squeequeg | Yuletide recommendations

I'm kind of new to this whole Yuletide recommendations thing, but here are a few that stood out for me and that seem to have gone under the radar so far.

Nochnoi Dozor (Night Watch) (movie)
The Train Ride. This was written for me, and I love it. It uses the movies -- both Night Watch and Day Watch -- rather than the books, and it offers a whole parcel of what-ifs, all bound in the intrigue and second-guessing that's all the way through both books and movie. It's just what I wanted.
In every tale, there is always one man who loves his family too much.

Samurai Champloo
Walking Around, Wasting Time. Written for

sigerson, and so I'm continuing my record of mooching off her presents. (You didn't want those jellybeans, did you?) Anyway, this is a very sweet, nuanced piece from Fuu's point of view. Plus, half-naked Jin. Always a bonus.
Fuu tries to convince herself to stop hanging around with these strange young men.

Astro City
Family Quarrel. It's hard for me to say what I like most about this story -- Steeljack's voice, the way the author fleshes out a brief exchange from The Tarnished Angel into a longer, later conversation, the "black hats"/"white hats" discussion, or just that Steeljack and Quarrel get a little extra time to talk.
She let a mocking note creep into her voice: "Okay, yeah, he may have robbed a few banks--but he helped a woman out of a snowdrift, so he's all right."

Pan's Labyrinth
Dream's Labyrinth. A crossover with Sandman that works really well. Ofelia's brother, long afterwards, dreaming of new labyrinths. With a cameo by Goldie.
In the early second year of the boy's life, the dreams began for him.

Connie Willis - To Say Nothing of the Dog
Finch's First Drop. This story makes me so happy, and not just because there's, ABBA, discretionary funding, and Mistress Squiffles. My only caveat is that it might be better to read the book first, since part of the fun of the book is how all the discoveries unfold. This story plays on how those discoveries were made, and does so beautifully. (That said, I'll be bringing my copy of the book to Tribecon, if anyone wants to borrow it.)
"Could I get a cappuccino, perhaps?"
"Espresso machine's on the fritz. You could get a Brownian Motion. It's...like coffee."

Mythology - Greek and Roman
Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, Agony. The Ares/Aphrodite romance never really caught my imagination, probably because I always identified too much with Hephaestus. But this is a clear, well-crafted look at it, and at its implications. And there's a lovely wry humor running all the way through it.
He had seen her around before - it's hard to miss the most gorgeous woman you've ever seen in your life, even if you suspect she's out of your league and old enough to be your grandmother (or great-grandmother, he had heard about the family tree too and it was worrisome, though not enough to keep him from staring at her breasts).

Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
Utterly Professional. Short and, well, not sweet in the least. Croup and Vandemar, and a glimpse of what makes the Old Firm so Old.
"Indeed not, xiong Nian, though we are not such charming beings as to be able to judge his odious actions with proper moral rectitude. Say, did you perchance bring your favorite sheep shears?""

Robin McKinley - Damar series
Good and Faithful. Lovely look at how things change, years down the road, and at the implications for some of the people who've been forgotten in the clash between Damar and Homeland.
It was like being pushed, very gently, over an entirely unexpected drop.

There are others -- Bright Moon, Who Goes Farther Still (Richard Adams - Watership Down), The Ivory Horn (Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials) and The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (Roger Rabbit), but I suspect most people have seen the recommendations for them already. They're all excellent, in very different ways.