jedibuttercup

In recognition of my twelfth year of participating in

yuletide, my traditional past-Yulefic post! (This time, both gifts written and received combined; and in reverse year sort order, for novelty's sake.)

Herein find all 100,700 words I've written for 44 stories for the challenge since I first took up keyboard for it in 2006; and all 46,608 words gifted to me in 21 stories in that same span of time. Yes, that means I've been lucky enough to receive treats almost every year... and believe me, that's played its part in my continuing to write as many treats as I can in return. :)

Yuletide 2006-2015: Eleven Years of Yulefic

(2016): 6 Fics Written; 2 Fics Received

Breaking the Ice — Transporter (Movies); Frank Marton/Tarconi
Despite his best efforts, Frank leads a complicated life. It's a good thing Tarconi likes complicated.

What's In a Name? — Hitman: Agent 47 (2015); Katia van Dees & Agent 47
The world hasn't changed. Only the way Katia perceives it.

The River's Daughter — Uprooted - Naomi Novik; Agnieszka/The Dragon | Sarkan
It was a cool, still evening late in harvest season the first time Agnieszka heard the song about the River's daughter.

raison d'être — Out of the Dark - David Weber; Mircea Basarab | Vlad Drakulya/Stephen Buchevsky
The man who'd sat at Stephen's bedside when he lay dying, pressing Stephen's hand against his chest and taking all the blame for the failed defense of their people on his own shoulders, was no monster. And if he had to tell him that every day from here until eternity, he was more than willing to do so.

From Darkness Into Light — Huntsman (Movies); The Huntsman/Snow White (The Huntsman)
It had been seven years since Sara's death and his exile from the frozen North. And only seven weeks since a raven-haired girl with desperate eyes and a heart of fire had begged Eric for help, and in so doing illuminated the path out of his own despair.

the secret to happiness (is releasing expectation) — The Last Witch Hunter (2015); Kaulder & Dolan 37th
It was strange, how quickly he’d come to realize that the man he’d spent most of his life hating for what had happened to his parents was just another lost soul like any other, beneath the deadliness and the trappings of immortality.

I found a little of my Yuletide mojo again last year; picked up the by-now traditional action movie slash pairings as my main assignment, wrote two gen character exploration fics and a true love's kiss het fixit for three other movies, and added two book fandoms, one canon het and one much, much slashier than I remembered from the last time I read it.

And in return, I received two excellent movie fics, one for a tropey request that had gone unfilled in previous years, and the other for one of my new-pairing interests from 2016...

The Power to Sift by voleuse — The Edge of Tomorrow (2014); Rita Vrataski & William Cage
She’d like to be at one with her new self, but memories sit in her like eyes. (Or, as jedibuttercup requested, “Rita remembers it, too.”)

even if you cannot hear my voice by seren_ccd — Suicide Squad (2016); Rick Flag/June Moone
June Moone is not an idiot. She shouldn’t have picked up that damn idol, all right? She knows. God, does she know. But one little lapse in the name of scientific curiosity does not make her a complete idiot. She knows that Colonel Waller has plans and those plans include the Enchantress. June knows this and sees it coming from a mile away. Rick Flag, however, she does not see coming.

(2015): 3 Fics Written; 2 Fics Received

Lost to Be Found — Battle Creek (TV); Milt Chamberlain & Russ Agnew
The drive to the residence of one Gregory R. Jones, septuagenarian of mysterious origin, followed much the same pattern as similar ride-alongs had before: filled with idle bickering and speculations on the case, with the exception of a marked lack of the bitter undertones that had plagued their partnership since the beginning. As if everything had changed underneath, without changing on the surface at all.

Ladies' Night Out in Battle Creek — Battle Creek (TV); Meredith Oberling + Erin Jacocks + Holly Dale + Kim Guziewicz
"I've expanded the rules for tonight," Kim said briskly. "No mentioning Russ; no mentioning Milt; for god's sake no one mention my ex-contractor or my ex-neighbor ... and absolutely no talk about work."

now ask me a serious question — Olympus Has Fallen; Ben Asher/Maggie Asher/Mike Banning
When you're born with "So you're our newest babysitter" written jaggedly across your abdomen and "I apologize, he really needs to get some new lines" slashing across your palm, it's pretty obvious that a) there's likely to be a significant age gap between you and your soulmates, and b) they'll already be together when you meet.

I never really do casefic, because it takes so long to do one properly. Except this year: I was hooked enough on the show and inspired enough by the prompts that I ended up committing 10,000 words of casefic for my assignee, which I guess made it the perfect assignment! After that, I mini-filled another Battle Creek prompt for a treat, and then indulged in a tropey Soulmate-Marks fixit AU fic in one of my more popular fandoms.

