| Another set of Yuletide recs. |
[29 Dec 2008|03:32pm] |
CHUCK
Four Times Chuck Was a Hero by Being Nerdy. Some lovely Chuck characterization, and a seriously cute story. Very fun read.
It was show-and-tell day, and his mom said it was okay for Chuck to bring his new lightsaber to school.
Because Your Kiss (Your Kiss) Is On My List. Chuck/Casey. After the events of "Chuck vs. the Ex," Casey is feeling conflicted. Through a series of events including accidentally discharging a firearm, Thanksgiving dinner, and surprise!kissing, he manages to resolve his internal conflict in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion.
"Look. I'm just thinking we've been on this detail too long. We're gonna get attached to him. All this stuff with the girlfriend, his family, all of it. We're on the guy almost 24/7."
"On him?" Walker had smiled sweetly and Casey's trigger finger had itched.
"I don't know why I talk to you."
EUREKA
Crisis Management (or Just Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood). A series of vignettes, showing Jack and Henry dealing with various Eureka-esqe crises, and forging a friendship in the process. Lovely.
"A giant robot?" Jack asked for the third time.
"Well, an AI, technically," Henry said. "And whether or not it's giant is really based on--"
"There is a giant robot attacking the town," Jack said flatly.
February Fourth. A short and hilarious look at what would happen if the town of Eureka hosted a battle bot tournament.
Jack peeked past the edge of the overturned desk and narrowly avoided another laserblast.
LIFE
Zen and the Art of Maserati Maintenance, or Five Times Charlie Crews' Thoughts Turned to Love. Het. A wonderful look into Charlie Crews's head. He's so messed up, but he knows it, and he's trying so hard...!
If there's one thing he's learned in Pelican Bay, it's that love - in all its forms - is what makes life worth living. That, and he's had enough solitude to last him a lifetime.
Angulimala. Charlie and Ted in prison. This story blew me away! I could really hear Charlie's voice in this, so clearly. A sweet, sad, and slightly creepy story -- just like Charlie.
He wondered what it meant for the plastic tray to go from what it had been born to be, a non-harmer, to becoming a knife. He said, "Non-harmer is the name I bear, who was a harmer in the past, the name I bear is true today, I hurt not any one at all."
Why DirecTV Is a Bad Idea. This was a little slice-of-life story, Crews and Reese in the car on their way somewhere, charming and fun.
"No, I don't know the top five things to do in a car are, but I am sure that you are going to tell me." He liked how she could anticipate these things.
the rain and the sun. Another look at Charlie in prison, but this story somehow manages to be full of light and warmth and life. Fabulous.
He lies in bed that night, ignores the scratch of cheap cotton and Ted's soft snores, and imagines being an apple.
DIANA WYNNE JONES -- CHRONICLES OF CHRESTOMANCI
A Unicorn in Central Park. An utterly fabulous crossover with How I Met Your Mother. Very well done, with excellent character voices. Plus, how can you not want to read a Chrestomanci/HIMYM crossover?
Nobody noticed the four children who appeared in Sheep's Meadow dressed in old-fashioned clothes. Or if they did, they gave no sign that this was anything unusual. Probably because it wasn't.
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Waiting. Barney decides to cheer Robin up at Christmas. Featuring laser tag, Robin and Barney being bros, and the return of Robin Sparkles. Plus some very HIMYM-like flashbacks!
Barney throws open the door of MacLaren's, races across the floor (arms flailing away), and skids to a halt against the table hard enough to rattle beer bottles.
The four people in the booth stare at him.
"Can't -- talk," he wheezes, bent over with his hands on the table. "Too much -- awesome."
DIANE DUANE -- YOUNG WIZARDS
Terminus. This felt very much like it came straight from the pages of the novel. It combines errantry, a look at how Tom and Carl met, and an examination of how Nita and Kit's lives are changing now that they're growing up and going off to college.
"RING RING!" yelled Peach, who was obviously in one of her moods. "The future is calling!"
DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG
The Ballad of Penny Peabody. This story did a superb job of fleshing out the character of Penny and turning her into a real, three-dimensional human being. I'm so glad I read it; it's just the story I've been needing to read since watching the webisodes. This is what fanfic is for, y'all.
It comes to her like a flash of lightning thirty seconds before she walks on to the stage with him that Captain Hammer is a total and complete waste of time.
HAMLET
Wittenberg Days. See, this? Is why I love yuletide so much! Where else could you get such a fabulous, clever, seamless crossover of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead? And such spot-on, flat out funny dialogue? Plus Hamlet/Horatio slash, FTW! This one's a must-read.
GUIL: I think you may be laboring under a misconception.
ROS: Exactly! He needs a miss.
GUIL: What?
ROS: And a conception.
GUIL: What are you talking about?
ROS: And, eventually, labor. Et voilá, an heir, everyone is happy, and Hamlet can go back to whatever it is we did not see him doing with Horatio just now.
PSYCH
Hearts Are Won, Empires Fall. A completely adorable Shawn/Gus story in which Shawn finally gets up the courage to tell Gus he loves him. Be afraid, Gus, be very afraid!
Shawn loves Gus. He love, love, love, love, loves him. Adores. Loves to the power of googolplex and one. Wants to crush him to his manly bosom every second of every day!
But he can't say the words.
He's tried. Oh, how he's tried. But it always comes out as "Gus, I... lost my left sock" or "Gus, I... long to be a member of the Tiffany 'I Think We're Alone Now' Brigade."
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
A Storybook Story. This story has been recced all over the place, and for excellent reason: it's just that good. A perfectly delightful coda to the film, it's what comes next after that last kissing scene.
"I'll be fi--" Inigo said, and then started coughing blood.
Westley said, "This is bad."
"I'm very sad," said Fezzik.
SLINGS AND ARROWS
Ingenue. Geoffrey/Kate. This story was lovely and perfect and delicately-handled. Despite the distinctly non-canon pairing, it absolutely felt like a tiny missing slice of first-season canon. Very well done.
In her, even now, he sees Ophelia, she breathes Ophelia, she is everything that any of them could have hoped for.
Lonely Hearts. This fabulous gem of a story filled me with glee. It has Anna (yay! Anna! Anna being awesome! ♥) and Geoffery and Ellen, moving on and doing what they love. And absolutely pitch-perfect dialogue! I loved it.
"No, we will not advertise your brand of mineral water on the back of our seats!" said Geoffrey, and Anna kicked him under the table, but it was too late. "We will not, on any occasion, rent out our main stage to itinerant bands of glam rock minstrels! We will not, in any circumstances whatever, be accessible!"
"Except to wheelchairs," said Anna, automatically.
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