Yuletide Rec list: Overlooked gems
Dec. 27th, 2011 10:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowynightFandoms: Monster High, Thorneyhold - Mary Stewart, Dil Chahta Hai | Do Your Thing (2001), Myron Bolitar - Harlan Coben. Starcraft, River Man (song). Mother 3, Petr & the Wulf (Album), Maria-sama ga Miteru, Polynesian Mythology,Walls of Emerald - Li Shang-Yin, Dave Brandstetter Mysteries, Dancing Meteorite and the Stolen Law -- Anne Mason, Lost Odyssey, Pearl Jam, The Loved Ones (2009), Ya lyublyu tebya | You I Love (2004), Majishan no Yuutsu | A Magician's Misfortunes (Takarazuka musical), Toukaidou Hisame, Changelings the Dreaming
Rating: everything from General Audiences to Explicit
Methodology: Go to AO3 Yuletide collection. Arrange them according to ascending order of hit. Read. Profit.
Note: I don't have canon knowledge of any but one fandoms but I still find these fics very enjoyable. Therefore I hope you'll enjoy them too. Please feed the author if you like their fic. Spoilers may be ahead. Read at your own risk.
Fandom: Monster High
Title: With the Grace of a Child
Rating: General Audience
Warning: Author choose not to warn
Summary: Abbey will always be proper.
Reason for rec: It's a sweet Abby/Frankie first time fic. Abby's seriousness in her courtship is a nice contrast to Frankie's casualness. You will probably like it if you like sweet fluffy humourous femslash.
Fandom: Thorneyhold - Mary Stewart
Title: Letters From My Namesake
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Letters between two cousins show a year-long friendship (my summary)
Reason for rec: A lovely character study. I nearly skipped over this fic and I'm glad I didn't. I like the lovely details, the delight in the little treasure of daily life.
Fandom: Dil Chahta Hai | Do Your Thing (2001)
Title: Parting the dawn rain
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: In Kasauli, Sid remembers.
Reason for rec: Another lovely character study. I start this fic knowing nothing about Sid, but the author makes me fall in love with his quiet emotion and the lovely details he notices.
Fandom: Myron Bolitar - Harlan Coben
Title: To Eartha Kitt, thanks for everything, Myron Bolitar
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary:
Fandom: Starcraft
Title: Sometimes you need to shift your game from macro to micro
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: What the title says, starring a couple rebel leaders. Even with compatible management styles, it's good to be multi-focused.
Reason for rec: It's a very exciting action story. It moves as fast speed and keeps at the edge of my seat.
Fandom: River Man (song)
Title: Life in Time
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Autumn’s a river winding down through the forest, a whisper of frost and a roar of color. Leaves fall into the other river, the one made of water, and flow on towards the immeasurable horizon, where the ocean teems on what might be the edge of the world. Nothing’s known but Betty’s coming, sure as the wind, which lacks constancy save for its presence.
Reason for rec: The story is very lyrical and stylistic, and I love the female characters' friendship a lot.
Fandom: Mother 3
Title: Sensorimotor Calibrations
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: The cybernetic organism that once was Claus is making great progress.
Reason for rec: It's a dark and creepy piece about experimentation on a sentient character. I like the atmosphere.
Fandom: Petr & the Wulf (Album)
Title: Homo Homini Luus
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Of men, beasts, and things in between.
Reason for rec: This's a beautiful story about lessons given by Wolf to Peter. I really like how the poignant he Wolf's lessons are , and Peter --- The ending is a very nice twist.
Fandom: Maria-sama ga Miteru
Title: Rain In the Garden of Maidens
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: A moment of bonding between two girls in the first rain of their first year.
Reason for rec: A very sweet first meeting story
Fandom: Polynesian Mythology
Title: Journey's Beginning: Hine-ahu-one
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Hine-ahu-one gets some inspiration to explore the world.
Reason for rec: This's a beautiful fireside story. Very mythic.
Fandom: Walls of Emerald - Li Shang-Yin
Title: Green
Rating: Not Rated (I think General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: It is the old, old story, told in many lands by many tongues. In all places, their names are unimportant -- what matters is how they tell it, how they live it. Sometimes it is told in yellow, sometimes red or black. In the Upper Kingdom of Shanghua Station, this time it is green.
Reason for rec: This science fiction story has a lot of original world building and amazing imagery. Masterful use of canon material
Fandom: Dave Brandstetter Mysteries
Title: A Good Place to Start
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Could this be the start of something?
Reason for rec: A very hot and sweet first time story. I like both the description of food and sex.
Fandom: Dancing Meteorite and the Stolen Law -- Anne Mason
Title: Noodle Soup
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Kira has been in the unique position of observing the first stumbling explorations of both human and Vallusian cadets, and thinks things could be done better.
Reason for rec: This is a humourous story featuring no-nonsense Kira and her cadets. Very funny.