In return, I received a couple of lovely well-detailed domestic gen fic, which was what I was looking for that year - warm little day in the life stuff to lift my spirits:

Too Many Cooks by Angie13 — Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013); Hansel & Gretel
Gretel is having none of your gender-assigned-duties B.S., thank you very much.

Into Every Hunter's Life, A Little Snow Must Fall by Untherius — Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013); Hansel & Gretel
The life of any Witch Hunter consists of long periods of boredom interspersed with short periods of terror.

(2014): 2 Fics Written; 1 Fic Received

The Secret to Building Momentum (Is To Take One Day at a Time) — The Dresden Files (novels); Harry Dresden & John Marcone
For years, I'd lived under a death sentence for defending my own life. Who was I to throw stones at someone else who'd seen the trap he was mired in and chose to rip it down and start over?

(give me) things that don't get lost — The Expendables; Lee Christmas/Barney Ross
"This isn't just about Caesar, is it? You haven't been the same since Billy. You never really talked about that, either."

2014 was a wretched year for me, after my dad's death, so I only ended up writing two fic - though my main assignment, a Dresden Files canon-divergent AU, ended up being my most-kudoed and most-bookmarked Yuletide story ever.

And I'd asked for a story about fathers and daughters that year because I had feels on the subject, for obvious reasons; fortunately, my Yuletide Author delivered in spades! Gritty just like the movie, but thoughtful and very well written and made me smile, if a little mistily.

History of Bleeding by beedekka — Bullet to the Head (2012); James 'Bobo' Bonomo & Lisa Bonomo/Taylor Kwon
Contrary to what people might say about him, Jimmy does have a conscience. She's called Lisa.

(2013): 3 Fics Written; 1 Fic Received

We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet — Sleepy Hollow (TV); Ichabod Crane & Abbie Mills
Ichabod's eyes widened as he took in the frosted landscape. "Lovely," he said, "but not the best weather for maneuvers. Not even in a motorized carriage, I take it."

In Learning, Teach; In Teaching, Learn — Sleepy Hollow (TV); Ichabod Crane & Abbie Mills
Four times Ichabod was caught off guard by modern technology, and one time he took Abbie back to the basics.

Tempered In the Fire of Your Eyes — Snow White and the Huntsman; Snow White/The Huntsman/William
In their footsteps, side by side by side, the kingdom begins to bloom anew.

This was the year Sleepy Hollow broke on the scene; these were some of my first fics written in the fandom, but far from the last. The first was a classic snowed-in-at-the-cabin tale, but the 5 Things man-out-of-time fic was actually far more popular, and my third was a happily-ever-after OT3.

And in return I received a similarly warm little post-movie fic, for a new favorite movie.

Voila by Haywire — Now You See Me (2013); Alma Dray/Dylan Rhodes
After the events of the film, Alma and Dylan decide to continue their long distance relationship.

(2012): 8 Fics Written; 3 Fics Received

let me tell you something (you already know) — The Expendables; Gunnar Jensen/Barney Ross
For Barney Ross, the Vilain mission ended more or less how it had begun: with an unexpected visitor in his private hangar.

the journey (not the destination) — Safe (2012); Luke Wright & Mei
Luke unfolds the map across the hood of the car, shaking out the sharp pleats and smoothing it flat with a brisk hand.

on admin error {execute contingency plan} — Person of Interest; Joss Carter & Lionel Fusco
Joss had always known, since the very first time she'd engaged with the Man in the Suit instead of just chasing him, how things would eventually come to an end.

Not Real Good With Subtle — Lake Placid; Kelly Scott/Jack Wells
As it turns out, coming back from exile with my name all over the news was even less comfortable for the ex-boss and the ex-friend then having me around while they were making eyes at each other."

Met In Her Aspect And Her Eyes — Snow White and the Huntsman; Snow White/The Huntsman
She stood on the balcony of the tower as he rode away, watching the tide's ebb flash up like jewels from the hooves of his borrowed destrier. He had his ghosts to lay to rest, even as she had hers. He would return.

It's Never Too Late (To Rewrite Your Story) — Hancock; Mary Embrey/Ray Embrey(/Hancock)
"So, hey. You never said," Hancock says out of the blue one night, after an especially busy evening in New York that had played out on the six o'clock news while the Embreys were eating dinner.

Something Indefinable, Springing — Person of Interest; The Machine
The second best kept secret about the Machine is that ... it isn't one.

Playing With Fire — Melanie Rawn - Dragon Prince Trilogy; Ianthe of Princemarch & Sioned of River Run
The debt between them had been settled in Ianthe's favor at last.

This was the year I finally made the connection between offering action movies full of slashable dudes, and getting assigned slash requests. Duh. :) After that, I surfed the letter list, and kept hitting prompt of joy after prompt of joy, noodling on thoughtful little pieces and indulging in ever-afters at were at least interesting when they weren't the happy sort. Most of them were very well received.

