Cori Lannam

Oh, right, so, Yuletide--

For the first time ever, I only wrote one Yuletide story this year. I was very fortunate to have aka_arduinna as my recipient, both because I was delighted to get to write her a story and because I know her tastes are relatively similar to mine. I was also delighted that my assigned fandom was Crusoe, which is the loveliest, slashiest, most delightful show that NONE OF YOU ARE WATCHING. *ahem*

My story:

But A Dream, Crusoe, PG-13 (3,062 words)

I had originally intended to write some pure Crusoe/Friday fluff, ranging from their first meeting to their eventual future return to England. Then about a week before deadline, Jeremiah Blackthorn wiggled his oily way into my brain, and things changed a tad for the dark and creepy. Some of the existing fluff I was able to fold into the flashbacks, thankfully. I would have liked to turn it into a full adventure story, covering what happened next to its conclusion, and bringing Susannah into the picture as well. Sadly, I am not a speedy enough writer to turn out that much plot in such a short time, but I think enough of the implications are there to satisfy me.

I have no excuse for the title, really. I was staring at the upload page in a stupor, having forgotten, as I usually do, that there's only so long you can put off thinking of a title and summary. I was wracking my brain for something related to dreaming or unreality, and that was the first thing that popped into my holiday-frazzled brain. I had just hit "upload" when it finally sank in that I had just used a lyric from "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as a title, which... is a bit cheesy even for this fandom. Then again, given the nature of the source material, it could be considered rather appropriate! My comfort is that the title I had intended to use for the original fluff would have been even worse.

I was curious about what kind of reception the Crusoe stories would receive (there were three in total this year). All in all, the total comment count amongst all the stories was roughly similar to the year I (and a few other people) wrote for "Hawaii." Yes, the Michael Biehn cop show, which, while not nearly as horrid as some of you (*ahem*) like to think, is a significant step down from the slashy, rollicking joy of Crusoe.

Seriously, people. Friday and Crusoe try to die for each other at least once an episode. They have lived together in a tree house on a deserted island for six years. Crusoe tells anyone who will listen that before Friday he only existed, but Friday taught him how to live. Friday has sworn to never leave Crusoe's side, even when it means leaving everything he knows for a foreign land where he probably won't be welcomed. Crusoe, in turn, swears that together they will "overcome whatever prejudice they may face."  The obligatory female quasi-love interest for Crusoe is not jealous of his devotion to his wife - no, she's jealous of his devotion to Friday. This is before we even consider the shirtless wrestling between these hot manly men (if you're turned off by the twink factor of Merlin, here's your answer!)  And there are even occasional moments of angsty Sean Bean.

Why aren't you watching this?  Here--Hulu, go!


And I once again want to make note of the two FANTASTIC stories I received--

For the Duran section of my flist, please don't miss Push and Pull, a wonderfully poignant look at John and Simon's relationship by sidewinder, who knows her bands! I've been bugging her to dip her toes into Duran for ages now, and I'm thrilled with the payoff! Not that this will get me to cease bugging her, of course. :-D

For the Merlin section, which is... probably most of the rest of you, at this point, you need to go see That Shall Achieve The Sword by astolat. This is a magnificent look at what might happen when Merlin's magic is finally revealed, and what lengths Arthur and Merlin will go to for each other when their backs are against the wall. And speaking of bugging for more... :-D

And that's the summary of my delightfully flist-contained Yuletide. :-)