Yuletide fic rec, plus rec invitation

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

Normally, I like to do a little halfamoon roundup of recs for Yuletide stories featuring the ladies, but I didn't get to do much Yuletide reading this year, so I'm just reccing the story I received:

ElspethVimes, Where it is You Want to Go (Duplicity (2009), Claire Stenwick)
Summary: A look at the beginning of Claire Stenwick's career.

Duplicity was a seriously underappreciated caper film of last year featuring a bravura performance by Julia Roberts, an actress whose charms I'm normally pretty resistant to. She's a hard-headed corporate security specialist and aspiring con artist who manages to pull off a hot hot romance with would-be partner Clive Owen without losing her edge. She puts together and takes apart the "Julia Roberts persona" over and over again until you can't tell where her performance ends and her self begins--it's an amazingly self-aware bit of acting.

Anyway, this story is a little glimpse into her as she's first learning how to fashion herself. Very convincing.

It would be great if other people could also rec appropriate Yuletide 2009 stories in the comments. As you all know, stories in rare fandoms are hard enough to find, but stories in rare fandoms featuring the ladies...

Comments

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

The one I received! Which was wonderful! Through The Grapevine (http://archiveofourown.org/works/34308) by schneestern. The fandom is Umbrella Academy and it's about Rumor, AKA Allison Hargreaves, AKA the girl who can make anything she says come true, as long as she starts it "I heard a rumor that you..." She's one of seven siblings who all have weird powers (and aren't technically siblings) and were adopted by a man who trained them to become heroes. Only, well, things didn't exactly go as planned.

Also, A Garden in the Punjab (http://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2009/works/34858), which is another look at the secret garden, or rather, a look at another garden in India and at what happened to Mary's ayah. It's pretty amazing, the way the author turns things around and expands the source until it's a bigger story, a better story.

[copracat]

An Ever-Fixèd Mark , a gen Modesty Blaise story, pitch perfect voices and delightfully funny, just the sort of delicious hijinks and enthusiastic tom-foolery that the comics and novels did so well.

[chaila43.livejournal.com]

Great idea! I wholeheartedly recommend I Might Be Wrong (http://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2009/works/34694) by smercy [Damages; Ellen & Patty, spoilers through season 2]. Firstly, it's impossible to write for Damages and not be girl-centric, and secondly, this story is plotty and well-structured and contains really great insight into Ellen and Patty and their interactions. It's really a great character piece for Ellen, and the characterizations of both Ellen and Patty are deep, ambiguous and layered. And Patty wins like always.

[scintilla10.livejournal.com]

What a great idea! I highly recommend my yuletide gift fic: Advent (http://archiveofourown.org/works/32600) by Raven, a story in the Connie Willis Time Travel Universe that focuses on Verity Kindle. The story is absolutely spot-on for the fandom and a deliciously twisty time travel tale.

The other two fics in that fandom also feature Verity and are likewise excellent: Mistaken for Strangers (http://archiveofourown.org/works/34161) by Cyphomandra, and If the Fates Allow (http://archiveofourown.org/works/30400) by Carlanime.

I'd also recommend All Your Heart-Melodies (http://archiveofourown.org/works/38277) by thingswithwings, a Lilo & Stitch story that is just perfect, and Yum Cha (http://archiveofourown.org/works/32648) by Circadienne, a lovely Saving Face story.

[nocowardsoul]

La Adelita is a fantastic Like Water for Chocolate fic about Gertrudis's time in the army.