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[kaesa]

YULETIDE RECS!

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So I had an awesome first Yuletide. I got THREE gifts -- one main, one treat, and one Yuletide Madness double-drabble, and all of them were awesome, and you should go READ THEM. And I beta-read a bunch of other excellent stories, which you should also GO READ. Also! I have been reading lots of other things, some recced to me by chatters or by people in the Yuletide comm, some in fandoms I love. READ EVERYTHING. I am still in the process of doing just that, and in my neurotic completist heart of hearts I kind of want to wait until I have read everything so I can be Fair and rec all the good things at once, but that isn't going to happen. I'll probably make another post later.

Under the cut, 21 recs in:
12th Century RPF
Choice of Broadsides
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Fallen London
Ghost Soup Infidel Blue
Greek and Roman Mythology
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Lion in Winter
Olympic Opening Ceremony
Pushing Daisies
Robin Hood (Disney)
You Belong With Me - University of Rochester Yellowjackets

The King's Roads (3109 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Martin Pale/Francis Pevensey
Characters: Martin Pale, Francis Pevensey
Summary:

Martin Pale, last of the Aureate magicians, was traveling in Faerie when he met a child who had been abducted from England over two hundred years earlier. This is what happened afterward.

This was a really lovely fic, and all the more impressive given that my author was a pinch hitter! I adore the way Martin Pale and Francis Pevensey are characterized in this, and the solution Francis comes up with to their problem -- saving a little girl abducted by a fairy -- is awesome. There is excellent internal logic in the magic that works with the canon, and I just. love. this. fic.

Save The World (1528 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Billy/Penny (Dr. Horrible)
Summary:

Sometimes there's a second chance within a second chance.

This was a treat written to my prompt asking for Penny-is-alive-and-is-a-superhero fic, and it was super cute. Penny is true to herself in this, absolutely determined to save the world any way she can, and I love that after the events of canon, when she goes to stop Dr. Horrible, Billy goes from Scary Supervillain to himself as soon as he sees the girl of his dreams.

The Raven King Does Yuletide. (200 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke, Ghost Soup Infidel Blue, Yuletide - Fandom
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: The Raven King
Summary:

Even the Raven King ships it.

THIS WAS AWESOME, and my only real complaint is that the email notifying me that it was available arrived while I was supposed to be preparing Guardian ad Litem appearances, so I just about died laughing at work. Basically, for those of you not in the know, Ghost Soup is an imaginary, totally fake fandom for a totally fake media franchise of manga, TV serieses both live and animated, Western comics, stage plays... you name it, Ghost Soup has it, and all the different 'verses have different canons and are incredibly cheesy space opera/melodrama. And John Uskglass, the mysterious and powerful Raven King of Northern England, is apparently a big fan.

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The next batch of recs are ones I am admittedly biased about, because I beta-read them. They're still fantastic.

Salt Stained (3141 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Choice of Broadsides, Choice of Games
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Female Protagonist/Captain Villeneuve (Choice of Broadsides)
Characters: Female Protagonist (Choice of Broadsides), Captain Villeneuve (Choice of Broadsides)
Summary:

“Elizabeth,” your mother used to tell you, “there’s nothing in this world that can’t be cured by saltwater-- sweat, tears, or the sea.”

CHOICE OF BROADSIDES FIC. As soon as someone needed a beta for this in chat, I jumped at the chance, and I was not disappointed. Choice of Broadsides is a really fun choose-your-own-adventure game where you play as a Napoleonic naval officer, though said officer's gender and preferred romantic partners are up to you. This fic is about the protag's relationship with Villeneuve, a dashing and honorable French captain. (In this particular fic, they are both women.) It's exactly what I wanted at the end of my first play-through.

Equus malus (1038 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Bad Horse
Summary:

He rides across the nation, the Thoroughbred of Sin.
He fights for subjugation, and of course he'll win.

(Of course.)

It's delightfully cracky, hilarious fic about THE SECRET ORIGINS OF BAD HORSE. And what his original name was. It's amazing and clever, and you have to read it, or three cowboys will pop out of your phone and sing at you.

The Worst Things In Life Are Hideously Expensive (Or Maybe That's The Best Things?) (1899 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ghost Soup Infidel Blue
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: "Annie" | Aniangela version 1
Summary:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

This is another Ghost Soup fic. Traditionally, Ghost Soup fic is pretty much either cracky or cliched or terribly misspelled, or all three. This one goes for crack and a catalogue of absurd cliches -- it is over the top angstfic about Annie, a much-maligned character in the fandom largely because she's a clone of another character -- and I love it.

as a haven, as a cage (2403 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Greek and Roman Mythology
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Ariadne & Icarus, Ariadne & Asterion, Ariadne & the Minotaur
Characters: Ariadne (Greek and Roman Mythology), Icarus (Greek and Roman Mythology), Asterion, Minotaur, Phaedra (Greek and Roman Mythology)
Summary:

Before the labyrinth, before Minos knew of the Minotaur's parentage, before Daedalus was imprisoned and needed to flee--Ariadne was a young girl with a surplus of siblings, curiosity, and heart. She tries to help her older brother as he confronts the monster within while also confiding her own fears in Icarus, who is her big brother in every way but blood.

