maggie touches grease with her hands

So the Remix Redux 09 stories are up! And whatever astoundingly awesome person was assigned me decided to take two of my older stories -- vaguely embarrassing in that way that older stories are -- and create something entirely INCREDIBLE and smart and hilarious and heart-wrenching from them!!

. 15 entries from the pillow book of alex summers [the bullet point remix]

I adored Alex Summers beyond all reason when I was in X-Fandom, and really, I still do; this fic hits on just about every single element of why, with the additional bonus of a blindingly fantastic Logan and references to the sweet, sexy events of the Meltdown limited series* studded throughout. I love it so much. Go read it!!


*note: these events are markedly more sweet and sexy in the minds of x-fic writers

I realized I never finished reading the Yuletide stories! Here, have more recs.

. comfort and joy [little women]: a pretty (but non-treacly) glimpse at Beth, sharing a rare private moment with Laurie. I always found Beth to be more of a living moral than a real girl, so it's lovely to read this and see another side of her. Unrelatedly, Lori and I often feel like the only people who NEVER wanted Jo & Laurie to get together.

. his hologram lover! [red dwarf]: I have not read a lot of explicit slash in this fandom. Okay, I haven't read ANY. It's one of those fandoms where I just don't want that. But oh man, if Lister and Rimmer ever *did* decide that being in a relationship was better than sitting around hoping for sexually appealing, possibly non-psychotic life forms to show up and bonk them silly? This would be exactly it.

. tiger beaten [arrested development]: this is one part bandslash, one part alternate reality, and totally fun; I really enjoyed the way that everything happened so matter-of-factly even if it was completely insane. Hee!

. men's trousers down [are you being served?]: I watched so much of this show when I was a wee thing, and this loopy, silly, delightful story brought all of that back gloriously. But what colour is Mrs. Slocombe's wig in this episode?!?!

. miles fortunae [rome]: um, I want to marry this Titus Pullo. Scratch that: I want to marry this story. Oh my yes.

I am at work BY MYSELF. wtf?!?!

. white noise [la confidential]: one of the many great things about Yuletide is that I can always find stories in this fandom that don't shut Lynn out or make her the obstacle to Bud & Ed's twu wuv. In fact, in this story, she's an active part of it, and it's glorious.

. cartography [a little princess]: words cannot even describe how gratifying and heartbreaking and beautiful I found this story, except to say that the moment I hit the part that read "there may be places where laughing boys play cricket under sunlit skies" I burst into desperately homesick tears. And it's not even *about* the West Indies! Lord.

. five deals the robot devil almost made [futurama]: clearly this batch of recs is about stories that make me all weepy and smooshy, because there's something about Fry and his simple, unbearably sweet nature in the midst of all the silliness and Slurm and electric slime that get me every time. Plus, you can practically *hear* the Robot Devil delivering these lines. hee!

. timbit regionalism [bon cop, bad cop]: ahahaahh okay so this one made me sappy in a different, more patriotic way. Such fantastic Canadiana packed into every square inch! It makes me wanna run out and get a double-double and cruller timbits right friggin' NOW.

. echo location [the cell]: I never really floated the idea of fic for this before, although it's one of my favourite movies; this takes us to Catherine's work after the whole Stargher mess, and just like the film it's lovely and primordially unsettling at the same time.

. friends and family [bedrooms and hallways]: this was a silly-sweet movie, and this story taps into that lightly comedic and entirely charming tone seamlessly. Plus, what would fic in this fandom be without at least a vague reference to Rome?

. sometimes on the rarest nights [gosford park]: epistolatory stories can be dicey, but this one is utterly stellar; I liked Ivor and Mabel well enough in the movie but wasn't rabid about them, and this story manages to imbue them with such an astonishing amount of life and depth that it's really extraordinary.

Thank you to cunningplan and faith_girl222 for their lovely virtual gifts!! And now, time for Yuletide recs, beginning with the two wonderful stories written for me:

. moments remembered [murdoch mysteries]: a dual-pov look at the relationship between Doctor Ogden and Detective Murdoch, beginning with their meeting and progressing through the years. It's ordered and thoughtful and smart, much like the show, and a lovely look at the two characters.

. all heart, all thumbs [murdoch mysteries]: and this is the other side of the show, the one that's genteelly humorous and rompy and entirely lovable!

. the wait on the battlements [hamlet]: a brief lull in the storm for Horatio and Hamlet; I like the tense-yet-devoted feeling between them here. Also, I have had an inordinate sense of empathy for Horatio ever since I had to play him in high school drama class, which made it extra awesome. ahahah!

. merlin, arthur, and sir damas [merlin]: well, the title says it all! This is a great, toothsome little story; profoundly less silly than the show, but with all the character deliciousness that makes it so appealing.

