Rec the Halls with Boughs of Holly . . .
So, Yuletide has EATEN my brain for the past 3 days, and I love it! Since all you really care about is the fun stuff, let's get to the recs, people.
Arthurian Legend
The Handmaid's Veil - The fairytale romance of Tristan and Isolde. The majesty and magic of Queen Isolde. The despicable nature of King Mark. All brought to earth, and told by Isolde's maid, Branwen, who has more than a servant's love for her lady. I don't like femslash, but this isn't femslash - it's a story of love, in all of its many forms. This hurts to read, and it should. Written by Alexandra Lynch.
Blues Brothers
Cell Block Full O'Blues - This was written for me! It's mine, mine, all mine! Actually, it's all Elwood, playing the harp in Joliet, and Jake being his usual cranky self. It's brilliantly true to the movie - characterization, plot, and music references are all over the place - and Elwood's singing of "Cellblock #9" is brilliant (and not only because it's a little-known BB song!). Jake isn't left out of the fun, hysterically ignoring Elwood's deep thoughts to muse on how much he misses pizza. It's a fantastic story, and I love it to pieces. Written by Jo Z. Pierce.
Carnivale
Number These Excess Days - I almost don't have words for how amazing and beautiful this story is. I suppose I can describe it best as such: This is the Carnivale story I have always wanted to write. The CroweHouse girls may remember my yammering (and occasional snippets) of a story called "For a Wayward Son", which was about Sofie's tarot reading for Iris the day of Apollonia's rape. Well, this is what would happen if you took my idea, wrote it far more brilliantly than I ever could, and gave everyone a look inside Sofie's head instead of Iris's. The language is just gorgeous, and the layout of the story as a tarot spread is beautifully rendered. The author takes the meanings of the cards she's chosen, and weaves them throughout not only each part, but the story as a whole. Her take on canon actually makes me sympathize with Sofie - not an easy thing to do. And the final biblical quote? One that I have always thought of in regards to Carnivale. It is simply the most perfect icing on an utterly flawless cake. Written by ep shlan.
Constantine/Hellblazer
A Regular Song and Dance - There's so much crammed into this story, and so much to love: how John first met Midnite; a sly little wink to Sandman involving Lucifer and a piano; John smarting off to Gabriel. It is one of those rare stories that remains true to both the original comic John Constantine (in all his asskicking, tough-as-nails blond and British glory), and to the new movie John Constantine (with his more sardonic, drama-queen Keanu Reeves look). The ending is exactly what you expect from a Constantine story, and you're satisfied with it all the same. Written by corialis.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Smelling the Roses - Cameron/Ferris. Every year, someone writes smoking hot Cameron/Ferris boysmut, and this year is no exception. A hot and scarily in-character look at Ferris' obsession with Cameron. The dialogue sounds right out of the movie - some of it is, of course - and the author manages to tie together all these little snippets of character and dialogue. Written by Claudia.
Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones and the Chinatown Ghosts - I can't tell you anything about it, for to divulge the characters, except for Indy himself, is to ruin it utterly. Just trust me on this one - you need to read this. It's a brilliant and heartbreaking look at Indy, ten years after Last Crusade, and the places he does, and does not, belong. Written by Lemuel Cork.
Life on Mars
And the church bells softly chime - Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt, seen through the definitely-not-looking eyes of Chris Skelton, total div. This story is SO Sam and Gene, with their affectionate-yet-insulting bickering and far too touchy for straight men interaction. Chris swears he doesn't want to go there, but he does, and we love it. Fantastic look at the Sam/Gene relationship that might just end in blood and going out for curry. Written by Sascha.
M*A*S*H
the hours between dawn and nothing - BJ/Hawkeye, if you've got your slash glasses locked and loaded. A gorgeously poignant look into BJ Hunnicutt, living, surviving, but not thriving without Hawkeye out in California after the war. BJ is my favorite character on M*A*S*H, and it was always because of the hysterically sweet relationship he had with Hawkeye, and the author has captured it beautifully. The flashback scenes to Korea and the effect they have on BJ are so heartbreaking, and yes, I cried when he called Hawkeye and left him that message. Simply beautiful, in a fandom ridiculously hard to capture. Written by anotherjuxtaposition.
