mild Sexual Content, Dom/sub Undertones
Summary: Three times Beatrice kissed Benedick, and one time she didn't.
Comment: I love these two together, feisty, fighting, and loving... and this completely does them justice. It's beautifully written and, at the end, erotic, too.
Home
Words: 1,020
Fandoms: True Detective (TV 2014)
Teen And Up Audiences
Gen
Rustin "Rust" Cohle & Martin "Marty" Hart, Rustin "Rust" Cohle, Martin "Marty" Hart, Healing, partners, Hope, Yuletide Treat
Summary: "He should’ve known that Marty would be like this: reliable."
Comment: This is True Detective S1 comfort food, just like you'd expect them to be... And you can still see the slash if you squint. A great job. Reminded me of that scene in the hospital where Marty goes to Rust's room by wheelchair and they end up flipping each other the bird and Marty says, "Don't ever change" as he backs out of Rust's room via wheelchair.
Just as every cop is a criminal (and all the sinners saints)
Words: 8,184
Fandoms: The Usual Suspects (1995)
Teen And Up Audiences
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
M/M
Dean Keaton/Roger "Verbal" Kint | Keyser Söze implied, Dean Keaton/Dave Kujan, Dave Kujan, Edie Finneran, Dean Keaton, Roger "Verbal" Kint | Keyser Söze, Michael McManus (The Usual Suspects), Fred Fenster, Todd Hockney, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Blood and Violence, Investigations, Fix-It of Sorts
Summary:
The first time Agent Kujan hears about them, he is sitting by the window in Jeff Rabin’s office. He is reaching for a cigarette before he remembers that he isn't allowed one. Instead, he reaches out and snatches up the phone.
(A rumor’s not a rumor that doesn’t die.)
Comment: Though long, this is a masterful AU canon divergence that is completely in tune with the source. From the perfect title (shout-out to Sympathy for the Devil!) on, it's suspenseful and well worth the time investment to read 8100+ words. All their voices are spot-on. Kujan's obsession is front and center, but all the characterizations are canonical and the AU twist is genius. Extremely well done.
The Cruellest Month
Words: 1,131
Fandoms: The Waste Land - T. S. Eliot
Teen And Up Audiences
Gen
Madame Sosostris (The Waste Land - Eliot), Tiresias (The Waste Land- Eliot), Phlebas (The Waste Land - Eliot), Tarot, 2020, Cicadas, lockdown - Freeform
Summary: It is March, and it will be March.
Comment: Using the recent instabilities of the world, through a pandemic lens, if you will, this is completely in character for The Waste Land. It's pretty fantastic.
Hardware Store (the Prince remix)
Words: 1,001
Fandoms: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Teen And Up Audiences
F/M
Weird Al Yankovic (Weird), Original Elephant Characters, Jim "Kimo" West (Weird), Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (Weird), Steve Jay (Weird), Prince (Musician), Crack Treated Seriously, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Drug Use, Humor, Zombie Yankovic will be fed, Caper Fic, Heist, Missing Scenes, Song Backstory, canon-typical alcohol use
Summary: Sometimes "going to the hardware store"* is an euphuism for a daring elephant heist involving Prince, an attack poodle, a bored Sheila E. and several pure kilos of Columbian cocaine.
* Note: this fic may or may not contain a free ballpeen hammer.
Comment: Since the source is crack treated seriously, I mean... of course this is, too - and it completely works. Could've been missing scenes from the source. Hilarious. The author did a great job.
These are mostly bite-sized (<1,500-2000 words) YT fics except for The Usual Suspects fic, which is ~8100 words, but very worth it. They're not even fandoms I typically read, but Yuletide offers such a huge and seductive smorgasbord, I can't resist a banquet of much-needed escapism right now. They're all good fics, but several really knock it out of the park, not just in a particular fandom or as fanfic but as generally great writing.
I feel like that piano-playing muppet on Sesame Street who would make a few mistakes on the piano, and then slam his head on the keys going "Oh, I'll never get it!" except I'm going, "I'll never get through ALL THIS YULETIDE FIC!" It's difficult to get through even while excluding Yuletide fandoms with filters... I ran into an AO3 error, I excluded so many fandoms I'm not into... and there were still hundreds left to filter before the filtering crapped out with an error.
Here endeth the recs portion of this post! Following is standard update post stuff. As if I do that regularly... (I don't...)
~ ~ ~
Anyway. Due to my desperate need for escapism, I really enjoyed researching for, and writing, my two fic contributions to this holiday season - my first Yuletide fic evah(!), and a last-minute pinch-hit for due South Seekrit Santa:
The Sentimentalists
Fandoms: Casablanca (1942)
Words: 9,558
(it looks incomplete because it says "Chapter 1/2," but chapter 2 is a draft consisting ONLY of author's notes - the fic is complete!)
Teen And Up Audiences
No Archive Warnings Apply
Victor Laszlo/Ilsa Lund, Rick Blaine/Ilsa Lund, Rick Blaine/Victor Laszlo/Ilsa Lund, Post-Canon
Summary:
Ilsa threw her arms around him. Rick tried awkwardly to simultaneously return the hug, and gently disengage from it – Laszlo was right there – as Laszlo beamed at him, apparently uncaring.
Beamed.
Or: Rick winds up in Lisbon after Brazzaville, and is shocked to find Victor and Ilsa still there (for totally legit historical reasons, my research found).
~ and ~
In Your Philosophy
Fandoms: due South
Words: 9,211
Teen And Up Audiences
No Archive Warnings Apply
Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Canon Compliant, Alternate Universe
Summary:
“Drink up. We may need our strength.”
“For mutual auditory hallucinations?” Ray asked.
The rare jewel of a casually confident Kowalski verbal construction delighted Fraser.
“No, for whatever's on the other side of that door.”
Or: from the day they first meet, Ray and Fraser go from disaster to disaster in ways neither could have imagined.
I haven't even gotten around to reading dSSS fics yet, despite my pinch-hit - there is so much I've bookmarked for Yuletide (and I signed up for it first, way before the dSSS pinch hit)! When I get to those, I'll deffo post dSSS recs too.
~ ~ ~
Here's hoping 2024 doesn't suck as bad as 2023. Although considering how it's started, that's probably putting the cart before the horse, as my Omi (grandmother) used to say.