raspberryhunter (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
raspberryhunter) wrote2012-12-28 07:37 pm
raspberryhunter) wrote2012-12-28 07:37 pm
Yuletide 2012 recs
I think this year there has been some amazing stuff written for Yuletide.
First, my gift:
This blind and horrible persuasion (1286 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Turandot - Puccini
This is just SO what I wanted when I asked for Turandot fic. Making actual sense of the opera plot by giving it a wholly believable, wonderful politics backstory, I didn't even think to ask for that and it is the most awesome thing ever! Turandot-Liu as deeply sympathetic and deeply flawed BFFs with their own agendas and personalities, not just there for and about the men and Romantic Love, oh, this was everything I asked for! I am going to think of this fic and do a happy dance every time I hear Tanto amore segreto -- this is my new headcanon. And Timur! The fic gave me Liu-Timur! It even has a reference to the three ministers' song! YAY! Thank you, mystery author!!
Other recs in Abraham's Daughter, Code Name Verity, Exeter Book, Henry V, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Magids Series (Diana Wynne Jones), Norse Mythology, Northwest Smith (C.L. Moore), Queen of Atlantis, Slings and Arrows, Smith of Wootton Major, Tattooed Potato and Other Clues, Till We Have Faces:
Abraham's Daughter (5373 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Abrahamic Religions, Abraham's Daughter - Arcade Fire (Song)
...This was posted as a "fragment," and it has some formatting issues, but wow, what is there is powerful. Abraham's Daughter, in the past and in the present. (The song is basically a 5-minute fandom, easily youtube-able, but is not needed to read the story, which can simply be read as a Bible AU.)
In the Dark Hours of the Morning (2268 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
Just staggeringly beautiful, this fic about stories and memories. Maddie and Julia's voices are just perfect. It is Julie/Maddie, which I was very dubious about -- I worried that it would detract from the perfect friendship of the book -- but this fic never loses sight of the friendship that underlies the pairing, and is pretty much wholly canon-compliant (obviously it has to depart very slightly to make the pairing work, but it is very slight). The writing is just gorgeous. There was one line where I almost broke down crying. (Full disclosure: I betaed this -- but it was so awesome already that I contributed only very slightly, if at all.)
The Wanderer's Reply to the Seafarer (1102 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The Exeter Book
SOMEONE WROTE OE FANFIC FOR YULETIDE. I have no words. I am flailing about like mad. And to take my two favorite poems, the ones that I have loved since I was in high school, and combine them and turn one into a commentary on the other... aaaaaaaaaaaah, that is what I have to say about that :)
Mingling (3689 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hollow Crown (2012), Henry V - Shakespeare, 15th Century CE RPF
People seem to be finding this fic without any trouble, but as far as I know it hasn't been recced, and... wow. Henry V, with magic. With an ending that suddenly opens up the world. Loved it.
Heredity (2745 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo | Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Oh. This might have come from the source text, with its wry and incisive observations about the characters and about society and life in general -- that is, if Dumas had had a bit more interest in these particular characters, instead of treating them like comic relief and/or plot points. Perfect in tone and voice; just perfect.
Constant (2627 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo | Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
I repeat myself, but: this might have come from the source text, if Dumas had had a bit more sympathy for Fernand, instead of treating him as a simple villain. This fic does the unthinkable and makes Fernand likeable, without changing him from the character we see in the novel or changing his villainous actions. And the title is marvelous!
A Fairy Tale Romance (With Two Kisses). (5084 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Magids Series - Diana Wynne Jones
Ahhhhhh. A wonderful, amazing, pitch-perfect Magid story, with perfect Nick and Roddy voices, with a climax that is just right. This is the kind of fic that reconciles me (at least a little) to the extremely sad fact that there will be no more Magid canon. Thank you, anonymous author!
The Lidless Eyes Of Night (2894 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Norse Mythology
A cruelly beautiful, compassionate-terrible look at Sigyn, Loki's wife. Just amazing. Also, if you hadn't figured it out from that description, really dark.
The Derelict (2693 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Northwest Smith - C. L. Moore
C. L. Moore fic!! It's been years and years since I read Moore, but this brings back all the memories. Just written beautifully, spot on, and like discovering a pristine Golden Age SF treasure. You need not know canon to read this.
One Cannot Ask Loneliness (1098 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Queen of Atlantis - Sarah Rees Brennan
I think everyone should read Sarah Rees Brennan's short story Queen of Atlantis. Then come back and read this story, from Genia's point of view.