Madeline L'Engle - Time Quartet
A More Honourable Lineage - O Calvin, my Calvin . . . well, Meg's Calvin, really. This is a gorgeously written piece set post-Swiftly Tilting Planet, and deals with Calvin dealing with fatherhood. You just feel how very scared he is, and his interaction with Charles Wallace is practically straight out of L'Engle's head. And oh, Meg is her snarky, brainy self, and you really get the sense that on the surface, unlike Calvin, she really is her parents. But then that's what this story's all about: how most of us really do end up quite similar to our parents, and coming to terms with it. Written by amilyn.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Good Management - Oh, this story is just delicate, beautifully so. It doesn't capture Golden's characters so much as fill in their margins, because you don't get a Nobu like this in the book. Canon Nobu is so abrasive and awkward and hard to understand, and this story takes all of those qualities and makes you understand why. The author also manages to write a Sayuri who is just as self-assuredly frightened as Golden's, and the end scene of this story caused a quiet sort of "oh" to escape my lips. Gorgeous. Written by Ion Bond.
Men in Black
Code 69 - Jay/Kay. Yeah, you read that one right. Nope, no plot here, just a hysterically in-character story with our favorite MIB's trying to stop an alien couple from screwing the Sun to a crisp while absolutely failing to resist the sex vibes floating around. Just, everything in this story is SO practically canon, from Jay's use of the term "flashy thing" to the car providing wet wipes and John Travolta as an - well, I suppose you'll just have to read it to find out. Don't die from the giggle-fits this is gonna induce, guys. Written by thefourthvine.
Mythology
What Freedom in Love - The story of Artemis and Orion, the hunters, and of Orion's unfortunate end, all turned on its head. I love the author's voice in this - Artemis is appropriately goddess-like, but also sounds like any woman in love with two men would. Orion and Artemis have appropriately sexy hunting going on, and you can just feel her falling for him in spite of herself. And oh, what a little triangle we have going on here - Apollo, all jealous that his sister's in love with someone that isn't him. I love the details in this story, how the author has woven together myth and emotion into a gorgeous story. Written by Cori Lannam.
Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle
A Permanent Ongoing Epiphany - Isaac Newton/Daniel Waterhouse. This is my shameless plug, so listen up. I betaed this story, and it gets more brilliant every time I read it. It's intimate and epic and have I mentioned the brilliant? - and it made me go out and buy this series, because I just had to see what else happened to these characters. Go read, especially because the author is a fellow 1st time Yuletider. Written by the ever-so-awesome sarahetc.
RPF
Ten Things About the Kennedys You Never Learned in A.P. History - John F. Kennedy/Bobby Kennedy. Yes, you read that right. Yes, it's RPS. Yes, it's incest. Yes, it's about the Kennedys. I know, I'm going to hell - where've you been? Go read this story. It's sexy, funny, poignant, and just plain brilliant. Written by Ishafel.
Those Who Stand For Nothing - Thomas Jefferson/Alexander Hamilton. This hits just about every bulletproof kink I possess: Powerful men? Check. Who hate each other, except they totally don't? Check. Nothing being a secret amongst them? Check. There's absurdly poignant humor amidst the not-falling-for-each-other? Hamilton wants to brain Jefferson with an inkwell! And it ends with a bittersweet sadness? Yep, that'd be a check too. Written by psychomachia.
Sandman
Reflection - Delight meets Delirium meets Delight meets . . . oh, you get the picture. A gorgeously-written, rather sad and hurty look at what Delirium sees through her mismatched eyes, and what it was like for Delight to change. The author nails Del's voice(s), and her non-sequiturs that sometimes are more, and sometimes just nonsense. Written by vongroovy.
An Awfully Deep Well - An "Endless Nights" approach, in vignette form. Each of the siblings is represented, and oh, they've absolutely managed to capture a bit of each of them. Delirium, and the comfort she takes in seeing Death. The difference between the two Despairs, and how the present one is more controlled. Desire's signature thoughtless cruelty. Daniel's sexual exploration of why he's not Morpheus, and yet still Dream. A mortal, and probably the most accurate, view of Destruction. Destiny and choice. And the changeable nature of Death, in all her infinate and intimate appearances. Written by Laura JV.
The Taste of Honey - I am in complete awe of this story, because not only was it written for me, but it is so very Gaiman in the exploration of a simple day in the life of Morpheus and Death. The beginning tells it all - Morpheus is Lord McBroodyPants, and Death is busy climbing trees and trying not to drop ice cream on him. The deeply poetic style, the spot-on characterization, and the fantastic dialogue all combine to make this story one of the must-read stories of Yuletide '06. And the end? Is quite possibly the most heartbreaking and yet beautifully written things ever. It makes me ridiculously happy that I contributed in some small manner to its creation, and it's being recced to kingdom come. Written by Edo no Hana.
