Yuletide Reveal!

I wrote two stories this year. My assignment was Pursuit, for khaleesian, a (mildly) Dom/Brian Fast and the Furious story. This was a challenge to write; there was a dark and scary night when I realized I'd reached five thousand words and was not yet halfway through the story. (It ended up being the longest story I've ever finished. Here's an important lesson for you all: don't write your longest story ever for Yuletide.) Thanks to makesmewannadie and qe2 for heroic and life-saving beta-reading, and to best_beloved for moral support and sock bribes.

My pinch hit was Hunting High and Low, for steelneko, in the extensive and popular Take on Me (music video) fandom. This one is for the children of the '80s! Many thanks to my last-minute beta-reading team, brown_betty, dine, fanofall, giglet, makesmewannadie, and shrift, and, again best_beloved, for encouraging me to take the pinch hit in the first place. And here's what I learned (yet again) from this story: always take the pinch hit.

I got The Last Temptation of the Waffles, by Fyre, and My Lost Friend, by Yuletide Fairy, both in Scrubs, for my favorite pairing that only four people I know like or even remember: J.D./Nick Murdoch. I've been wanting these stories for a long, long time. The Last Temptation of the Waffles features a great morning after, fabulous character voices, and seduction by waffles, which I now realize should totally be a fannish trope. My Lost Friend has great J.D. internal monologue, which is a wonderful thing, and some lovely reflections on Nick and J.D.'s history with him. These were wonderful gifts to receive, and I especially want to thank Fyre for picking me up as a last-minute pinch hit. (Yes, I was a pinch hit again this year. Third time running! I am half-expecting the mods to ask me to take my crazy elsewhere next year.)