hjea | Yuletide Recs

Harumple for 2010! Happy New Year, everyone!

I've yet to actually participate in Yuletide (the thought of having something else to write right around when all the end-of-term papers are due makes me balk) but I still always love the fruits of others' labour that comes out of it. ;) And wow, were there some fabulous stories this year, or what? This is hardly a comprehensive list of the wealth of treasures available, but they are at least some of my highlights.

Note: I saved most of these fics before the authors' names were revealed, so I'm just going to leave each author as a surprise for when you click.

[Bleak House] And Now Good Morrow to Our Waking Souls. Lady Honoria Dedlock/Captain James Hawdon.

"The metaphysicals, Miss Honoria, do you know them?"
"Only Donne's Holy Sonnets. Maud reads them aloud. I think she matches him in devotion to the most high."
"God was not the only thing for which Donne had passion. Would you," he pauses, "would it be too forward of me to send a volume to you?"
Because I love Dickens's characters when I don't actually have to read Dickens. And because I am an absolute sucker when it comes to anything John Donne.

[Chuck] Chuck Versus Bryce - The Final Battle. Chuck/Sarah. Bryce.

What was wrong with this guy? How could he keep appearing at the most inopportune moments? Did he have a Chuck/Sarah important moment radar on him or something?
A fun little AU wherein Bryce isn't dead, but is still hanging around being all charming and annoying the bejeezus out of Chuck.

[Dinosaur Comics] Apocalypse How? The Devil, T-Rex, Utahraptor, Dromiceiomius.

"So you are misunderstood and not evil, like the hero of an adolescent romance novel!"
T-Rex is back on familiar ground, though the Devil is not sure whether or not he can keep talking to a guy who has just admitted he reads adolescent romance novels. If he compares anyone to a sparkly vampire then the Devil is leaving and possibly also starting an apocalypse.
Bwa ha ha ha! This is crackilcious gold. First, read a Dinosaurs Comic if you haven't yet, and then laugh the day away.

[Discworld] A Day in the... Death.

This is the first day of the rest of Death's life.
Oh, Death. *handflaps* This fic completely captures him. Prepare to giggle, sigh dramatically, weep, and quite possibly tilt your head to one side with a big fat "awwwwwwwwww".

[Dollhouse] For Those Rebellious. Victor-Tony/Sierra-Priya.

When she looks at Victor--at Tony--something moves in her that she doesn't think she could explain. She loves him, greater than she has ever loved anything or anyone in her life before. It was strange, to check out of life terrified, fucked up on medication, terrorized by that--creature; and to wake up remembering all that, but finding some new depth of feeling making it all less terrible.
Priya and Tony hanging out on an island--their own little calm before the storm. I love Priya's perspective here, how she still kind of sees herself as Sierra, and Tony as Victor.

Valediction Forbidding Mourning. Victor-Tony/Sierra-Priya.

The line runs free. He moves the brush in a wide arc on the paper. It is red. The color makes him think of her. He looks up and she is there. She's always there.
Sierra and Victor. Grouping. And also see above re: my absolute suckerness for all things Donne.

[Fairy Tales] Lord Wolfe and the Ape-Leader.

The rumour that No. 2 Royal Crescent had been purchased by a widower with a daughter newly out was one to pique the interest of even the most jaded of Bath’s society matrons. For though Bath was not quite the thing these days, the extravagance of such a purchase, and the suggestion of an intriguingly large fortune that lay behind it, made society’s best reach for their calling cards. For while the daughter of a country squire is indeed but the daughter of a country squire, as more than one mother of sons wisely remarked, she is still a long way away indeed from trade.
Oh my god, EVERYONE needs to read this. IT IS AMAZING. Essentially original fiction, it's a fairy tale (kind of a blending of Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast, a little bit The Robber Bridegroom, and also very much its own thing) set in Regency-era Bath. Novella-length, gut-wrenchingly hilarious, achingly biting and witty and clever with pitch-perfect tone, it's everything you didn't ever know you wanted from a Jane Austen-Fairytale-Werewolf crossover until JUST NOW. Seriously? Read it. Do it, do it, do it.

[How I Met Your Mother] Moments in Time/Conversations with Friends. Ensemble.

"I'm not giving you five!" Ted interrupted. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation. You're my best friend and…"
"I'm your best friend?"
"I'm lucky enough to have four of them."
Ten drabbles on the fabulous five's friendship. Bonus points for the inclusion of the Fiero, Zitch Dog, Señor Justicia, and of course Laser Tag.

[Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell] The Romance of Clun. Arabella Woodhope/Jonathan Strange.

She was deeply in love with him, as desperate as any of Mrs. Radcliffe's heroines. On the whole, she preferred that the resolution of her love not involve her abduction and rescue from a dreary, haunted castle or manor - Jonathan Strange was few maidens' idea of a knight in shining armor - but she experienced the fluttery, overwhelming rush of emotion that such heroines described when the object of their affections entered a room.
I love Arabella here, before the marriage, and the kidnapping, and their ultimate separation (*sniffs*). Here she's just struggling between trying to be outwardly practical and calm while dealing with her feelings for a man who is, frankly, kind of an idiot when it comes to noticing her. Plus there's a ball.

[Legend of the Seeker] Strength for Tomorrow. Richard/Kahlan.

Without a word, she lifts the Rada’Han, opens the clasp, and places it around her neck. With a snap, the collar closes. The raw power which normally thrums in her very blood seems to go out like the snuffing of a candle.
Zedd gives Kahlan a Rada'Han so she and Richard can have sex. How could I NOT rec it? (Even if it does continue to make Zedd the creepiest grandfather ever *g*.)