The Sopranos
The World to Come - An utterly brilliant take on the steel backbone of the Soprano family. Carm is razor-sharp satin here, and I wouldn't have her any other way. The author has absolutely nailed Carm's voice (I could just HEAR Edie Falco speaking these lines), as well as all those other facets that make her who she is: the devout Catholicism, her lust-love-loathing for Tony, that sassy Jersey-ness about her, her rocky relationship with Livia. I love the double layer of narrative, Carmela DeAngelis the headstrong girl and Carmela Soprano the whip-smart mother/wife. And I love Carmela's unspoken questions about where the inspiration for all Tony's lavish gifts comes from. Written by the fabulous fairy_tale_echo.
Tanya Huff's Blood and Smoke Series
Smoke and Frost - The only explanation for this story is that Tanya Huff writes for Yuletide. Because this fic? Is SPOT-ON in characterization, plot, and style. Tony is Lord High Dork, with the Buffy references and beige ceiling and knowledge of fandom. Lee is just as hot and sweet as ever. Amy is her usual cuckoo self, and we love her for it. And Henry? At his Prince of Darkness best. It's a casefile that doesn't read at all like a casefile, and retains the distinctive character voices of canon. Absolutely bloody awesome. Apparently written by Brighid.
Torchwood
Paramagnetic - This is MY Captain Jack Harkness: still smooth as silk, but oh-so-broken in tiny places most people can't see. This is a brilliant, fanTAStic story about Jack picking up the pieces in the years after returning to Earth, building Torchwood Three into a credible branch, and forming his team. I love the backstories - Owen's hideous bedside manner, Tosh's adorable gossip sessions with Jack, Ianto's slightly scary attention to detail (he got MI-5 to give them the pterodactyl because Jack said he wanted a dinosaur!), Suzie's self-destruction, and Gwen's shiny newness. I love Jack, dancing his way through life with Suzie, Ianto, and everyone else he can get his hands on, and I love all the little throwaway mentions of Rose, Nine, and the TARDIS. And oh, you know if you've seen the show how inevitable the ending is, and yet it still makes you all achey in the chestal area. Written by Fahye.
That's it for now, gang. Possibly back with more, as I wade through the 1000+ stories in the archive, which you can find here. Oh, and no, I cannot tell you which stories I wrote, because that would defeat the purpose of the "secret santa" part of the challenge. I will say that neither of them are listed here, and that I'm ridiculously proud of myself for both of them on my first year in Yuletide. :P
Arthurian Legend
The Handmaid's Veil - The fairytale romance of Tristan and Isolde. The majesty and magic of Queen Isolde. The despicable nature of King Mark. All brought to earth, and told by Isolde's maid, Branwen, who has more than a servant's love for her lady. I don't like femslash, but this isn't femslash - it's a story of love, in all of its many forms. This hurts to read, and it should. Written by Alexandra Lynch.
Blues Brothers
Cell Block Full O'Blues - This was written for me! It's mine, mine, all mine! Actually, it's all Elwood, playing the harp in Joliet, and Jake being his usual cranky self. It's brilliantly true to the movie - characterization, plot, and music references are all over the place - and Elwood's singing of "Cellblock #9" is brilliant (and not only because it's a little-known BB song!). Jake isn't left out of the fun, hysterically ignoring Elwood's deep thoughts to muse on how much he misses pizza. It's a fantastic story, and I love it to pieces. Written by Jo Z. Pierce.
Carnivale
Number These Excess Days - I almost don't have words for how amazing and beautiful this story is. I suppose I can describe it best as such: This is the Carnivale story I have always wanted to write. The CroweHouse girls may remember my yammering (and occasional snippets) of a story called "For a Wayward Son", which was about Sofie's tarot reading for Iris the day of Apollonia's rape. Well, this is what would happen if you took my idea, wrote it far more brilliantly than I ever could, and gave everyone a look inside Sofie's head instead of Iris's. The language is just gorgeous, and the layout of the story as a tarot spread is beautifully rendered. The author takes the meanings of the cards she's chosen, and weaves them throughout not only each part, but the story as a whole. Her take on canon actually makes me sympathize with Sofie - not an easy thing to do. And the final biblical quote? One that I have always thought of in regards to Carnivale. It is simply the most perfect icing on an utterly flawless cake. Written by ep shlan.
