Yuletide rec list!

"There are so many stories in yuletide," some of you may be thinking. "If only Minutia would tell me which ones are worth reading!"

Okay, so none of you are actually thinking the second part. Still, here are some of the yuletide stories I liked best, not counting my own gift, about which I have already written here. Be warned that these are mostly from really obscure book fandoms.

Any Given Dream
Fandom: A Suitable Boy
What makes this fic so great: It contains my favorite pairing (Maan/Firoz), writes them more convincingly than I've yet seen in fic, and then ambushes you with love for another character. Imtiaz just wants his baby brother to be happy, you guys. Also, the summary is a couplet, which if you're familiar with canon you know how appropriate that is.

Thirty-three Kisses and Counting
Fandom: Macdonald Hall
What makes this fic so great: The awkward teenage physicality of it. The supporting cast. Bruno Walton being an adorable dorkface.

In Another Time
Fandom: Count of Monte Cristo
What makes this fic so great: It's Eugenie and Louise, the best canonical lesbian couple in a Victorian novel ever! Also, gorgeous prose.

Bagthorpes v. Zombies
Fandom: Bagthorpe Saga
What makes this fic so great: For a while I was convinced I'd made these books up, because no one else seemed ever to have heard of them. This is pretty much exactly what I remember them being like. Best zombie apocalypse of yuletide, hands down. Plus, it contains this line:

‘Celia never did have much of an appetite,’ Uncle Parker said, stroking his wife’s back. ‘I wouldn’t let her – well – devour anyone. I assure you.'

Blood Will Have Blood
Fandom: Hark! A Vagrant
What makes this fic so great: It's Kate Beaton's Bronte sisters. It contains a magazine called Romantic Poets Gone Wild. What more do you want?

Four Castles Howl Built (& One He Had No Hand In)
Fandom: Howl's Moving Castle (movieverse)
What makes this fic so great: Very nice fleshing-out of the movie world, and any exploration of Howl and Calcifer's relationship is love by me.

The Seven Stolen Books of Westminster Abbey
Fandoms: The Middleman/Black Books
What makes this fic so great: So, uh, did you see the fandoms? Plus also, it includes Bernard tormenting Manny with a carnivorous book.

For the record: I am not going to link to the octopus story here, but I read it and liked it. It wasn't the Best Story Ever or anything like that, but it was clever and funny.