Fandom: Lost Odyssey
Title: The Key in the Closed-off Town
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: A tale of freedom and beginnings. In Uhra, Ming sees a child playing by herself, her toys carefully hoarded under a worn coat. That night, she dreams of a time when she hadn't yet met Numara's blue coasts.
Reason for rec: A lovely character study story. Ming as a curious Immortal, Daria 's toughness and Seth all intrigue me and make want to play the game. I love the imagery and how their lives link together.
Fandom: Pearl Jam
Title: a star in somebody else’s sky
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: “Eddie was very shy – he was self-conscious and not very comfortable. Until him and Cornell went out one night.” – Pearl Jam 20
Reason for rec: This's a story about growth, about time and about relationship. Very touching.
Fandom: The Loved Ones (2009)
Title: Princes and Frogs
Rating: Mature
Warning: Mentions of violence, harm to children and incest.
Summary: "How many romantic movies had she seen where the heroine ended up with her best friend, the man who was always there for her?"
Reason for rec: It's a very dark, a very creepy and powerful character study about Lola, whom I don't know who she is, but the author makes me fears her and sympathizes with her. Good job.
Fandom: Ya lyublyu tebya | You I Love (2004)
Title: Making Good News
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Vera is stressing out -- over her family life, over her job, over no being able to stop eating. All news seems to be bad news, until she decides to make some good ones for herself.
Reason for rec: The author throws me into Vera's stressed life, makes me sympathized, worried and cheered with her. Good job.
Fandom: Majishan no Yuutsu | A Magician's Misfortunes (Takarazuka musical)
Title: Ophelia Rising
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: For three years, Marek didn't even have memories for comfort. Now she has a husband and an entire life, neither of which she can remember.
Reason for rec: This's a story about Marek dealing with her life after losing her memory. Marek is tough yet vulnerable, and the ending is hopeful.
Fandom: Toukaidou Hisame
Title: Chestnuts out of Season
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author choose not to warn
Summary: Shion is a man, with his own money and a master of his own choosing, yet he still bears scars of his childhood.
Reason for rec: I have a feeling that I may not like the character in canon, but the author makes him understandable without shying away from the darker side of his personality. Great job.
Fandom: Changelings the Dreaming
Title: The Shining Gates
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: The world is a changing place in the early nineteenth-century. The world struggles against the encroaching banality of industry, but the Dreaming has its own dangers - quests and costs and legacies inherited from the Age of Wonder when the Sidhe withdrew from the world.
The Lord of Kelham Manor calls an outsider to help him find as stolen treasure, hoping to find a solution to a larger problem at an old freehold he has found and claimed.
Reason for rec: OK, I cheat. I know this fandom. But this supernatural mystery's so great that you don't need canon to enjoy it.
Rating: everything from General Audiences to Explicit
Methodology: Go to AO3 Yuletide collection. Arrange them according to ascending order of hit. Read. Profit.
Note: I don't have canon knowledge of any but one fandoms but I still find these fics very enjoyable. Therefore I hope you'll enjoy them too. Please feed the author if you like their fic. Spoilers may be ahead. Read at your own risk.
Fandom: Monster High
Title: With the Grace of a Child
Rating: General Audience
Warning: Author choose not to warn
Summary: Abbey will always be proper.
Reason for rec: It's a sweet Abby/Frankie first time fic. Abby's seriousness in her courtship is a nice contrast to Frankie's casualness. You will probably like it if you like sweet fluffy humourous femslash.
Fandom: Thorneyhold - Mary Stewart
Title: Letters From My Namesake
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Letters between two cousins show a year-long friendship (my summary)
Reason for rec: A lovely character study. I nearly skipped over this fic and I'm glad I didn't. I like the lovely details, the delight in the little treasure of daily life.
Fandom: Dil Chahta Hai | Do Your Thing (2001)
Title: Parting the dawn rain
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: In Kasauli, Sid remembers.
Reason for rec: Another lovely character study. I start this fic knowing nothing about Sid, but the author makes me fall in love with his quiet emotion and the lovely details he notices.
Fandom: Myron Bolitar - Harlan Coben
Title: To Eartha Kitt, thanks for everything, Myron Bolitar
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary:
“I’m not sure you could pull off the tights,” Win said. “Your ass is too flat.”Reason for rec: I think the quote is enough to attract you. It's a humourous mystery story with banter and action. Enjoyable.
“Maybe with some padding?” Myron mused.
Fandom: Starcraft
Title: Sometimes you need to shift your game from macro to micro
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: What the title says, starring a couple rebel leaders. Even with compatible management styles, it's good to be multi-focused.
Reason for rec: It's a very exciting action story. It moves as fast speed and keeps at the edge of my seat.
Fandom: River Man (song)
Title: Life in Time
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Autumn’s a river winding down through the forest, a whisper of frost and a roar of color. Leaves fall into the other river, the one made of water, and flow on towards the immeasurable horizon, where the ocean teems on what might be the edge of the world. Nothing’s known but Betty’s coming, sure as the wind, which lacks constancy save for its presence.
