begin as you mean to go on

I'm trying, anyway.

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Yuletide was awesome, and I feel properly spoiled. I'm also going to brag on my 2022 gift, because I was a crappy recipient at the time and want to draw your attention to the awesome. But we'll go in reverse order.

2023 - I've gotten so predictable in my requests, y'all, but this year I went with a dark horse in Werewolf by Night and it paid in spades. It's a Fearless Life by treewishes is a really great what-if of Jack wishing he had never been born, featuring founding member of the X-Men Angel in the Clarence role. I truly love this story and think you might as well, if you were, like me, delighted by Werewolf by Night.

Keeping with the It's a Wonderful Life theme, I also got Love is Patient by Karios , a look at the whole story from Mary Bailey's POV with a bonus ending for the film that I would have loved to see in canon. Mary Bailey is very probably my favorite film character, and I love her more every year. This story gave her agency without breaking the film's story and I really love it.

These stories really were a gift. I was one of the amnesty recipients for Yuletide after a default with no NYE make-up story. I did turn in a story this year - and I will share that later, this post isn't about that - but I felt pretty guilty anyway. 

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Okay, looking back at 2022 - I don't know how I got so lucky, and I confess that I was really, really bad about commenting. I'm never a great commenter - I sometimes get these several paragraph responses to stories and I feel inadequate. And then I just...I don't know. I was so busy at the beginning of 2023, and trying to keep up with everything, I always knew I would drop things I didn't realize I was even holding. This was one of those things and I regret it awfully.

First there's this super A League of Their Own drabble by desertvixen (Marla Hooch, Dottie, and Kit), which is delightful and spoke directly about, I think, the most underserved character in ALoTO.

But also! 

igrockspock wrote me some Matt Murdock/Jennifer Walters entitled Baggage That Goes with Mine. My request IIRC was to just pair Matt and Jen and see what happens. Answered! Every big of Daredevil and She-Hulk that my bruised fangirl heart needed, more than once, several times actually, throughout 2023. I scrolled through and re-read pieces of it often, rediscovering it more than once. Alas, usually at 2am, on my phone, half-asleep, but that was 2023.

This right here is why I ship them, if you're wondering:

His lips twist up in a familiar wry grin. “Well, if it’s any consolation to you, I’m incapable of making or enjoying a sex tape.” He waves his hands. “For me, it’s just a lot of weird groaning and smacking sounds.”

“Have I mentioned that I really dig your sense of humor?” she asks, scooting closer. She smiles up at him, even though he can’t see it.

“Glad to hear it.” Matt catches her hand, but his face goes all serious and tentative. “What happened to me isn’t exactly the same as what happened to you, but the thing Foggy asked you about shadowy martial arts organizations…”

“That really was a problem with your ex?” Jen asks.

Matt sighs ruefully. “She was sent to recruit me. I didn’t understand she had an agenda until, well, my career and all my personal relationships were on fire.” He pauses, and Jen watches his Adam’s apple bob slowly up and down. “Anyway, I know what it’s like when you think someone’s feelings are real, and you’re actually just part of some master plan.”

I can't recommend this story highly enough. And now I need to stop typing and go re-read this while drinking something warm and caffeinated (tea. I'm going to drink tea.)

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BUT WAIT. I CAN'T YET. Because I haven't told you about THIS ONE.

buries wrote a nearly 20,000-word story about Matt Murdock, Jennifer Walters, and...HOWARD THE DUCK.

Y'all.

Look, 2023 - I know, you know, we all know. And I read this story and my brain just did not compute what just happened. This is a gloriously told story. Implausible and fantastic. The characterization is dead-on throughout, none of the characters are left behind. Matt and Jen - oh lordy, Matt and Jen! Obscure villains! Howard! But also, you guys, Jessica Jones. Trish. This is concept art for a movie that really SHOULD be in development because this entire universe is so much fun.

And again with the oh-so-perfect Matt and Jen, who are not allowed to date anyone else now that I know they can be so good together. This is just fact.

Witness:

He shifted on the bench, leaning his arms on his thighs. He was looking at her in his intensely perceptive way. Sometimes Jennifer was convinced he could see into her soul and access parts of her that she wasn’t even aware existed. And she supposed she was right—she had evidence to back up her case. He believed she could be a hero who made a difference when all she knew was that she fumbled every attempt she made over and over and over again.

"You can," he said seriously. She could see from the corner of her eye how he kept his face turned toward her. He could probably hear the raging beating of her heart. It was definitely She-Hulking out. "You’ve got this."

"You keep saying that," she said, "but I’ve never 'got this' in my life. I’m not Bruce."

"And you don’t need to be," he said with a furrow to his brows. "No one wants you to be Bruce Banner. In fact, it’s a good thing that you’re not. Jennifer Walters is the person that we need for this."

 

This is ALSO why I ship them. And why I read this story more times than I could count, but again, failed to somehow praise and thank the author for sufficiently. 

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So yeah, I need to go curl up and read. And read and read again.