Unreal Until Experienced (7561 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Slings & Arrows
Slings and Arrows with magic. (You don't need to know anything about Jonathan Strange to read this fic.) I think I might have read a non-betaed draft by accident? Because it was betaed, but seemed to have a lot of typos anyway, so be warned -- but despite that, this fic is hilarious. Geoffrey and Darren -- and my absolute favorite ANNA -- are pitch-perfect and really funny.
Queen of Berries (2175 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Smith of Wootton Major - J. R. R. Tolkien
Oh. This is a little jewel. It's a story of love and Faery and berries, exquisitely written, with the kind of delicate, imaginative detail that just makes the story sing. This is absolutely my favorite story this Yuletide. (Okay, fine. Given my username you knew I was going to like this. BUT STILL.) You don't need to know canon to read this (although canon is really short and also worth reading)... so go read it! :)
each face that sings (8690 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Tattooed Potato and Other Clues - Ellen Raskin
The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues is one of Those Books, one of the childhood books I love like mad and am sad that everyone else in the world hasn't read. (Really, you should read it. Ellen Raskin for the win!) I was so excited to see there was fic for it! And then to find that it was casefic like the book, and to see Dickory again being her own lovely self, to see Garson being his complicated double self, to see Chief Quinn and George Washington III again -- this was such a treat; it was like being given a yuletide present I hadn't known I wanted.
Orual and the Queen (6588 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis
There were three fics in this fandom, and you should read them all because all three are brilliant -- this one is my personal favorite because it hits all my personal kinks of quiet redemption. Oh, Orual. Oh, Istra. Just a lovely little gem of a piece, this look at another way Orual could have come to redemption, a quieter way, a lovelier way. (In my opinion, anyway.) And it even manages to have a sense of humor! (The sheep!) I suspect it is readable only knowing the story of Cupid and Psyche and not the Lewis text, although the ending may not be nearly as poignant.
And -- and I'm not going to include links to the St. Augustine fic or the xkcd fic-or-whatever-it-is because everyone in the world has been reccing them, and I kind of wanted this post to be the less-recced ones, but there's a reason why everyone in the world has been reccing them. Because they are amazing.
And also the Zenna Henderson/Sherwood Ring crossover, which I cannot read because I haven't read Sherwood Ring yet, and probably won't be able to until reveals, but I'll report back?
First, my gift:
This blind and horrible persuasion (1286 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Turandot - Puccini
This is just SO what I wanted when I asked for Turandot fic. Making actual sense of the opera plot by giving it a wholly believable, wonderful politics backstory, I didn't even think to ask for that and it is the most awesome thing ever! Turandot-Liu as deeply sympathetic and deeply flawed BFFs with their own agendas and personalities, not just there for and about the men and Romantic Love, oh, this was everything I asked for! I am going to think of this fic and do a happy dance every time I hear Tanto amore segreto -- this is my new headcanon. And Timur! The fic gave me Liu-Timur! It even has a reference to the three ministers' song! YAY! Thank you, mystery author!!
Other recs in Abraham's Daughter, Code Name Verity, Exeter Book, Henry V, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Magids Series (Diana Wynne Jones), Norse Mythology, Northwest Smith (C.L. Moore), Queen of Atlantis, Slings and Arrows, Smith of Wootton Major, Tattooed Potato and Other Clues, Till We Have Faces:
Abraham's Daughter (5373 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Abrahamic Religions, Abraham's Daughter - Arcade Fire (Song)
...This was posted as a "fragment," and it has some formatting issues, but wow, what is there is powerful. Abraham's Daughter, in the past and in the present. (The song is basically a 5-minute fandom, easily youtube-able, but is not needed to read the story, which can simply be read as a Bible AU.)
In the Dark Hours of the Morning (2268 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
Just staggeringly beautiful, this fic about stories and memories. Maddie and Julia's voices are just perfect. It is Julie/Maddie, which I was very dubious about -- I worried that it would detract from the perfect friendship of the book -- but this fic never loses sight of the friendship that underlies the pairing, and is pretty much wholly canon-compliant (obviously it has to depart very slightly to make the pairing work, but it is very slight). The writing is just gorgeous. There was one line where I almost broke down crying. (Full disclosure: I betaed this -- but it was so awesome already that I contributed only very slightly, if at all.)