. sleep/no sleep [brick]: yay, a story about Brain! Written in the rapid-fire but scattershot style of the movie, it's stuffy and sharp and the strangled, half-articulated urgency of it is just perfect.

. the last word [merlin]: this is the first slash story I've read for this fandom, and I couldn't have asked for a better one; it combines the helpless affection between Merlin and Arthur in the show with the deep and profound epicness of traditional Arthurian legend, and does so flawlessly.

. the enemy of my enemy [deadwood]: there's nothing more savoury than hitching a ride along with Al Swearengen along the course of one of his days, especially when it involves fencing with Cy Tolliver and baiting Seth Bullock.

. life in the subjunctive [dead poets society]: five things that maybe/could have/never happened to the Society. The grace note of the last one is especially lovely.

cathybites sent me a virtual birthday gift -- a broken gingerbread man which I'm sure she chose because its flappy head (so full of lies) looks like a Canadian's! Yaaaaay, thank you, honey!

And now, time for the first of my annual SeSa recs!!

. god must have spent a little more time on you: yes, it's *that* title. But never has such a crappy song been put to such good use! This story is a wonderful romp in a gentle, funny, heartwarming-but-not-slushy romcom where the boys are angels. Oh yes indeed!

. lust, love, and everything in between: MINE MINE ALL MINE!! homg, this story includes BOTH of my asked-for pairings, is totally hot, is totally funny, and is totally awesome!! It seriously feels like a birthday gift as well as a SeSa, and I am delighted that it was written all for me. Whoo-hoo!!

. pizza is overrated: for some reason I feel the title of this story does not do its brilliance justice. It's pitch-perfect squeemaking timbertrick, but all you need to know about its greatness is summed up by one of the best fucking JC-to-Chris lines ever: "You talk balls," JC said serenely. AWESOME.

. it's not easy being green: KEVIN/JUSTIN WHUT. After such a dearth of this pairing for so long, this year it's all coming up Milhouse!! Plus, environmentalism, earnestness, and the sweet soft eco-friendly opening notes of a romance that make me long for a continuation, which is really rare for me. But I would totally pester whoever wrote this for more.

Now to make rugelach and jam cookies. I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS Y'ALL

You guys. Go vote in the LJ-User Representative Advisory Board Election, particularly if you are interested in lj as a place for your fannish community. And because the current frontrunner is a non-fandom man who enjoys spamming with pictures of bukkake teenage girls, among other misogynistic and NSFW things. He and his supporters also think it's amusing to use flashing icons that can trigger epileptic fits. Hysterical indeed.

I voted for legomymalfoy, rm, and vichan, because based on a)having heard of them around fandom, b)reading their platforms, and c)seeing what their fannish involvement has been, they seem like good candidates. If you're lazy but well-meaning, go vote for them based on my word; if you're slightly more proactive, check out Jane's excellent Election Roundup post for pertinent links and choose your own candidates.

Now! In more fun news, I got my final mark back from last term and it was an A+. BOO-YAH, ME. I simultaneously spent a large amount of time nursing an unfortunate friend with a gastrointestinal infection. BOO-URNS, POSSIBLE ROTAVIRUS.

But I did manage to read some very good fic:

. these foolish things by randomling: inara/justin. YES INDEED. I gave her a few measly prompts a while back and she has responded with a story that's delicately nuanced, artfully written, and absolutely worth the read.

. decline and fall by subduction" agrippa/octavian. I was scouting for Rome fic and came across this and just about died in absolute bliss, because it's scorching and chilling at the same time and I am just astounded at how much backstory and character detail she manages to convey in such precise phrasing. Plus, Agrippa TOTALLY DOES look like a hobbit.

I went to Queen Elizabeth Park this afternoon with the family and sat under the magnolia and sakura and ate cheese paste sandwiches. If you've never had these ... well, actually, I don't know if anybody but West Indians eat cheese paste. You grate up some cheese really fine, add softened butter, add mustard, add garlic and peppersauce; mix it all up into a spreadable paste, and there you go. It's one of the most fantastic things in the world.

But onto the ongoing recs:

. telling tales [smoke signals]: Absolutely sweet, maple-sugar-sweet and as utterly charming as the movie (I haven't read the book). Thomas moves along and Victor stays behind, and there's a girl with braids who's wonderful, and frybread in Vincent's mother's kitchen. Delightful!

. i'll fit everything i need in my double-wide [drop dead gorgeous]: Annette considering what's out there in the great big world, and whether it's worth it when Loretta's right here in Mount Rose. I love these two, and I love the way this story's written, the strength between the girls when everything else turns out to be dirtier and sadder than they expected.

. everything looks perfect from far away [ocean's eleven]: Right in the lull between twelve and thirteen, Danny and Rusty trying to convince themselves that they're going to settle down. Sleek and lazy at the same time, a little bit desperate; sounds just like the movies but moreso.

