Should old acquaintance be forgot...

[freneticfloetry]

yuletide reveals are in a matter of hours, and before authors are unmasked, I wanted to sneak in under the wire to heap well-earned praise upon my giftfics and link a few of the stories I've loved this year.

I received two wonderful works:

After The Showdown
Westworld, Maeve Millay, Felix Lutz, Bernard Lowe, Dolores Abernathy
What happened next?
Takes the immediate aftermath of the finale in a direction I never expected. Maeve is every bit as clever and calculating and composed in the face of the new and unkown as we've come to expect, but she's also playing a long game for the good of not only herself but every host like her, who wants the free will they always thought they had. Bernard, Dolores, and especially Felix all play pivotal roles in her plan. An extremely interesting premise that I would love to see expanded.

Lekach
Penny Dreadful, Ethan Chandler, Ferdinand Lyle, Sembene
A cut finger takes Ferdinand Lyle to the kitchens, where he finds warmth, acceptance and help from Ethan and Sembene. They all find ways to look for simple hope and joy in the work of their hands.
What I asked for, in one of many Penny Dreadful prompts, was a bit of a what if throwaway for these three -- what if Sembene conducted baking lessons? What I got was this lovely, poignant, thoughtful slice of life between this trio of men who were, separately, among my favorite aspects of an amazing show. In putting them together, and playing to each of their strengths, my wonderful Yuletide treat author has created something so hopeful and touching and needed that it brought tears to my eyes. In the words of Sara Bareilles' Waitress, it's amazing what baking can do.

I haven't been through as much of the archive as I'd like, but I do want to shed some light on some of the stories that really hit home with me thus far this Yuletide, things I haven't necessarily seen recced elsewhere but definitely deserve to be shared.


Black Mirror

Count the Stars as Blessings
Kelly/Yorkie
She stays quiet, and laughs and cries with Kelly and keeps her thoughts to herself.
Even living out the Ever After, Yorkie still struggles to believe it's real. Achy and lovely and completely believable.


The Bold Type

a long time before we come down
Kat Edison/Adena El-Amin, Jane Sloan, Sutton Brady
A chance (re)meeting on the street.
Love lost and found again, with a side of support from good friends. Wonderful characterization.

keep me (next to you)
Kat Edison, Jane Sloan, Sutton Brady
Five times Jane, Kat, and Sutton end up in a bathtub together. And one time they don't. AKA: The Bathtub Chronicles.
A forever friendship forged (and reinforced) in bathtubs of all shapes and sizes. Pitch-perfect voices, delightful plot points, and a perfect tribute to the bond between these girls. One of my very favorites in the collection this year.

Wanderlust
Kat Edison/Adena El-Amin, Jane Sloan, Sutton Brady
Kat's never seen the world, but it's best with the woman she loves by her side.
Kat leaves home and finds home, with and without Adena. Beautifully, truthfully told.


The Bourne Legacy

All The Way Home
Aaron Cross/Marta Shearing
Three things Marta didn't expect after she went on the run with Aaron.
The two of them, learning each other in the aftermath. Sharp and sparse, in the best way possible.


The Edge of Seventeen

have a heart
Nadine Franklin, Krista, Erwin Kim
Of course it wasn’t until Krista was gone that Nadine realized she’d measured her whole life by her.
Nadine comes to terms. Perfectly captures the tone of the film, and of teenage years themselves.


How to Be Single

'til the party and the music and the truth collide
Lucy/Tom, George
One day she just walks back into his bar… Actually, it's a little bit more complicated than that.
Life is what happens while you're making other plans, as Lucy has discovered. Romcom turned real life, with a well-earned happy ending.


iZombie

Dr. Scratchy, Z.M.D.
Liv Moore, Clive Babineaux, Ravi Chakrabarti
Ravi may have started a zombie health blog. Liv might have some thoughts. Clive allegedly wants nothing to do with it.
Plausible, pitch perfect, and absolutely hysterical.


Jane the Virgin

Follow the Leader
Jane Villanueva, Alba Villanueva, Xiomara Villanueva, Petra Solano
Everyone needs a role model to follow, especially single mothers like Jane and Petra.
The incredible women of JtV, learning from each other and passing each lesson on with love.


The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

All That Glitters
Jimmy Dobyne/Fisher Willow
“I’m not against you, Fisher.” “But are you with me, Jimmy? Are you with me?”
Wow was someone channeling Tennesee Williams here. Astonishing grasp of the langauge and flow, and of Fisher's drama and desperation.


While You Were Sleeping

Paper & Oak
Jack Callaghan/Lucy Moderatz, Midge Callaghan, Ox Callaghan, Elsie, Saul Tuttle
It’s a whirlwind of too many cooks in the kitchen, and as Lucy takes her seat at the dining room table, she looks around and wonders how she ever spent Christmas without these people.
Another Christmas with the Callaghans, and everything that endeared Lucy (and us) to them in the first place. Super sweet.


Wonder Woman

ruat caelum (fiat justitia)
Antiope, Hippolyta, Diana, The Amazons
“Antiope. Hestia tried to kill her lover just past sunset today.” Diana learns justice and mercy at her mother's knee.
Fascinating look inside Antiope's head, at the things she values, and how far she'll go to protect them.

Comments

[htbthomas]

Thanks so much for the rec here, you're the best! ♥