Yuletide recs 2020: Part 1!

[wakeupnew]

LET'S DO THIS

I'm going to shout about it in greater depth when I reach Unfit to Print in the back half of the Yuletide fandom alphabet, but just to put this out there up front: my gift is Brand New Chapter, Vikram Pandey/Gil Lawless from Unfit to Print by K.J. Charles, and it is absolutely fucking marvelous and you should read it!!!



สามเราต้องรอด | 3 Will Be Free
we won't hear the morning break
(One of the only missteps in 3 Will Be Free for me was Mae's ending, and I loved this character study exploring a happier ending for her. The closure for her relationship with Ter is lovely and I loved her finding her own place and beginning to build a life for herself that could someday make her happy. Also lines like "she can't help but want to hold bloodied hands and share the unspeakable understanding of what it means to have lived" are a BOP.)

There is a part of her that aches to talk to Miw. Wants to tell her she knows what it is like to want to survive, teeth bared at any man who tries to stop her. Wants to tell her that she also sees the face of the first man she killed every day in her head. After so long being alone, Mae can’t help but allow herself that want. There is no one left alive in the world who knows what Mae has been through except these three, and she can’t help but want to hold bloodied hands and share the unspeakable understanding of what it means to have lived.

4TH MAN OUT
Bunting
(Nick and Ortu despairing over their idiot friends and then scheming in the background to get them together is so funny; there's dialogue that sounds like it came straight from the movie. I love that this fandom is a perennial Yuletide staple of providing the best friends romance that the movie was TOO COWARDLY to provide [I'm kidding, the movie was fine, but this ending would have been more satisfying!])

Chris pulls out his phone. There’s a text from Nick. He opens it, and suddenly his phone is -- Jesus. Is that --

"'It's Raining Men'?" Adam scrunches up his mouth. "Subtle."

Chris can't look up from his phone. The video is a montage of men kissing, with Gloria Gaynor wailing away in the background.

"Hey." Adam takes his phone away from him. "Suit up."

Chris does as he's told. How can he not, with the way Adam is smiling at him? And, yeah, this is good. He's maybe going to give Nick and Ortu a beatdown the next time they show their faces, the fucking yentas, but, in the meantime, he’s more than up for a little one-on-one with Adam.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY
to unpath'd waters, undream'd shores
(Wednesday Addams' mail [0001 Cemetery Lane] is wrongfully delivered to Wendy Adams, 1001 Cemetery Ridge. Every bit of Addams Family-style spookery and horror is perfection. I literally clapped my hands with glee at Wendy's first communication to Wednesday.)

“Hi,” she says, when Wednesday finishes tramping her way over to the building and up the set of stairs that have been tacked on to the other end of the ramp, almost as an afterthought. “Welcome to Camp Cristal Lake. We have no alcohol, there’s barely a camp, and the lake is probably out to get us. You ready to get started?”

Wednesday grins, an expression that Mother loves and Pugsley’s told her never to make in public again.

AMONG US
Wet Work
(This is, no hyperbole, the cutest scifi tentacle porn of all time. The worldbuilding is fantastic; I loved the extrapolations from bits of Among Us gameplay and the fascinating imposter lore. Yellow's wide-eyed [many-eyed] surprise at White's kindness was sad and lovely.)

"We're, uh—we're basically like dogs, I guess?" Yellow continues, wincing as he says it. "Except, uh, really horrible dogs. Not like Cyan's. They train us and set us loose, and if we don't come back then that's how it goes."

Cyan's got a dog that follows them everywhere, a sweet little blue-furred Neptunian Terrier with the characteristic bulging eye. It's a bit rude to even compare the two of them, really; Yellow's pretty sure only one of them has ever seriously considered eating the rest of the crew, after all.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES SERIES - L.M. MONTGOMERY
How Sweet the Winter Blooms
(Every year I come to Yuletide excited for beautiful evocative Anne of Green Gables cozy winter fics, and every year the talented writers of Yuletide deliver. THIS FIC IS EVERYTHING I WANT AND MORE. I love this so much - the descriptions are stunning; I felt like I was in Avonlea. The deep love between Anne and Diana is so beautiful, as is the way that Diana's pragmatism plays off of Anne's flights of fancy - it is the dreamiest winter romance. I cried.)

The little pond was nothing special to anyone who might have stumbled across it, the woodland was like all the other tufts of forest dotted around their island, but Anne was here and saw the magic in it, and Diana realized that it wasn’t that Anne had low expectations, it was that Anne found beauty and magic in everything where others could not, and showed it to Diana where Diana hadn’t thought to look for it.

“There isn’t much room,” Diana said and could have bitten her tongue at how she always seemed to be the one to cast shadows of doubt on Anne’s face when all she wanted was her smiles and happiness.

“Well, we will just have to skate close together, arm in arm, just like we did when we were girls,” Anne said, and so they did just that for a little while, Anne’s arm under Diana’s, her red curls escaping their clasp and tickling Diana’s neck, and her warm, laughing breath on Diana’s cheek as they turned in little circles all around the ice-glazed lick of a pond they’d found years ago.