Reason for rec: The story is very lyrical and stylistic, and I love the female characters' friendship a lot.
Fandom: Mother 3
Title: Sensorimotor Calibrations
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: The cybernetic organism that once was Claus is making great progress.
Reason for rec: It's a dark and creepy piece about experimentation on a sentient character. I like the atmosphere.
Fandom: Petr & the Wulf (Album)
Title: Homo Homini Luus
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Of men, beasts, and things in between.
Reason for rec: This's a beautiful story about lessons given by Wolf to Peter. I really like how the poignant he Wolf's lessons are , and Peter --- The ending is a very nice twist.
Fandom: Maria-sama ga Miteru
Title: Rain In the Garden of Maidens
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: A moment of bonding between two girls in the first rain of their first year.
Reason for rec: A very sweet first meeting story
Fandom: Polynesian Mythology
Title: Journey's Beginning: Hine-ahu-one
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Hine-ahu-one gets some inspiration to explore the world.
Reason for rec: This's a beautiful fireside story. Very mythic.
Fandom: Walls of Emerald - Li Shang-Yin
Title: Green
Rating: Not Rated (I think General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: It is the old, old story, told in many lands by many tongues. In all places, their names are unimportant -- what matters is how they tell it, how they live it. Sometimes it is told in yellow, sometimes red or black. In the Upper Kingdom of Shanghua Station, this time it is green.
Reason for rec: This science fiction story has a lot of original world building and amazing imagery. Masterful use of canon material
Fandom: Dave Brandstetter Mysteries
Title: A Good Place to Start
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Could this be the start of something?
Reason for rec: A very hot and sweet first time story. I like both the description of food and sex.
Fandom: Dancing Meteorite and the Stolen Law -- Anne Mason
Title: Noodle Soup
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Kira has been in the unique position of observing the first stumbling explorations of both human and Vallusian cadets, and thinks things could be done better.
Reason for rec: This is a humourous story featuring no-nonsense Kira and her cadets. Very funny.
Fandom: Lost Odyssey
Title: The Key in the Closed-off Town
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: A tale of freedom and beginnings. In Uhra, Ming sees a child playing by herself, her toys carefully hoarded under a worn coat. That night, she dreams of a time when she hadn't yet met Numara's blue coasts.
Reason for rec: A lovely character study story. Ming as a curious Immortal, Daria 's toughness and Seth all intrigue me and make want to play the game. I love the imagery and how their lives link together.
Fandom: Pearl Jam
Title: a star in somebody else’s sky
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: “Eddie was very shy – he was self-conscious and not very comfortable. Until him and Cornell went out one night.” – Pearl Jam 20
Reason for rec: This's a story about growth, about time and about relationship. Very touching.
Fandom: The Loved Ones (2009)
Title: Princes and Frogs
Rating: Mature
Warning: Mentions of violence, harm to children and incest.
Summary: "How many romantic movies had she seen where the heroine ended up with her best friend, the man who was always there for her?"
Reason for rec: It's a very dark, a very creepy and powerful character study about Lola, whom I don't know who she is, but the author makes me fears her and sympathizes with her. Good job.
Fandom: Ya lyublyu tebya | You I Love (2004)
Title: Making Good News
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: Vera is stressing out -- over her family life, over her job, over no being able to stop eating. All news seems to be bad news, until she decides to make some good ones for herself.
Reason for rec: The author throws me into Vera's stressed life, makes me sympathized, worried and cheered with her. Good job.
Fandom: Majishan no Yuutsu | A Magician's Misfortunes (Takarazuka musical)
Title: Ophelia Rising
Rating: General Audience
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: For three years, Marek didn't even have memories for comfort. Now she has a husband and an entire life, neither of which she can remember.
Reason for rec: This's a story about Marek dealing with her life after losing her memory. Marek is tough yet vulnerable, and the ending is hopeful.
Fandom: Toukaidou Hisame
Title: Chestnuts out of Season
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author choose not to warn
Summary: Shion is a man, with his own money and a master of his own choosing, yet he still bears scars of his childhood.
Reason for rec: I have a feeling that I may not like the character in canon, but the author makes him understandable without shying away from the darker side of his personality. Great job.
Fandom: Changelings the Dreaming
Title: The Shining Gates
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No archive warning apply
Summary: The world is a changing place in the early nineteenth-century. The world struggles against the encroaching banality of industry, but the Dreaming has its own dangers - quests and costs and legacies inherited from the Age of Wonder when the Sidhe withdrew from the world.
The Lord of Kelham Manor calls an outsider to help him find as stolen treasure, hoping to find a solution to a larger problem at an old freehold he has found and claimed.
Reason for rec: OK, I cheat. I know this fandom. But this supernatural mystery's so great that you don't need canon to enjoy it.