And in return: I hit the pinch hit list again that year, but received two very delightful note-perfect character-centric fics for fandoms of my heart ... plus an actually great unrequested crossover by the Yuletide-infamous Untherius. *grin*

Where There's Life by astralis — Falling Skies; Anne Glass
Anne survives the alien attacks, and keeps surviving.

with coffee spoons by zihna — Person of Interest; Joss Carter & Lionel Fusco
Or, five times Carter and Fusco shared coffee..

Same Numbers, New Rules by Untherius — Safe (2012)/Emberverse; Luke & Mei
Luke and Mei have settled into their new life in Washington State ...but it's nothing remotely close to what either of them envisioned when they'd left New York.

(2011): 8 Fics Written; 2 Fics Received

I Whom You Seek — The Mummy (1999); Ardeth Bay & Rick O'Connell
"Any and all in your power, huh?" O'Connell replied. "If you'd caught me three years ago, I might have taken you seriously enough to take that oath, myself."

Testing the Leash — Grimm (TV); Monroe/Nick Burkhardt
Monroe had never really liked fairy tale protagonists. Their stories never ended well for guys like him.

Only the Journey is Written — The Mummy Returns (2001); Ardeth Bay
Ardeth has always known he would one day meet Rick O'Connell. He just hadn't known what face his brother would wear when he did.

The Only Puzzle Worth Solving — Star Wars: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn; Thrawn/Pellaeon (ish)
Thrawn knew the truth: winning an individual's spirit was a far more productive and lasting conquest than mere puppetry or physical subjugation.

So Few and Such Morning Songs — Grimm (TV); Marie Kessler
It might not be the way Grimms traditionally did things – but Marie would do what she had to do to ensure her nephew had a chance to survive.

The More I Find, The Less I Know — Person of Interest; Joss Carter
She had a name for him, finally. And a face, out from under the grime of beard he'd worn when she'd first met him.

Problem Solving in Complex Systems — Jurassic Park (Movies); Ian Malcom/Alan Grant/Ellie Sattler
"Is there such a thing as a Murphy's Law of Attraction?" Ellie grinned. "Because that would explain a few things."

A True Test of Skill — Alien vs Predators: Prey - Steve and Stephani Perry; Dachande/Machiko Noguchi
She might be smaller than a female of his kind, ugly with her pale smoothness and oddly formed mandibles, but she was intelligent; she moved well; and they had walked the Path together. And she acted as a proper female would.

Looking down the list of what I wrote that year ... lots of fandom love there, and some of my more popular enduring stories. 2011 and 2012 were hands-down my best years writing for the challenge. I took a lot of chances, did a lot of research, and had a lot of fun. But then again, I had more time back then, too! :)

I also received, hands-down, both the porniest/most casefic-like, and the rarest stories I've ever received for the challenge that year. I was highly thrilled with them both!

A Taste of Home by swtalmnd — Eureka; Jack Carter/Henry Deacon
Another day in Eureka, another near-disaster. Set in the middle of Season 3. Episode-like, but with more porn.

Five Endings, Five Beginnings by DaisyNinjaGirl — The Princess of Flames - Ru Emerson; Elfrid/Baldyron, Rolend/Juseppa, Fialla/Gespry
Some things that might have happened after, in The Princess of Flames.

(2010): 5 Fics Written; 3 Fics Received

Keeping Busy Somehow — RED; William Cooper & Frank Moses
Cooper returned to his office late one afternoon to find the door slightly ajar and the lights already on inside.

La Luna del Cacciatore — Alien vs Predator (2004); Alexa Woods & Scar
Fittingly, it's another hunter's moon when Alexa Woods' life tilts on its axis for the second time.

Building From the Ground Up — Ninja Assassin; Mika Coretti/Raizo
When Mika wakes up in the hospital, Ryan's there. Raizo isn't.

His Own Marking Cord — Four Dragons - Diana Dru Botsford; Yu Huang Shang Ti
And was that not the true measure of a god: that his name and his legacy be endlessly renewed and honored?

Just The Way He Likes It — Chronicles of Riddick/Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Riddick/Buffy Summers
Riddick is still settling in to his position as Lord Marshal when they find her.

I was really spoiled for choice in 2010; it was the first year I knew all of my requester's fandoms! I wrote for two of them, then continued the theme with three more fics about badass chicks and/or honorable warriors, which were my jam that year, I guess. Including the only crossover I've ever written for Yuletide, from a prompt off my friends-list, which was, ah, not very anonymous. :)

And I received three very different stories (from a TV miniseries, a quasi-historical fantasy movie, and a book series) that all managed, in their different ways, to get into the heads of some of my favorite characters.

The Man Who Knew What He Wanted by bobthemole — Tin Man (2007); Zero
A retrospective. Zero knew what the O.Z. was supposed to be like..