I love this one so much. I had the good fortune to help the author with brainstorming, and there was a lot of thought put into making all of Ariadne's huge family well-rounded. They don't all actually appear in the fic, but that kind of attention to detail really shows in the characterization of Ariadne and Asterion and Icarus. It's a beautiful, delicate, forboding story, and it has a really amazingly creepy fortune-telling scene besides. Go read it!

An imprint set in wax (2073 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Lion in Winter (1968), 12th Century CE RPF
Rating: Mature
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Philip II of France/Richard I of England
Characters: Philip II of France, Richard I of England
Summary:

Philip's journey from Paris was the shorter distance, yet he arrived later, almost as dark was falling. Richard, knowing his tactics well, refused to be goaded so easily into impatience. "I'll wager you wish you hadn't burned the bridge at Porte Joie now," he said cheerfully by way of greeting. "You could have been here in time for dinner. It was splendid, by the way. We saved you some scraps."

This is a beautifully snarky, sad, bittersweet fic about two people who are amazingly wonderfully dysfunctional. I am embarassed to say I have not seen Lion in Winter -- it has Katharine Hepburn, so I really need to -- but the dialogue in this is just perfectly catty and wonderful.

Le Jeu de Robin et Marian (2502 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Robin Hood (Disney 1973)
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Maid Marian/Robin Hood
Characters: Robin Hood (Disney's Robin Hood), Maid Marian, Lady Kluk, Little John
Summary:

Sovay, Sovay all on a day
She dressed herself in man's array
With a sword and a pistol all by her side
To meet her true love to meet her true love away did ride.

(Or; long distance relationships are complicated in this time period.)

This is lovely pre-canon fic about Robin and Marian based on the folk song "Sovay," and it's sweet and awesome. I love the characterization in this -- Marian's playful and determined and Lady Kluk is adorable and Robin's so very himself, ahaha also the Little John voice is absolutely PERFECT.

Under the Sign of Mars (2986 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Un Ballo in Maschera | A Masked Ball - Verdi/Somma
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Renato/Riccardo, Amelia/Renato
Characters: Oscar, Amelia, Riccardo | Gustavo, Renato | Count Anckarström
Summary:

A changing web of relationships over the years.

WHAT IS THIS CANON, you ask? It is a Verdi opera. I didn't know the canon either when I beta'd it, but now I want to because it's this amazing/ridiculous opera that was apparently originally about the King of Sweden, only the censors didn't like that, so they rewrote it to be about the governor of colonial Massechusetts. And like many operas, it is very slashy. (What? I can't be the only one who thinks all these dudes singing about how much they love and trust each other while going through numerous tragic love triangles is slashy.) Anyway, this is pre-canon backstory that shows us how the two male leads met and came to love and trust each other so very very much. I just want to hug poor René in this, because of course it will not end well.

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And here are more recs. I had nothing to do with these -- I didn't beta them or prompt for them or anything. They were just awesome.

Equus ferus malus (3049 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Bad Horse, Professor Normal, Fake Thomas Jefferson (Dr. Horrible), Bad Horse Chorus
Summary:

Some say that he once annihilated an entire town with the power of his terrible death whinny, and that he has a pathological hatred of people in white lab coats. All we know is, he's called Bad Horse.

Okay, so this is another Secret Origin of Bad Horse fic. It's different! It's good too! There's Fake Thomas Jefferson being extremely fake and Jeffersonian, and three-fourths of a barbershop quartet, and it's very, very funny.

Lucky Penny (1003 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Billy/Penny (Dr. Horrible)
Characters: Billy (Dr. Horrible), Penny (Dr. Horrible)

There is actually no summary for this, so let me tell you, it is a Western AU wherein Penny is a vigilante who metes out justice. The prose is rich and delicious and the laundry scene becomes so much more than just that.

Ten Recommendations for New Arrivals to the City of Fallen London (1036 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Fallen London|Echo Bazaar
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary:

written by A FRIEND

(translated from Rubbery Hieroglyphs by Dr. M. A. Chen)

This is a pamphlet written by a Rubbery Man for Rubbery Persons emigrating to or visiting the city of Fallen London -- as they're treated completely horribly by the citizens of that delicious city, it's a mixture of funny and sad and funny again. I liked it very much.

