Yuletide

[thefourthvine]

I got four incredibly awesome stories this year! Before I list them, I want to say to the people who wrote them:

Thank you. Thank you for writing for me. Thank you for picking up my pinch hit. Thank you for buying it a drink, taking it three times round the dance floor, then taking it home and fucking it through the floor and cuddling it all night and making it breakfast. You people didn't just take the pinch hit, you owned it, and I am so, so grateful to you. You made Yuletide - the best holiday in all the land! - for me.

And here's my ridiculously fantastic list of stories, in order of length, because I don't have any way of knowing which is the fantabulous official story and which are super-extra-lucky presents for me.

Sentimental Reasons, Casablanca, Rick/Sam, and so amazing I cannot even tell you. It's a long (16k words! On a Yuletide pinch hit!), gorgeous romance, with a smart, loyal, determined Sam and a smart, determined, and eventually loyal Rick. I was in love with this story from the moment Rick flopped down on Sam's piano, and it just kept. Getting. Better. The dialogue is absolutely in keeping with the movie, the tone is perfect, and the relationship is everything I wanted from the canon and didn't get.

Sam in Casablanca, Casablanca, gen. This is about Sam being stuck in Casablanca in his head, even after he's moved on - and about how he finally gets out of it. It's a lovely bittersweet piece (I originally wrote "bittersweet pie," by the way, which - I guess is appropriate?) that takes us into the post-war period, and takes Sam past Rick's betrayal and into his own life.

It Had to Be You, Casablanca, Rick/Sam. This is a look at Rick and Sam in the early period of their friendship, bracketed by the movie. This is Sam's story. Sam gets to do things, including rescue Rick, which is awesome, and the Rick/Sam relationship is wonderful and, through our eyes, tinged with sadness.

Cookies and MILF, Motherlover. I haven't actually been able to read this one yet (fandom: killing servers with our awesome since - I don't know, probably the first Mulder/Scully flamewar on Usenet or something), sadly, but, um, the title is incredibly perfect! And, come on, it's Motherlover - how can you not want a piece of this?

Comments

[aurora]

fqsdfljqsl you got the Motherlover story! AMAZING.

[thefourthvine]

I know! I am laying off the archive for a bit, since it appears to be crying and begging for mercy and I don't want to be the coup de grace, but I cannot wait to read it. It's Yuletide in a box!

[torachan]

YES! So glad someone wrote you Motherlover! That's definitely on the top of my to-read list!

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

omg, 3 Casablanca stories that we have you to thank for? So awesome. I'm definitely reading those (I've never seen/read Motherlover - is that a movie? Show? Book?).

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I know! THREE Casablanca stories! All about Sam, who is, in my opinion, an incredibly interesting and incredibly unexplored character! And they are so good. I won Yuletide this year, totally.

And, oh my god, you've never seen Motherlover (http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/digital-short-motherlover-uncensored/1103443/)? WATCH IT RIGHT NOW. Except, not if you're with your family of origin today, unless you have the kind of family where your favorite Christmas Carol is Dick in a Box. It is a music video, a sequel to Dick in a Box, and it is not work safe, not child safe, and not parent safe. But so goddamn funny. (If you've never seen Dick in a Box (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psECmEjyOuM), either, then I am so very sad for you. And you should watch it first. The best version I can find is on YouTube. Totally seasonal, and, again, not work safe, although not nearly as dramatically as Motherlover.)

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link! I probably won't get a chance to watch it until Sunday (I'm with my mom's family today and my dad's tomorrow, but I'll definitely give it a watch).

[dine.livejournal.com]

hee! I was just rewatching Dick in a Box when my mom came by and stood behind me. her reaction was mixed but overall, not that positive. but hell, it's after midnight and she should have been in bed, right? *g*
wishes I'd loaded my Dick in a Box icon this year

[(Anonymous)]

Just because you're curious: Sentimental Reasons is the official, assigned pinch hit.

--Your Yuletide Fairy

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU, YULETIDE FAIRY. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY.

Edited for appropriate icon.

[(Anonymous)]

<3

[gwynevere1.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reminding me it even *was* Yuletide. It'd totally slipped my mind!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I am going to assume you are joking. Because, Yuletide! No one ever shuts up about it!

[gwynevere1.livejournal.com]

I wasn't joking! Real-world family stuff made me forget!

So, THANK YOU! [/sincerity font]

[neery.livejournal.com]

You ended up on the pinch hit list again? I'd say "You have the worst luck", but you also seem to end up with amazing pinch-hitters a lot. ;)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

norah says I overcome Yuletide, because I always end up as a pinch hit (fourth year running; this is my sixth year of doing it), and I always get amazing, AMAZING stories anyway.

(She said this because every year, she has to talk me down from my "Oh my god, WHY? What is WRONG with me? DO I SMELL? Why does my assigned writer always leave me? If someone will just tell me I can fix it!" bout of pinch-hit induced Yuletide angst. It takes a while for me to remember that while it's never a good thing to be a pinch-hit - for one thing, it means extra work for the mods - it does mean that your writer wanted you, your prompts, your story, specifically. Which is the better way to look at it. Just, it's really hard not to be paranoid.)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Next year, I'm so doing Yuletide. I've wanted to for three years now but next year it's gonna happen.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

The first year I did it (the second year it ran), I signed up because I wanted a story, and because it was Yuletide, the archive that brought me into fandom for reals. And then I discovered that it's this whole THING, it's an experience. And it's amazing. It is my big fannish holiday each year, and I love it incredibly.

I recommend it to everyone.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I've been watching people get excited about Yuletide for years, my nose pressed to the window, thinking, boy, sure looks like people are having fun in there.

And look, look, look! They've got this thing called Yuletide Madness. I wonder if it's still running... maybe I can do that C.J. Cherryh Justin/Grant fic I've had in mind for years....

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

The perfect Alliance Universe Justin/Grant song is Otherside, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Just so you know.

*tries to figure out this Yuletide Madness thingie*

[concinnity.livejournal.com]

Sentimental Reasons is *amazing*. I don't like fixes, but Casablanca needed fixing, and this is perfect. I think I can guess the author, but I'm keeping my mouth shut. :)