. apocryphal [the mahabharata]: I was always more of a Ramayana girl, but this story of Duryodhana, enemy of the heroic Pandavas, is written so beautifully it makes the breath catch. Angry, sorrowful, and proud even in death and defeat; there's something about this that captures the particular cadence and tone of Hindu mythology so perfectly.

. lucky [dragonlance]: SHUT UP I TOTALLY LOVE DRAGONLANCE. Plus in the opening reel they fight a gelatinous cube! Who doesn't love that kind of action? Anyhow, it's a nice little story about Tanis & Raistlin, who are in some distress and yet the fic is still kind of funny. I like when people are able to do that.

. the fine art of falling apart [batman: the animated series]: I cannot stress enough how much I am NOT into the idea of Bruce/Barbara. But the Batfamily is nothing if not messy, and if it were going to happen, it would sure as hell look like this. Whip-clean writing through and through.

I finally have time to read fic and stuff again, which means that I just tore through the fics submitted for turps33's Awesome April challenge. Here is a short list of recs; please keep in mind my usual taste in fic (smart, heavy on the threemanbus, characterization) and enjoy!

. all i am is holding breath by vaudevilles: Chris is a thin-heeled bounty hunter in Capone's Chicago. JC is a bail-jumping nightclub singer. Things go downhill (or uphill, depending on how you look at it) for Chris very, very quickly.

. circumferences by _ducks: Lance's mom doesn't like Justin. You can imagine how well Justin takes this, since naturally anything can be fixed if you just have The Right Plan.

. decision by lesasoja: Lance figures out he's gay way back in Germany; doing something about it is a different story, and his bandmates don't/can't help. Maybe another band can, though.

. no exit by withdiamonds: Justin has trouble keeping time, and tries to use Chris and Lance in that respect. But they make poor calendars and Justin's sense of perspective goes a bit off.

mmmm, popslash.

I am working slowly but surely through the Yuletide archive. You know, next year I think I'll space out my MtYG reading as well, because I'm starting to think that there were a lot of stories I would've liked if I wasn't rushed and doing other holiday stuff in-between reading them. Hmmm. At any rate! Now that both reveals have gone up, I can do that writing meme. But in the meantime:

. the world is crumbling around us! [macdonald hall]: What would the holidays be without a little Bruno & Boots? Nothing, that's what! Here's a Five Things story that skips along with all the sass of the books.

. hotter than hell and hellfire [rescue me]: twinned fics about Tommy Gavin and his penchant for self-destruction, one quite hot and one pretty disturbing -- the first is a sharp little slash piece, the second ... okay, I've read incest fics before, but most of what I read is so unrealistic and blown out of proportion that it never bothered me. Hellfire, while not being graphic or having anything actually *happen*, is profoundly disturbing because it *does* seem realistic. It's a compelling story, but I wanted to make the disclaimer so anybody deciding to read it isn't ambushed by the subject matter.

. your only friend [desperado]: homg, I was so delighted to find fic in this fandom! And this story, told by Steve Buscemi's character, is just the right blend of gritty-gold western, lyrical and maudlin and beautiful all at once.

. macdonald hall is fabulous [macdonald hall]: Man, it's a good year for Gordan Korman fans. This story is every bit as fast-paced, fun, loveable and awesome as its source material, with the added bonus of being pro-gay in the best of ways. hee!

. detente [hairspray]: a piece about Penny, thoughtful and soulful without losing any sweetness. Plus, I love the title; what a stroke of inspiration, and how fitting to the story!

. up and away [homicide/batman]: AHAHAHH AWESOME. Munch rightly absconds from the drek of s7 and decides to try out being police in a new city, and the one he chooses is Gotham. Funny and smart and faithful to both universes, which is a true gift.

Second set of MtYG recs!

. noche: if you've ever wondered what a Nick & Nora Charles story in popslash would be like, you're in luck. Smart, offbeat, and with just the type of witty repartee that I like in my romantic leads!

. the reminder: it's hard to find post-group stories with Justin in them that don't paint him as The Destroyer of the Magic, but this one avoids that nicely. Sweet and quiet, with just enough tenseness to make things interesting.

. it pays to advertise: a delightfully breezy AU where the boys work in the advertising business in London, full of easy and charming characterization.

. every dot com's refreshing for a journal update: it's a testament to how well this story's written that even though I'm suspicious that it's bandommy and not quite sure that girl!Chris was entirely necessary, I just couldn't stop reading. Is it the awesome characterization? Is it the super-hot hottness of the sexy bits? I don't know, but I sure liked it!

. can't buy me love: Yay! Precious, yummy timbertrick that's cleanly written, sweet without being cloying.