The Wanderer's Reply to the Seafarer (1102 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The Exeter Book
SOMEONE WROTE OE FANFIC FOR YULETIDE. I have no words. I am flailing about like mad. And to take my two favorite poems, the ones that I have loved since I was in high school, and combine them and turn one into a commentary on the other... aaaaaaaaaaaah, that is what I have to say about that :)
Mingling (3689 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hollow Crown (2012), Henry V - Shakespeare, 15th Century CE RPF
People seem to be finding this fic without any trouble, but as far as I know it hasn't been recced, and... wow. Henry V, with magic. With an ending that suddenly opens up the world. Loved it.
Heredity (2745 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo | Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Oh. This might have come from the source text, with its wry and incisive observations about the characters and about society and life in general -- that is, if Dumas had had a bit more interest in these particular characters, instead of treating them like comic relief and/or plot points. Perfect in tone and voice; just perfect.
Constant (2627 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo | Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
I repeat myself, but: this might have come from the source text, if Dumas had had a bit more sympathy for Fernand, instead of treating him as a simple villain. This fic does the unthinkable and makes Fernand likeable, without changing him from the character we see in the novel or changing his villainous actions. And the title is marvelous!
A Fairy Tale Romance (With Two Kisses). (5084 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Magids Series - Diana Wynne Jones
Ahhhhhh. A wonderful, amazing, pitch-perfect Magid story, with perfect Nick and Roddy voices, with a climax that is just right. This is the kind of fic that reconciles me (at least a little) to the extremely sad fact that there will be no more Magid canon. Thank you, anonymous author!
The Lidless Eyes Of Night (2894 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Norse Mythology
A cruelly beautiful, compassionate-terrible look at Sigyn, Loki's wife. Just amazing. Also, if you hadn't figured it out from that description, really dark.
The Derelict (2693 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Northwest Smith - C. L. Moore
C. L. Moore fic!! It's been years and years since I read Moore, but this brings back all the memories. Just written beautifully, spot on, and like discovering a pristine Golden Age SF treasure. You need not know canon to read this.
One Cannot Ask Loneliness (1098 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Queen of Atlantis - Sarah Rees Brennan
I think everyone should read Sarah Rees Brennan's short story Queen of Atlantis. Then come back and read this story, from Genia's point of view.
Unreal Until Experienced (7561 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Slings & Arrows
Slings and Arrows with magic. (You don't need to know anything about Jonathan Strange to read this fic.) I think I might have read a non-betaed draft by accident? Because it was betaed, but seemed to have a lot of typos anyway, so be warned -- but despite that, this fic is hilarious. Geoffrey and Darren -- and my absolute favorite ANNA -- are pitch-perfect and really funny.
Queen of Berries (2175 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Smith of Wootton Major - J. R. R. Tolkien
Oh. This is a little jewel. It's a story of love and Faery and berries, exquisitely written, with the kind of delicate, imaginative detail that just makes the story sing. This is absolutely my favorite story this Yuletide. (Okay, fine. Given my username you knew I was going to like this. BUT STILL.) You don't need to know canon to read this (although canon is really short and also worth reading)... so go read it! :)
each face that sings (8690 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Tattooed Potato and Other Clues - Ellen Raskin
The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues is one of Those Books, one of the childhood books I love like mad and am sad that everyone else in the world hasn't read. (Really, you should read it. Ellen Raskin for the win!) I was so excited to see there was fic for it! And then to find that it was casefic like the book, and to see Dickory again being her own lovely self, to see Garson being his complicated double self, to see Chief Quinn and George Washington III again -- this was such a treat; it was like being given a yuletide present I hadn't known I wanted.
Orual and the Queen (6588 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis
There were three fics in this fandom, and you should read them all because all three are brilliant -- this one is my personal favorite because it hits all my personal kinks of quiet redemption. Oh, Orual. Oh, Istra. Just a lovely little gem of a piece, this look at another way Orual could have come to redemption, a quieter way, a lovelier way. (In my opinion, anyway.) And it even manages to have a sense of humor! (The sheep!) I suspect it is readable only knowing the story of Cupid and Psyche and not the Lewis text, although the ending may not be nearly as poignant.
And -- and I'm not going to include links to the St. Augustine fic or the xkcd fic-or-whatever-it-is because everyone in the world has been reccing them, and I kind of wanted this post to be the less-recced ones, but there's a reason why everyone in the world has been reccing them. Because they are amazing.
And also the Zenna Henderson/Sherwood Ring crossover, which I cannot read because I haven't read Sherwood Ring yet, and probably won't be able to until reveals, but I'll report back?