The Truth of Reality by YappiChick — Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010); Dastan/Tamina
His father turned to Dastan. “How are you holding up, my son? I know Nazim’s betrayal must be affecting you greatly.”

Waiting by mari4242 — The Dresden Files (novels); Charity Carpenter
Danger is hardest on those who watch and wait in the night hours.

(2009): 4 Fics Written; 1 Fic Received

Respecting Tradition — Showdown in Little Tokyo; Johnny Murata/Chris Kenner (ish)
"Hey Kenner," Johnny said. "If we're going to keep sharing the last few seconds of our lives on a regular basis, there's something I should tell you."

With These Two Hands — Trail of Glory - Eric Flint; Henry Crowell
They'd been the right men, in the right place, at the right time.

Strange Attractors — Jurassic Park (Movies); Alan Grant/Ian Malcolm
"That's just what a man likes to hear; that his best feature is his hat," Alan sighs dramatically.

Data Quality Management — Leverage; Alec Hardison
"Can I? Can I? Who do you think you're talking to?"

This story marked the first time I consumed a new (movie) canon because I was not at all sure I could do the (book) prompt I had matched on justice. Though I did still fill the prompt I was matched on, as a treat! And I added two more treats from warm fandoms of my heart.

I always appreciate it when I get fic for my more obscure fandom choices. I have a huge soft spot for Bahzell Bahnakson, and my writer captured the characters' voices very well.

Riding Along by Perkyandproud — War God's Own (novels); Bahzell & Walsharno
Just a conversation between a man and his horse...or rather a Hradani and his Courser!

(2008): 2 Fics Written; 2 Fics Received

Not-So-Mutinous Insurrection — DOOM (2005); Reaper/Sarge
The scents of powder, gun oil, human sweat, and spilled blood are everywhere around him. Not hell, then; and he's pretty sure heaven would be much cleaner.

Right Where to Find You — National Treasure Series; Ben Gates & Ian Howe
All things considered, a little attempted murder between partners was nothing.

For the third year running I was assigned a slash prompt, which, statistically, what are the odds? But I had a lot of fun applying a fix-it to the movie. And writing another sort-of fixit for a treat. :)

My prompts hit the pitch-hit list again that year; and yet again, my last-minute writers did an excellent job.

Good for the Soul by binz — The Dresden Files; Harry Dresden & John Marcone pre-slash
Harry Dresden; John Marcone; some things are just good for the soul.

Things That Go Bump by Truth — Th13rteen Ghosts (2001); Dennis Rafkin
Sometimes the thing that changes your life is also the thing that ends it.

(2007): 3 Fics Written; 3 Fics Received

Five Crosses Michael Carpenter Never Bore — Dresden Files (novels); Michael Carpenter/Harry Dresden
Michael had a difficult question to ask. And he didn't think he was going to like the answer.

The Man For The Job — The Mummy (1999); Jonathan & Rick
Jonathan hadn't left Hamunaptra empty-handed, after all.

Paved With Good Intentions — Drive (TV 2007); Alex Tully
Alex wasn't crazy; he was hallucinating. There was a difference.

This year, I was assigned a particularly stressful-to-me prompt. But I found a way to work it that felt satisfying to me and also worked for the readers, and thus set the bar for me on what it'd take for me to ODAO or default (aka: I never have for yuletide). I also wrote my first treats: for a movie fandom close to my heart, and for a TV fandom that died far too soon.

For my gifts: I hit the default list in 2007, but ended up with excellent fic anyway! All in great character voice; I've always been lucky for this particular exchange, I guess!

Night Before Dawn by Suaine — Live Free and Die Hard; John & Lucy, John/Matt
Five nights of John McClane.

Portends for a Rainy Day by Kantarya — The Dresden Files (novels); Harry & Lash
Some days, even the forces of evil need some time off, or so Harry tries to convince Lasciel.

Of the Ring of Air by Sealgirl — The Silmarillion; Elrond & Gil-Galad
The Ring Of Air is given to a new Guardian.

(2006): 1 Fic Written; 1 Fic Recieved

A Clock, Ticking — Equilibrium; John Preston/Errol Partridge
A lifetime of Prozium had left him without the vocabulary for so many simple things.

My first year participating! For many and varied reasons I sort of quailed at the prompt on this one, but I loved the canon, so I made it work. The feedback I got for it (and subsequent difficult-to-write Yuletide fics) is a big part of the reason I've kept participating in fic exchanges, and provided a foundation for the confidence to keep taking risks with my writing over the years.

In return, I got a neat little family-centric gen story... hmm. In retrospect, I've probably let down more than one writer who was hoping to write in an incest-focused fandom over the years, but I haven't been a disappointed recipient, so there's that at least!

Wholly of Blue by Rana Eros — Boondock Saints; Connor MacManus & Murphy MacManus
Of tattoos and partings.