#not.....all of them are 2022 because I got distracted by the general crueltide tag and all it had to offer

[notbecauseofvictories]

Yuletide Recs

It’s that time of year! The time of year when we celebrate the small, the niche, the weird and wonderful in fanworks---the Big Gay Episode of Horrible Histories and the metaphysical implications of Calvinball and some Devil Wears Prada fics that (if we’re being honest with ourselves) have since had their serial numbers filed off for publication as wlw romance novels.

Anyway, here are 10 of my favorites---mostly from weird fandoms (Thomas Kinkade paintings, Over the Garden Wall, Severance, fairytales, historical RPF) but I did sincerely enjoy them. I hope you will too.

union prayer by ohtempora Casey Jones the Union Scab - Joe Hill (Song)

Sins against organized labor have become a rising Heavenly issue due to an increased popularity in the labor movement on Earth. Pursuant to the last Heaven-Hell All Souls Conference, the Devil has agreed to accept mortals who commit sins against organized labor for eternal punishment in his domain.

It might not be objectively the best fic to come out of this particular exchange, but I’m listing this one first because it’s perfectly tailored to appeal to me. The “fandom” (so to speak) is a song I’ve listened to a lot in the last few years---one of the tracks on the Smithsonian’s Labor Songs discography! But the fic expands the premise the way only Yuletide can. A legal memorandum about the possibility of prosecuting strike breakers in heaven; delightful, delicious, exemplar.

The Only Place That's Real by Snickfic Christmas Cottage - Thomas Kinkade (Painting) 

Every so often someone would come through the village, looking for the cottage. This time it was a man in a fine silk suit and a faraway look in his eyes.

any greenness is deeper than anyone knows by DesdemonaKaylose Over The Garden Wall

There is a strange, mournful singing that comes from just beyond the woods...

roses and sentiments, drowning in the sea of clouds by lightningwaltz The Six Swans (Fairytale)

At first he never leaves his sister’s side. (Or; the youngest brother and the years of his curse.)

r/severed by curtaincall Severance (TV)

Welcome to r/severed! This is a subreddit to discuss the experience of severance and provide advice and support to fellow severed people (and friends and family).

Special Modes by rivkat Severance (TV)

What are the special functions other than Overtime? Maybe they’re proposals in the files of Lumon.

The Chastisement of Margery Kempe by UpTooLate (NaomiK) 14th Century CE RPF

She thought that these horrible sights and accursed thoughts were delicious to her against her will. --The Book of Margery Kempe, chapter 59

RatTrApp by Mithrigil Pied Piper of Hamlin (Fairytale)

The plague is digital.

The Mire Tide by thearrogantemu The Silt Verses (Podcast)

They’ve locked the mud saint in the church kitchen. They’ve left the big industrial oven on, with its door open, in the hopes that the heat will dry him out enough that they can wrestle him onto the kiln car tomorrow in one piece.

What if it’s not that he’s lost his nerve, lost his faith, lost his reason? What if he’s closer to the god now than he's ever been?

in the absence of excavation (there is only speculation) by meroure Ancient British Stones/Dolmens/Archeology

They kept coming back. They loved me. Feared me. Revered me. Gave themselves to me willingly, a cyclical sacrifice with every death, a choosing of their own doing.