I received four wonderful gifts for Yuletide, and I'm overwhelmed. Two longer stories, and two treats:
Accusing You of Stealing What I Gave Away for FreeFandom: Ocean's (Movies)
Pairing/Characters: Danny Ocean/Rusty Ryan (Teen and up)
Summary: Danny makes speeches. When that's not enough, he steals things.
This is a clever and insightful look at the whole shape of Danny and Rusty's lives, with Danny making a lot of mistakes but finally learning, while Rusty waits for him to catch up. Since Rusty is my favorite, this hit my jones so hard—and it's wonderfully sexy, too.
the still and silent sea Fandom: Vikings (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Lagertha Lothbrok
Summary: It is the still and silent sea that drowns a man. —Old Norse proverb
Everything I adore about Lagertha in a breathtakingly stark and beautiful story. It's harsh and not without pain, but so beautiful and strong and full of love, like Lagertha herself.
Then, two treats in
2 Guns fandom! I was thrilled that someone else asked for 2 Guns
and offered to write it, and I got such a kick out of these:
Not gonna let you down and
Don't Ask, Just Tell. The first answered my request for the scene after Bobby shot Stig in the thigh. Such wonderful hurt-comfort and caring between them. The second is a snippet in which Stig cuts to the chase, as he would.
I've read some other terrific stories, too, in Vikings and Grimm and Kings and Band of Brothers fandoms, and ooh, Die Hard ♥ and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a few others. I'll
link and tag them all to Pinboard rather than make this post gigantic. BUT, I have to point out the two Hornblower stories that are new this year, both of which are absolutely fantastic (and one of which has only my lone comment and kudos on it, which is just wrong). They are both Hornblower/Bush (YAY), one book canon, one movie (slightly AU) canon:
On Land and At Sea (8,283 words)
Fandom: Hornblower - C. S. Forester
Pairing/Characters: William Bush/Horatio Hornblower/Barbara Wellesley
Summary: Hornblower introduces his captain to his wife. (A missing chapter from the beginning of
Commodore Hornblower.)
This is delightful! Light-hearted and oh-so-sexy—a terrific combination. I love the tone and the character dynamics. The climax of the story is genius. (And praise kink! So perfect for Horatio.)
A Slave to Duty (15,578 words)
Fandom: Hornblower (TV)
Pairing/Characters: William Bush/Horatio Hornblower
Summary: A swashbuckling adventure at sea and a violation of Article 28 of the Navy's Articles of War.
This one just blew my mind. Amazing writing, fantastic level of detail, gorgeous characterizations and streamlined storytelling. The summary is accurate. It's everything I love about the movies, with an emotional and true-to-character love story running through it. When I saw that it was set immediately after "Duty," I watched the movie again before reading it. (I had been in the middle of rewatching this one anyway.) So worth it! Plus, it has bonus Orrock! I adore Orrock. If you have any interest in Hornblower at all, don't miss this story.
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