lunabee34

1. While we were away for the holidays, I got more Christmas cards. Thank you, lyr, leesa_perrie, and chelseagirl!

2. I got the best story for Yuletide! It's Kalr Five/Dishes, just like I always wanted! Everybody go read Fleet Captains and Dishes (Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie).

3. Have some more Yuletide recs:

Cthulhu Mythos

The Glade
A family thinks they're offering up their daughter to appease the gods and gets a wee bit more than they bargained for.

The Life and Afterlife of Richard Upton Pickman
This is written as if it's the museum guide to an exhibit of Upton's work, and it is so brilliantly written. I'm deeply jealous. LOL

Deadwood

Four Weddings, No Funeral
Alma/Al, Sol/Trixie, Joanie/Jane, Seth/Martha
Featuring Alma and Al as the King and Queen of Deadwood. I love it! I also have a suspicion about who wrote this. *wink*

Paw Patrol

Man's Best Friend
I absolutely adore the Yuletide trend of taking the beloveds of childhood and rendering them creepy and wrong.

Alien Prequels

Two fix-it fics in which Walter survives and Daniels survives (and Tennessee, too!). Each is just the right amount of hopeful and angsty.

One Day
The Lone and Level Sand

Alien Resurrection

Of All She Surveys
Ripley/Call
The crew of Serenity the Betty out there on the raggedy edge.

Maleficent

Building a Home of Hair and Straw
Maleficent/Diaval
Character study of Diaval, really. Love all the stuff about embodiment (human vs. raven).

Die Hard

Saving the World, One Bad Guy at a Time
McClane/Farrell
I thought when I was watching the latest movie that falling into a radioactive pool of water at Chernobyl is a great way to make a crossover with Marvel happen; I was not wrong.

Lilo and Stitch

Endless is the Good
Nani watches Lilo grow up (and away and apart from her and back together again). Needs at least two hankies.

And now for my favorite fic I've read so far in the archive:

Fairy Tales: 12 Dancing Princesses

So Come Home
This is the fairy tale re-imagined as a mystery about 12 female astronauts. It's on the long side for Yuletide, and so is full of all this exceptional world-building; it feels like a fully realized universe packed with space stations and alien worlds and kick ass women. I would read a whole novel of this fic; I can't wait to find out who read this so I can go read everything they've written. I think if you like Ann Leckie or Jeff Vandermeer, you'll like this fic.

Nobody Cared by etherian; HP; gen-mostly; long long long long gloriously long
This is a classic "Snape discovers that Harry is really a pitiful and abused little boy and becomes a father to him" story. I really liked seeing the way the first book might have played out under this scenario and the ways that Harry's relationships stayed the same or changed. Love the Malfoys in this.

A Night in the Ruins by natlet; Deadwood; Sol/Seth; short; Adult
I think this fic captures so nicely the tension that I imagine for this pairing--a deep need and friendship between them and also a very clear sense of the danger of caring for each other erotically and of the other obligations of their lives which would prevent such a union. Beautifully, achingly written.

Getting to Know You by miss_pryss; Die Hard; McClane/Farrell; Adult; medium
This author is a seasoned Die Hard writer, turning out consistently awesome stories in this fandom. I'm not a huge fan of established relationship stories in this fandom because for me the whole delicate getting together process is the draw for me. This story more than delivers. Nice humor as well.

Wicked Wiles by blue; Snow White; Grumpy-centric gen really; short
I love the insight into the lives of dwarfs, their rituals and their lore. I love the gender exploration the fic engages in. I love that this is a bit of an Anne Sexton take on the notion of the happy ending which is in turn turned on its head. Nothing not to like here. Very thinky.

China in Your Hand by shewhoguards; Discworld; Tiffany Aching and Granny Aching gen; short
I think the Tiffany Aching books are the finest things Prachett has written and this story very much belongs with those books. It just a slice of life, Granny thinking about Tiffany and a gift she's given her. It's quite delightful, tinged with just a bit of melancholy and then the most wonderful sense of joy.

Invisible by miss_lanyon; Beauty and the Beast; OC/Beast; medium
This is told from the perspective of the invisible servants who must attend the beast. Really interesting look at the original fairy tale. Deftly written and perceptive.

For Kathy by alpheratz; Never Let Me Go; Kathy/Tommy(Ruth); short
I just finished reading this book like a day before Yuletide went live and I was ecstatic at finding a story. I don't want to spoil the book because it's one long mystery that slowly unravels, but this fic captures the angst and the injustice and the weary resignation and the futile dreaming that characterize the novel. Really, really nicely done.

I managed to get on the internet today and read my Yuletide fic. OMG, my story exceeds my wildest imagination. Not only did I get a Golden Girls fic, I got a Deadwood fic as well!!!

The Giants of the Prairies is set after the show's end, after the girls have split up and Sophia has passed away. The girls have gone on a pilgrimage to the Midwest that eventually takes them to Deadwood.

Here's what I had to say to the author:

You have so wonderfully and seamlessly blended these two fandoms in a way I never thought possible. I am so moved. I am crying because this fic really speaks to what I love best about both Golden Girls and Deadwood--that sense of found family and of community of convenience that becomes community of choice. I love very much the way you explored how lonely and isolating aging can be; I've always suspected that none of the girls would be very happy once Dorothy left, and this fic runs so close to my imagined future for them that it's almost like you peeked inside my head. LOL I love all the character grace notes (Dorothy hating the way texting mangles the English language, Blanche's shrewd looks), but this is probably my favorite line of the whole thing:

Her favorite might be the U.S.S. Enterprise, in Vulcan, Alberta. Blanche makes fun of her, and calls her a Trekkie, but at least the Federation wanted everybody to be a big happy family.

If anybody cares to guess what I wrote, it's in a fandom I've written in before. All correct guesses before the reveal get a drabble. :)