ANIMAL CROSSING
Island Biogeography
(This is so, so sweet - a day in the life of Flick the bug enthusiast! I love the interactions between him and CJ [oh CJ] and all of the ways that the author built on Animal Crossing lore. The water-taxi with the seasick hamster lady! Gently lying to Pudge about the fate of an injured beetle! This fic is tagged with the beautiful tag "Original Owl Character". I loved it.)

There's nothing left for him but to head to the museum. He loiters a little in the plaza, but no one's around, then lingers longer in the cool, fragrant shadows of the cedars outside Pudge the golden bear cub's little cabin. Pudge loves bugs with all the forthright enthusiasm Flick himself possesses, but absolutely none of Flick's analytical tools or spiritual distractions. He just likes bugs and wants to befriend them. Flick thinks that's pretty cool, all things considered.

But there's no sign of Pudge, so Flick leaves the present he brought, a My First Metamorphosis Kit on the stoop. The kit comes complete with milkweed plant, small net, and instructions for identifying and catching a monarch caterpillar. Flick would have killed for something like this when he was a kid; he likes to think that entomophilia is really coming up in the world.

AUBREY-MATURIN SERIES - PATRICK O'BRIEN
Calanques
(I loved this slice of life for Stephen and Jack - their regard for each other, and all the warmth of enjoying peaceful days together. The writing is so lovely!)

He opened his eyes and met Stephen's gaze, returned his smile during the tiny pause, the deep breath, before they plunged together through the sudden change of tempo that had given them so much trouble in the past. But tonight everything was flawless, fingers flying, bows dancing, lively cheerful notes filling the room, making them both grin as the exhilaration swept them up.

The music seemed to be straining at something beyond that, something Jack could not quite comprehend. A peculiar feeling seemed to well up inside him, an ill-defined longing to be closer to Stephen.

THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB (TV)
Watson Brewer’s Ten-Point Plan for Being an Awesome (Future) Stepdad
(I love this look at the Brewer and Thomas families figuring out how to be one family together. This fits the tone of canon so, so well! The author made genius decisions for moments to focus in on, in vignettes, that showed their progression over time - the one where Kristy finally matter-of-factly accepts Watson's presence choked me up a little. There's a bit toward the end with a family photo that cracked me up, and also Karen fuckin Brewster is an absolute legend, she is so, so funny here.)

Watson bit back his automatic reaction, which was to ask, When are you going to have time to have fun?! He did what Liz had suggested and stopped to review the facts: chipper voice, upbeat swinging of ponytail, bright-eyed focus. It didn’t seem like Kristy was feeling overwhelmed by all of that on top of schoolwork, even though, as Liz had said to him, That girl tends to take on a bigger load than a camel in the desert.

“Sounds like a lot of stuff to look forward to,” he tried.

BAND SINISTER - K.J. CHARLES
Murder Most Sinister
(What a good, good Yuletide this was for a K.J. Charles fan. The voices for everyone in this fic are pitch perfect and so warm and screamingly funny! The murder throws a murder mystery birthday party for Amanda Martelo. Sinclair and Cornelius in particular had me in absolute stitches and I was just so thrilled by how much effort/thought the group went to in making Amanda's ridiculous party fabulous!)

“If only we could incite such a rousing performance from Cornelius.”

“Not bloody likely. There’s a reason he’s been cast as the murder victim.”

As if sensing they were talking about him, Cornelius swiveled his gaze to rest on John and Philip. He then coughed, deliberately, to signal his growing displeasure at having to lie on the floor in such an undignified way.

“Cornelius!” Corvin shouted from where he was rummaging through a box of costumes with Guy. “Dead men don’t cough!”

BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)
Queen of the Swan Dive
(I loved this get-together for Harley and Dinah. The Harley narrative voice absolutely kills it, sheer gold.)

“Dog walker, though. You could still do that.” Canary shook her drink like a pro and poured it into a sugar-rimmed tumbler full of ice.

“Yeah.” Harley pulled out a barstool and sighed dreamily at the thought of all the precious pooches in her neighborhood who could use more regular walkies. She took a sip of the margherita and winced slightly as the wicked sweet-sour flavor hit her right in the jaw. It was perfect.

ENGLAND SERIES - K.J. CHARLES
champagne problems
(With support from Pat, Fen starts making her way in society again after all of .... you know, that [the first house party disaster]. Fen's and Pat's voices are marvelous here, and I loved the tension of Fen meeting Louisa! The little nods to Society of Gentlemen made me smile so much too!)

The hour was late, even by house party standards, by the time that Fen was in her nightgown and waiting for Pat in bed. Finally, she heard soft footsteps and Pat’s particular knock at her door, and rushed up to let Pat in, her hair braided for sleep and wrapped up in her cosy robe.

“Pat, darling,” Fen breathed out, all the muscles of her body seeming to relax all at once, and then Pat’s mouth was on hers, and there was very little talking after that.

