The Turtle Jourtle

I've been done with this year for a while, but I wasn't able to do the write-up because my laptop was out of commission. Happily, it's back now.



It's 2019. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus are on the radio. Here in the USA, the year's top film is Avengers: Endgame. New terms coined include: large language model and review bombing.

For 2019 I read five fics: one Man from U.N.C.L.E., two Sherlock Holmes, and two Professionals.

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The virtual Bistocon took place this weekend. At previous Bistocons, the rec panels have often been dominated by older zine-era fics, classics of Pros fandom. This year, for a change, the con com asked people to recommend fics published in 2010 and later. I don't feel that newer fics have been underrepresented among my recs, particularly. Yet, having made the effort to identify all the Pros fics in my Beloved Collection that were published in 2010 or later, then winnow those down to relatively few titles, it was inevitable that I'd make a post about it.

I shared some of these during the rec panel, but not most of them. I sorted them into a few different categories for easy reference, as seen below.

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Enjoy!

I've read around 200 works of fan fiction this year, totaling roughly 2.5 million words. Many of them have been excellent, but I thought it might be fun to pick some highlights on this New Year's Eve. Below are the fics that stood out the most in each of the categories listed, along with the comments I wrote after reading them.

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Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you enjoy my fanfic ramblings (because there are going to be a lot more in 2024).

And now, my final bingo post of the year!

I've been intending for months to read A Mercenary's Tale by Fictionwriter for this round's letter M. The New Year is coming up fast, though, and I haven't been finding a lot of energy for reading, so instead I'm going with Mistletoe and Wine by O. Yardly, one of the fics recommended as part of the Prosfic Rec Advent Calendar. This is a nice fic. It combines a slightly unusual getting-together narrative with a large dose of holiday cuteness. 5,670 words. B/D slash.

I Know I'm Not Forgiven by jat_sapphire is also a good fic. It has an absorbing plot and good atmosphere to accompany the supernatural elements of the story. I did have some trouble following the characters' emotions, but as I've said before, I think that's a TinTurtle thing and not the fault of any particular story. 10,378 words. B/D slash.

Z is another letter for which I had a different fic picked out than I ended up reading. I was impatient to finish my bingo card, so I opted for a short one: Zigzag by HG. The text of this fic incorporates the titles of all of the stories O. Yardly had published at the time it was written. Trying to spot those was fun and the other elements of the story were enjoyable enough, too. This even turned out to be an unlabeled Christmas fic, so it was appropriate for this week. 1,806 words. B/D slash.

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Last week, I read What a Day for a Daydream by LilyK (sc_fossil), one of this year's Big Bang offerings. The plot of this fic is based on a movie, so its fundamentals were set before LilyK started writing. I think she did well in light of that. The characters were sympathetic and the prose was good. I'm afraid I found the events of the story pretty implausible, though, and not really in a fun way. 12,757 words. B/D slash.

Your Eyes are like Limpid Pools by Corvidology (draycevixen) is a fun and fluffy Christmas fic. The dialog was excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition of what Ray thinks and what he says. 1,206 words. B/D slash. Particularly recommended.

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Happy International Fanworks Day!

As I did last year, I'm celebrating by sharing some recs coveraing several types of fanwork from a variety of fandoms.

Fan Fiction

alt.wiz: Charlie Furth, Usenet, and the Magical Internet Revolution by flibbertygigget
Harry Potter, gen, 8932 words
I first read this fic last week and have been looking for opportunities to recommend it since then. It's a piece of fictional nonfiction detailing events that might have taken place in the wizarding world of the 1990s. I think it's wonderful.
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I was sick today, so I did a lot of reading, and finished Tea for Two by Alexandra, which byslantedlight recommended in my thread about Professionals casefic.

In Tea for Two, Bodie and Doyle search for missing weapons on the grounds of a large country house while their shifting relationship does its best to distract them from the case. I enjoyed this fic's cast of eccentric supporting characters. The story was a little slow in places, but kept me interested enough to want to finish it. This is a Christmas fic. 70,187 words. B/D slash.

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This post provides links to to all of my reader's choice posts from the Man from U.N.C.L.E. Section VII (section7mfu) comm's Writer's and Reader's Choice series.
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Today I received a very surprising Christmas surprise from macklingirl, who mailed it from Germany a full three months ago, on 3 December of 2020. Much like one of the Wise Men, it has arrived from the east bearing a gift, just not in time for the birth.
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I have a compilation of mid-century Christmas radio hits. Among these, which is the song that makes me cry every time I hear it?

Is it the Roy Orbison tear-jerker "Pretty Paper"?
Is it the wistful "I'll Be Home for Christmas"?
Is it "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", which is so apt this year?

No. It is the novelty song "Snoopy's Christmas", the hero of which is a cartoon beagle.