Jukebox recs

[raspberryhunter]

I got a gift and a treat, yay! My gift:

where the white lilies grow (2048 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Demon Lover - Traditional Ballad
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

I asked to make the plot of the Demon Lover ballad understandable. What I got was not only that, but a lovely atmospheric piece, with wonderful wonderful voices, that plays with the idea of people seeing other people differently, and seeing different facets of them, which is one of my OMG I LOVE THIS MORE THAN ANYTHING BUTTONS. Each section/POV deals with a different characterization / desires / set of assumptions, which is just fabulous.

The treat, for the two of us who asked for Scarborough Fair:

then she'll be a true love of mine (645 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 5/5
Fandom: Scarborough Fair (Traditional Ballad)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Choose-your-own-adventure!! With solutions to the riddles! What more could you ask, right? :)

Gosh, there were so many really good stories. I picked out these as my favorites, but I feel like I'm ignoring a lot more that were equally as good, if not better. Really you should just go read them all :)

Stories recced are for the songs Jerusalem - Dan Bern; You Stay Here - Richard Shindell; Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men; Three Fishers - Stan Rogers; Demon in a Glass Case - Paul Roland; The Crane Wife - The Decembrists; Goodbye Sam Hello Samantha - Cliff Richard; Justice to Believe - Nana Mizuki (PV); Konungen och trollkvinnan | The king and the enchantress - Gjallarhorn (Song); Woman King.

Miracle Worker (324 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jerusalem - Dan Bern (Song)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Possibly the funniest story to come out of Jukebox. Dan tries to prove he's the Messiah by working miracles. Most of them don't work so well, but he's got at least one really good bona-fide one.

The One Who Stays (2182 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: You Stay Here - Richard Shindell (Song)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: Dystopia, Family

A nice introspective piece about what survival asks of you in the dystopia.

Swordsworn (851 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: King & Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men (Song)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

A lovely little snippet that, in less than a thousand words, manages to evoke all kinds of relationships and character notes.

Refuse (1509 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Three Fishers - Stan Rogers (Song)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Short dystopian fic. I really liked this one for the way it plays with ideas of privilege and class.

——-
Okay, so, I will confess "Demon in a Glass Case" is not my favorite song, but the two stories written for it were both completely and utterly brilliant. These are both gems, in similar and at the same time different ways, both pitch-perfect stylistically. I adore both of these stories so very much.

The Depth and Passion of Its Earnest Glance (1353 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Demon In A Glass Case - Paul Roland (Song)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

On the collection which includes a demon. Fiercely imaginative and allusive, complete with Robert Browning reference and a really yummy-sounding recipe for lamb.

An Excellent Specimen (3193 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Demon In A Glass Case - Paul Roland (Song)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Filled with witty asides, with all the arc taking place in subtext and almost-throwaway details — a balancing act that the author pulls off really well.

——-

With Down Wove (4388 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Crane Wife - The Decemberists (Song), Crane Wife Songs - The Decemberists
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: The Crane Wife/The Man
Characters: The Crane Wife, The Man (The Crane Wife)

This is an incredibly, incredibly gorgeous story, a retelling of the Crane Wife folktale, full of love and loss and transformation in all the best ways. If you just read one story out of Jukebox, and read it without knowing anything about the song, I'd recommend this one.

lies, damned lies, and the stories we tell ourselves (4830 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Goodbye Sam Hello Samantha - Cliff Richard (Song)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Characters

A fun story about spies and alternate universes, but with an underlying theme of love and communication and courage that makes the story.

As Roses Scatter (5063 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Justice to Believe - Nana Mizuki (PV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death

Okay, so, I thought this was a cracking good story, chock-full of plot and imaginative worldbuilding, both of which I love, before watching the video (linked to in the story). But now that I've watched the video, I'm additionally… rather in awe that the author made sense of that thing.

Sunlight and the Breath of May (9664 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Konungen och trollkvinnan | The king and the enchantress - Gjallarhorn (Song)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Weirdly wonderful, this reads like something out of myth or epic. (I also have a strong guess as to who wrote this one, based on, um, e-stalking my recipient.)

And one not-quite-Jukebox rec:

Someday We May See (694 words) by Luzula
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Woman King (Song)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death

This is not a Jukebox fic, but it was written as a direct result of the song being on the Jukebox list, so I feel like it belongs in this list. Another atmospheric piece, with a wealth of details calling back to the song, interesting subtext of women's rights, and an ending that is perfect — and all in less than 700 words.

(Full disclosure: I betaed this one, although I contributed minimally to it.)

Comments

[luzula]

Thanks for the rec! And I've gone through the Jukebox fandom list and read some fics for songs that I was familiar with, but hey, there are lots of other interesting-looking ones among your recs. *opens in tabs*

[raspberryhunter]

You're very welcome! I really think there were a bunch of lovely fics written for Jukebox :)