Andraste

You guys, I am having the perfect Yuletide. I got a great story that was everything I requested - more about that in a moment. I wrote something I'm happy with, and my recipient likes it! And so do other people, it seems, as I have plenty of comments and kudos. Moreover, I wrote four treats for Yuletide Madness this year, something I've never managed to do. (I think my muse has well and truly returned. The only reason I didn't post anything in the second half of December is I was saving it all for the ficathon.) And every one of these treats has received appreciative feedback from its recipient and other people! Truly, it is a Yuletide out of legend.

I think my stories this year are likely to be hard to spot simply because all five are in fandoms I've never written before. Although one of them has the oddest warning I have ever had to put on anything.

I have also had the joy of reading loads of great fanfic. And somehow managed to bookmark 275 stories that I have yet to read. Eep.

Anyway, recs. (Most of these are from the Madness collection, because the Madness collection is full of very short things.) I am reading in a completely random order.

in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! (Dollhouse)

This is the story that was written for me! It does a great job of bridging the immensely frustrating gap between end of the series and the future shown in the Epitaph episodes, all through Topher's eyes as his mind falls apart. My favourite part is getting to see more of his wonderfully layered relationship with Adelle.

Watchman (Baldur's Gate)

A touching glimpse at one way things could have gone for the Bhaalspawn's companions. And I can't say more without spoiling. (Except: psssst, lokisrose, go read this!)

The Tale of the Wet Hoof (CLOP)

I think anyone who has played CLOP for more than fifteen seconds has fantasised about doing this. Alas, making a getaway is really hard when you have trouble walking over rocks. Hilarious.

In Any Other World (His Dark Materials)

A beautiful ficlet about all the things Lyra does afterwards.

Somebody had to write this (so why not me?) (Meta - Fandom)

It had to happen eventually: an entirely fanwork comprised of nothing but freeform tags. (This reader is not sorry either.)

Get It Out in the Open (I Know I Have) (Monty Python RPF)

RPF is not usually my bivouac, but I'm really pleased I read this. It's a perfectly Monty Python coming out scene - by which I mean not that it contains dead parrots or silly walks, but that it comes at you from an unexpected angle. And there's a ukulele in it. Perfect character voices, and very touching.

Submitted For Your Approval (The Muppets/The Twilight Zone)

Yes, you read the fandoms right. This is an uncannily apt combination of two things that you wouldn't think would fit together. And yet they do. Maybe because Gonzo kind of does belong in the Twilight Zone. Delightful.

We Go Together (Like) (Oglaf)

I think the last thing I expected from Oglaf fandom this Christmas was a gen friendship story between these two characters. (Well, it's gen by Oglaf standards.) Left me with a ridiculous grin on my face, wondering why I'd never realised they would be perfect partners in crime.

Get Me To the Justice of the Peace On Time (Singin' in the Rain)

Beautiful character voices, and this is now totally my head canon for how Don and Kathy's wedding day went down.

Top Billing (Singin' in the Rain)

... and speaking of Singin' in the Rain head canon, Lina Lamont becoming her universe's equivalent of Hedda Hopper is a perfect idea. (She completely earns what happens in the film, mind you, but I've always hoped that she'd fall on her feet.) A sharp look at the future for everyone, and I love the character interaction here.

Since the beginning of my Yuletide reading was so long delayed this year, I decided that I'd begin by working my way through the shorter Yuletide Madness stories before the reveal. That meant I got through lots of fic in lots of different fandoms despite my late start. Anyway, there were many brilliant stories under a thousand words in this year's challenge.

Before I get to those, though, I must thank the author who wrote my awesome Yuletide gift, an Order of the Stick story in the form of a letter Vaarsuvius writes to hir children. The characterisation is spot-on and the author does a great job of getting both the painful, serious aspects of the story and the silly stuff that comes of living in a world governed by a D&D ruleset.

Now, onwards to the Madness recs! Since they are so short, you have time to read them all ...

( Thirty-six stories in twenty-six fandoms below cut. )

The good part about starting late is that I still have SO MUCH TO READ. I seem to have somehow bookmarked three hundred and fifty Yuletide stories.

I do really wish there was a way of sorting those bookmarks - I'm guessing it's planned for a future update, since the archive is not yet fully functional. I have fallen firmly in love with the AO3 during the challenge, though. At least when something about the way it's set up annoys me, I know that it may be fixed in the future. (And I can go make suggestions for improvement! I think I will wait a few days until the poor archivists have recovered a bit, though.)

I hope that everyone will forgive my recent radio silence. Christmas turned out suprisingly awesome (I even got great presents this year!) and I've spent every moment of internet time since reading the Yuletide archive. I'm amazed to find that it's New Year's Eve here already and I'm only half way through the alphabet.

This year, I find myself in the embarassing position of having written a terrible story and received a great one. Perhaps you think I am exagerating when I say that my story is terrible, but trust me when I say that when I link to it after the reveal you can see for yourself. The moral here is 'do not try to edit and submit your story while your father is in the hospital, because you will do a lousy job'. The concept of the story isn't bad, but the execution is ... lacking. Still, I am glad I did not end up defaulting and making more work for the organizers and pinch hitters, no matter how embarassed the kind feedback people have left makes me. At least nobody has recced the damn thing, or I would have to sink into the ground. As for the recipient, I think I may have thought of a way to make it up to her.

Speaking of recs, though, I have many!

First of all, there is the story I received: What Comes Around, an awsome Baldur's Gate story about Mazzy and the rest of the Bhaalspawn's crew saving Faerun. The author managed to work in all the things I asked for (plus Sarevok, whom I also love) and everyone is beautifully in character. My gift brings me great joy, thank you Yuletide writer! Of course, the lovely thing about Yuletide is that you get to enjoy everyone else's presents as well as your own.

( Thirty-five recs below the cut. )