An Evening Out
(Archie and Daniel's frank appreciation of each other here is wonderful -- I love that Archie can still take Daniel by surprise, and the negotiation and discussion of what they'd want to try, and what does and doesn't work for them, is so lovely.)

Daniel looked up at him, quickly, and a smile lit his eyes. "You're more impressive than any of them. Perhaps I should set up some kind of tournament, let you defeat them all and then claim me as your prize."

"That seems dangerous. Some of them might fight like you."

"As little as possible?"

"With weapons I don't have," Curtis said.

FINAL FANTASY VI
Hidden Light
(Terra and Edgar's conversation here is really lovely; Edgar's unrequited feelings and Terra's fear of her esper heritage, that she is a monster, are so well-handled. There are lines that hit me like a sledgehammer -- Edgar had practiced his smooth charm so often that sincerity sat like a weight on his tongue.)

"Masterfully handled, I thought. They remind me of my royal advisors - perhaps I can ask you to come over at some point and remind them that if they don't all play nice they won't get a snack?" he said with a smile, and offered a drink of water as if it were the finest wine in his castle.

Terra took it without seeming to notice the courtesy, which always was her most charming and infuriating trait.

GALAXY QUEST
Alexander Versus Fandom
(So charming and funny!!! Alexander Dane, through the years, coming to appreciate fans and fandom. The historical fandom artifacts were beautifully done and such a fun stroll down memory lane, if you - like me - are someone who's been in fandom for a long time, and I also really deeply enjoyed this take in what in the high holy hell happened after a spaceship crashed into a convention center and the crew vaporizes an evil alien onstage. What a delight.)

The first convention had been entrapment. The second had been the lure of a friend of a friend of Gwen’s who was putting together a production of Much Ado About Nothing and was definitely going to be there. The third had been the lure of a friend of a friend of Jason’s who was putting together a production of Troilus and Cressida and was maybe going to be there. The fourth had been because Tommy needed a ride, and also wanted to ask Alexander questions for his English paper on Death of a Salesman.

By the fifth, Alexander figures he’s probably just dead inside.

THE HALF OF IT
separate circles in a crowded hall
(I love this look at Ellie finding her way after the movie, so much, and at Ellie and Aster slowly reopening the lines of communication again. The Ellie voice narration is absolutely stellar - I laughed! It hurt me! just like the movie! - and the whole thing feels like a missing epilogue. I love the little looks at Ellie's new life and her new friends, and her thoughts on Squahamish, and her complicated relationship with Aster.)

It’s just—it’s hard, sometimes, Ellie sets the silent phone on the table and picks up the remote for the lounge TV, turning it on and flipping through the channels. Ad, ad, weather report, ad, and then a flash of grainy film stops her restless thumb: Audrey Hepburn, in black gloves and pearls, smoking a cigarette with a beautifully self-conscious insouciance. Ellie tosses the remote back onto the table and curls her feet underneath her body, tipping on her side to watch Holly Golightly make a beautiful mess of her life.

HAWKEYE COMICS
Making My Way Down The Line
(This fic is so funny - the tone is pitch-perfect Fraction-Hawkeyes! I love the character voices and banter for Clint and Kate, the use of sign language, the wry little world-building asides. He doesn't need newspaper so he uses it to stuff cracks in the walls! America the country or America the Avenger! I laughed so much reading this.)

“Fine,” he said, sighing. He wrinkled his nose. “I probably have to shower.”

“Shower, wear clean clothes, look like a human being and not a total disaster,” Kate listed off with practiced ease. She was still trying to compact that phrase into his name-sign, which Clint couldn't decide whether to be offended by or proud of.

IN GOD'S COUNTRY
It's everywhere you turn
(I really enjoyed this as a cap on the film - Gheorghe and Johnny, after it all, meet Gheorghe's ex. I loved seeing a more mature Johnny making such an effort, for Gheorghe and to reflect well on him - he spent so much of the movie being such a shit that it was pure delight to see him [while still VERY recognizably himself] trying harder here.)

Beside him, Johnny was chewing on a thumbnail and staring intently at the floor. Gheorghe reached over and took hold of his hand, ran his own thumb over the nail, which was reddened and too short. Johnny was still like this sometimes, reflexively pushing himself to the edge of pain when there was nothing else to do. He didn’t notice himself doing it, but Gheorghe did.

A Long Way Back to the Light
(Oh man, I was so delighted to read Gheorghe's perspective on what was happening during the movie! He was so wonderful as a character and also a bit of a cipher, since Johnny was the POV character and he was, god love him, self-centered whilst Having a Hard Time. The sex scenes are gorgeous and the last scene in particular felt like the loveliest epilogue.)

Johnny rebuffs any offered kindness, whether a pair of gloves or a bit of conversation, but he snatches up what isn't offered and then gives something unexpected in return, a cup of tea or a drag off a roll-up to pass the evening. Gheorghe sees what Johnny's face does when he forgets someone else can see him, how young he looks. It makes him feel off-kilter, watching Johnny's learned defiance war with his instincts.