Constantine/Hellblazer
A Regular Song and Dance - There's so much crammed into this story, and so much to love: how John first met Midnite; a sly little wink to Sandman involving Lucifer and a piano; John smarting off to Gabriel. It is one of those rare stories that remains true to both the original comic John Constantine (in all his asskicking, tough-as-nails blond and British glory), and to the new movie John Constantine (with his more sardonic, drama-queen Keanu Reeves look). The ending is exactly what you expect from a Constantine story, and you're satisfied with it all the same. Written by corialis.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Smelling the Roses - Cameron/Ferris. Every year, someone writes smoking hot Cameron/Ferris boysmut, and this year is no exception. A hot and scarily in-character look at Ferris' obsession with Cameron. The dialogue sounds right out of the movie - some of it is, of course - and the author manages to tie together all these little snippets of character and dialogue. Written by Claudia.
Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones and the Chinatown Ghosts - I can't tell you anything about it, for to divulge the characters, except for Indy himself, is to ruin it utterly. Just trust me on this one - you need to read this. It's a brilliant and heartbreaking look at Indy, ten years after Last Crusade, and the places he does, and does not, belong. Written by Lemuel Cork.
Life on Mars
And the church bells softly chime - Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt, seen through the definitely-not-looking eyes of Chris Skelton, total div. This story is SO Sam and Gene, with their affectionate-yet-insulting bickering and far too touchy for straight men interaction. Chris swears he doesn't want to go there, but he does, and we love it. Fantastic look at the Sam/Gene relationship that might just end in blood and going out for curry. Written by Sascha.
M*A*S*H
the hours between dawn and nothing - BJ/Hawkeye, if you've got your slash glasses locked and loaded. A gorgeously poignant look into BJ Hunnicutt, living, surviving, but not thriving without Hawkeye out in California after the war. BJ is my favorite character on M*A*S*H, and it was always because of the hysterically sweet relationship he had with Hawkeye, and the author has captured it beautifully. The flashback scenes to Korea and the effect they have on BJ are so heartbreaking, and yes, I cried when he called Hawkeye and left him that message. Simply beautiful, in a fandom ridiculously hard to capture. Written by anotherjuxtaposition.
Madeline L'Engle - Time Quartet
A More Honourable Lineage - O Calvin, my Calvin . . . well, Meg's Calvin, really. This is a gorgeously written piece set post-Swiftly Tilting Planet, and deals with Calvin dealing with fatherhood. You just feel how very scared he is, and his interaction with Charles Wallace is practically straight out of L'Engle's head. And oh, Meg is her snarky, brainy self, and you really get the sense that on the surface, unlike Calvin, she really is her parents. But then that's what this story's all about: how most of us really do end up quite similar to our parents, and coming to terms with it. Written by amilyn.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Good Management - Oh, this story is just delicate, beautifully so. It doesn't capture Golden's characters so much as fill in their margins, because you don't get a Nobu like this in the book. Canon Nobu is so abrasive and awkward and hard to understand, and this story takes all of those qualities and makes you understand why. The author also manages to write a Sayuri who is just as self-assuredly frightened as Golden's, and the end scene of this story caused a quiet sort of "oh" to escape my lips. Gorgeous. Written by Ion Bond.
Men in Black
Code 69 - Jay/Kay. Yeah, you read that one right. Nope, no plot here, just a hysterically in-character story with our favorite MIB's trying to stop an alien couple from screwing the Sun to a crisp while absolutely failing to resist the sex vibes floating around. Just, everything in this story is SO practically canon, from Jay's use of the term "flashy thing" to the car providing wet wipes and John Travolta as an - well, I suppose you'll just have to read it to find out. Don't die from the giggle-fits this is gonna induce, guys. Written by thefourthvine.
Mythology
What Freedom in Love - The story of Artemis and Orion, the hunters, and of Orion's unfortunate end, all turned on its head. I love the author's voice in this - Artemis is appropriately goddess-like, but also sounds like any woman in love with two men would. Orion and Artemis have appropriately sexy hunting going on, and you can just feel her falling for him in spite of herself. And oh, what a little triangle we have going on here - Apollo, all jealous that his sister's in love with someone that isn't him. I love the details in this story, how the author has woven together myth and emotion into a gorgeous story. Written by Cori Lannam.
Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle
A Permanent Ongoing Epiphany - Isaac Newton/Daniel Waterhouse. This is my shameless plug, so listen up. I betaed this story, and it gets more brilliant every time I read it. It's intimate and epic and have I mentioned the brilliant? - and it made me go out and buy this series, because I just had to see what else happened to these characters. Go read, especially because the author is a fellow 1st time Yuletider. Written by the ever-so-awesome sarahetc.
RPF
Ten Things About the Kennedys You Never Learned in A.P. History - John F. Kennedy/Bobby Kennedy. Yes, you read that right. Yes, it's RPS. Yes, it's incest. Yes, it's about the Kennedys. I know, I'm going to hell - where've you been? Go read this story. It's sexy, funny, poignant, and just plain brilliant. Written by Ishafel.