Springtime Will Kill You (15379 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Greek and Roman Mythology
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Demeter (Greek and Roman Mythology), Persephone (Greek and Roman Mythology), Hades (Greek and Roman Mythology), Zeus (Greek and Roman Mythology), Orpheus (Greek and Roman Mythology), Aphrodite (Greek and Roman Mythology), Ariadne (Greek and Roman Mythology), Nestor (Greek and Roman Mythology)
Summary:

Orpheus doesn't think much about his life before he was a private detective. But when he's hired to search for a missing girl, he'll have to take on Hollywood royalty, hired killers, and maybe, finally, himself.

This is an amazing and wonderful hardboiled retelling of the abduction of Persephone (and also Orpheus and Eurydice). It's really well-plotted and the character of all the gods and goddesses comes across in their AU personas really well here.

BRIAN WILL TOO GO TO SPACE TODAY (1001 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ghost Soup Infidel Blue
Rating: Mature
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Brian/Luke
Characters: Brian (Ghost Soup), Luke (Ghost Soup)
Summary:

Brian is heartbroken when luke goes to college. Will their love survive the parting??? Brian is deetermined to make sureit does!!!! READ AND REIVEW!

This is another Ghost Soup one, and as with many Ghost Soup fics, you should read the flamewar in the comments. (Also, despite my own comment, I totally ship Brian/Luke. They were clearly doin' it in whatever canon you happen to make up.) I particularly liked that about 50% of the time, Brian is misspelled as "Brain," leading to entertaining mental images, and at one point he is also "Biran."

Ghost Soup Forum Archive (4054 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ghost Soup Infidel Blue
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Summary:

An archive of the old Ghost Soup forum

And here we have archives of the sadly-defunct Ghost Soup forums, complete with all the flamewars and wank the fandom is known for. It captures fandom's bickering wankfests perfectly, and I LOVE THIS STUFF.

Dark Towers & Lonely Roads (1477 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jonathan Strange, Arabella Strange, Lady Pole, Stephen Black
Summary:

Arabella Strange at Christmas, 1817. A brief glimpse of her life after the end of the book.

This is wonderful bittersweet fic of Arabella's life -- Stephen and Lady Pole are in it, and I love them both, and then there's Jonathan!

John Childermass's Last Employer (12573 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: John Childermass/Gilbert Norrell
Characters: John Childermass, Gilbert Norrell
Summary:

To the city of York, in the year of our Lord 1780, there came a young man who had fallen upon hard times.

John Childermass' first jobsearch is not going well, and then he hears a story that almost sounds like a folktale -- no one can spend more than a fortnight employed by this one particular magician, who always inspires them to quit. Childermass is desperate, so he gets himself hired by the magician, who is, of course, Norrell. The magic and the humor in this is wonderful, and you should all go read it.

Big Bad (1731 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Olympic Opening Ceremony (2012)
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Voldemort (Olympic Opening Ceremony), Mary Poppins (Olympic Opening Ceremony)
Summary:

or, Lord Voldemort and the Massive Mary Poppins-Induced Existential Crisis.

My first ever Yuletide, for Vaznetti. I hope you have fun with it!

The author recommends enjoying this fic with a refreshing beverage of your choice, because it only gets sillier from here...

Poor Voldemort. This one is delightfully cracky, and I love all the cameos of other children's fiction villains. Jadis! Captain Hook! Dalek Sec! Also, the Big Bad Wolf as the overly-mellow dudebro running the support group is incredibly entertaining.

In Persica Veritas (1580 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Pushing Daisies
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Olive Snook, Charlotte Charles, Ned (Pushing Daisies)
Summary:

In which Olive Snook discovers Clark Kent's secret identity.

OLIVE. I love Olive. As anyone who has heard me squee about Pushing Daisies knows. ANYWAY this is the Olive fic I always wanted but couldn't write for myself. The narration and dialogue are PERFECT for Pushing Daisies, and I'm a huge sucker for X Finds Out That Y Is Secretly Awesome stories of any kind.

Wake Up and Find (25863 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 5/5
Fandom: You Belong With Me - University of Rochester Yellowjackets (Music Video)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Glasses Guy/Jock Guy
Characters: Glasses Guy (You Belong With Me), Jock Guy (You Belong With Me)
Summary:

By the third time that Danny wound up with a window or door directly across from Eli Gronkowski's, he had to wonder if the universe was trying to tell him something.

This is actually a fic about a derivative work -- this particular version of You Belong With Me is a m/m music video made by a college a capella group. Look it up, it's short. The fic is longish, and it's a really sweet funny romance about two characters who are kind of stereotypes in the video. The author really fleshes them out, and deals with the problematic aspects of it well, and I really like this fic.