Never the Same River Twice. Richard/Kahlan.

Richard was a hugger. There were hello hugs, goodbye hugs, comfort hugs, congratulation hugs, 'I can't believe we survived that' hugs, and, her favorite, just because hugs.
Hee. Richard and Kahlan being googly-eyed at each other throughout the series so far.

[Love Actually] Impropriety. David/Natalie.

HINDE'S HIND, blared the front cover of that day's Sun. Pink cotton bikini briefs covered in cartoon strawberries took up much of the lead graphic.
"Well," said David thoughtfully as he studied the Sun in his office, filled with all the imposing and staid furnishings appropriate for the Prime Minister. "On the upside, they are rather adorable. One of my favorite pairs. Top three."
In which Natalie makes an ass of herself in front of the press (a lot), and her charming PM boyfriend loves her anyway (and because of it).

[Mythbusters] Robots Need Love Too. Ensemble.

"Everybody, this is Adam," says Educator Kari. She's standing next to a skinny kid with red hair, who's still wearing the white and blue jumpsuit they give new people. He's also wearing a cape.
It's an AU where Jamie and Adam meet as wee kiddies on an international space station in the future. Hilarious and adorable!

[National Public Radio] Wait Wait Don't Eat Me. Ensemble.

We're going to be cutting our show a little short today, because, as you may have heard, there's an apocalypse happening! But we didn't let the election of Barack Obama stop us, and we're not going to let the zombie hordes stop us either.
Yes. This is indeed the story of the Zombie Apocalypse as reported by the cast of Wait Wait Don't Tell me. Click it. Love it.

[Slings & Arrows] Castles in the Sky. Anna, Maria, Nahum, Darren.

Darren stood by the edge, arms held out in a dramatic pose. "Well it's about time. Don't come any closer. I am prepared to die for my art."
Anna deals with Darren fucking Nichols and it was the Best Thing Ever.

[Spaced] Terror of the Revivals. Tim/Daisy.

Daisy thought fast. "Well, what I mean is, we might be a different kind of couple, where everyone roots for us to get together and then we do and it's great, and everyone still loves us because we're even more amazing together than we were separately."
"Like who?"
There was a long pause.
"Well?"
"I'm thinking about it! Um, Kirstie and Phil?"
"They're not actually a couple."
"Ron and Hermione."
"Meh..."
"Buffy and Angel."
"They broke up. And he tried to kill her and all her friends. And then they broke up again."
A million happy faces. I had to rush off and watch those last glorious seconds of Skip to the End after finishing this. Plus there's a fun spot-the-geek!allusion game.

[The Sound of Music] A Very Large Location of Something. Maria.

Maria. It is a good pious name, but in the Hebrew it means bitter. Later she discovers that it is also the plural of the English word mare, a word that means, essentially, the rather large location of something. Maria feels from a very early age, before she knows the other meaning of her name, that she is, in fact, the very large location of something. She’s just not entirely sure what yet. She knows it is not bitterness.
Maria's beginnings. Such a wonderful little gem of a character study.

[That 70's Show] Let Me Count the Days. Hyde/Jackie.

Jackie gets more annoying every time Hyde sees her, but as he watches Kelso look like a complete tool for, like, the fourth time today, he realizes maybe there's some good to having her around.
I only ever watched That 70s Show intermittently, but Jackie and Hyde's wacky relationship was hands-down the very best part of it. Here are their first meetings o the beginning of it all.

Let me know if there's anything I missed that you think I and any others should read!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I now have quite a few number of tabs open as my to read list, haha.

*eyes neglected school books* .... fuck. *clicks fic*

Yay, Yuletide peer pressure wiiiiins! School books FTL.

But seriously, read the Fairy Tale. Then we can geek out about allusions and tropes and the like without the actual prospect of a Dr. Barker essay looming down our necks.

Read the Death one (gawwwww, DEATH!) already, but the fairy tale one might need to wait until tomorrow. It's one of the open links, though. :D

Oh yes, I thought you might enjoy the Death one. And take your time on the other. I can hold in my nerdery. (Possibly.)

(Hee. Just had a mental image of Death á la xkcd all "YOU'RE A KITTY!")

Hee. Just had a mental image of Death á la xkcd all "YOU'RE A KITTY!"

.....

brb, brain imploding. :/

Heh.

*poof*

(&uarr sound of Xtiney's brain imploding)

And see I participated in the thing and have yet to really read all the goods! BAH. *is impressed by rec list*

Oh, you'll have to tell me what you wrote! And recs list just came about by my hours of hermiting in the basement to avoid people post-holidays. ;)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I CAN ALREADY TELL I AM GOING TO ENJOY THESE. :D

And psst, I wrote Harriet the Spy fic (http://archiveofourown.org/works/34506) if you're interested, though I do not think it is my best work at all so no pressure, whatever. *_*

Yay, so happy to spread the reading fun.

Aw, Harriet the Spy! I spent a summer with my friends sneaking around the woods spying on our neighbours and jotting down notes. I WILL DEFINITELY READ.

Happy New Year! Thanks for the list. :)

No problem!

I looooooove your list! Mostly because there are things I missed and things I have bookmarked to read later (the Dinosaurs Comic one!!! but a part of me is putting it off because i was afraid it wouldn't live up to the greatness of the original but now that you've recced it, I will read it) and also because you've recced things that I have already read and loved! I like that we have so many fandoms in common. *twirly hug*

I hope to do my own Yuletide rec post.....sometime. Lol.

Yuletide Recs

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