Those Who Stand For Nothing - Thomas Jefferson/Alexander Hamilton. This hits just about every bulletproof kink I possess: Powerful men? Check. Who hate each other, except they totally don't? Check. Nothing being a secret amongst them? Check. There's absurdly poignant humor amidst the not-falling-for-each-other? Hamilton wants to brain Jefferson with an inkwell! And it ends with a bittersweet sadness? Yep, that'd be a check too. Written by psychomachia.
Sandman
Reflection - Delight meets Delirium meets Delight meets . . . oh, you get the picture. A gorgeously-written, rather sad and hurty look at what Delirium sees through her mismatched eyes, and what it was like for Delight to change. The author nails Del's voice(s), and her non-sequiturs that sometimes are more, and sometimes just nonsense. Written by vongroovy.
An Awfully Deep Well - An "Endless Nights" approach, in vignette form. Each of the siblings is represented, and oh, they've absolutely managed to capture a bit of each of them. Delirium, and the comfort she takes in seeing Death. The difference between the two Despairs, and how the present one is more controlled. Desire's signature thoughtless cruelty. Daniel's sexual exploration of why he's not Morpheus, and yet still Dream. A mortal, and probably the most accurate, view of Destruction. Destiny and choice. And the changeable nature of Death, in all her infinate and intimate appearances. Written by Laura JV.
The Taste of Honey - I am in complete awe of this story, because not only was it written for me, but it is so very Gaiman in the exploration of a simple day in the life of Morpheus and Death. The beginning tells it all - Morpheus is Lord McBroodyPants, and Death is busy climbing trees and trying not to drop ice cream on him. The deeply poetic style, the spot-on characterization, and the fantastic dialogue all combine to make this story one of the must-read stories of Yuletide '06. And the end? Is quite possibly the most heartbreaking and yet beautifully written things ever. It makes me ridiculously happy that I contributed in some small manner to its creation, and it's being recced to kingdom come. Written by Edo no Hana.
The Sopranos
The World to Come - An utterly brilliant take on the steel backbone of the Soprano family. Carm is razor-sharp satin here, and I wouldn't have her any other way. The author has absolutely nailed Carm's voice (I could just HEAR Edie Falco speaking these lines), as well as all those other facets that make her who she is: the devout Catholicism, her lust-love-loathing for Tony, that sassy Jersey-ness about her, her rocky relationship with Livia. I love the double layer of narrative, Carmela DeAngelis the headstrong girl and Carmela Soprano the whip-smart mother/wife. And I love Carmela's unspoken questions about where the inspiration for all Tony's lavish gifts comes from. Written by the fabulous fairy_tale_echo.
Tanya Huff's Blood and Smoke Series
Smoke and Frost - The only explanation for this story is that Tanya Huff writes for Yuletide. Because this fic? Is SPOT-ON in characterization, plot, and style. Tony is Lord High Dork, with the Buffy references and beige ceiling and knowledge of fandom. Lee is just as hot and sweet as ever. Amy is her usual cuckoo self, and we love her for it. And Henry? At his Prince of Darkness best. It's a casefile that doesn't read at all like a casefile, and retains the distinctive character voices of canon. Absolutely bloody awesome. Apparently written by Brighid.
Torchwood
Paramagnetic - This is MY Captain Jack Harkness: still smooth as silk, but oh-so-broken in tiny places most people can't see. This is a brilliant, fanTAStic story about Jack picking up the pieces in the years after returning to Earth, building Torchwood Three into a credible branch, and forming his team. I love the backstories - Owen's hideous bedside manner, Tosh's adorable gossip sessions with Jack, Ianto's slightly scary attention to detail (he got MI-5 to give them the pterodactyl because Jack said he wanted a dinosaur!), Suzie's self-destruction, and Gwen's shiny newness. I love Jack, dancing his way through life with Suzie, Ianto, and everyone else he can get his hands on, and I love all the little throwaway mentions of Rose, Nine, and the TARDIS. And oh, you know if you've seen the show how inevitable the ending is, and yet it still makes you all achey in the chestal area. Written by Fahye.
That's it for now, gang. Possibly back with more, as I wade through the 1000+ stories in the archive, which you can find here. Oh, and no, I cannot tell you which stories I wrote, because that would defeat the purpose of the "secret santa" part of the challenge. I will say that neither of them are listed here, and that I'm ridiculously proud of myself for both of them on my first year in Yuletide. :P