Part of the Yuletide experience is also the fretting about one's own stories. I was fretting A LOT until literally an hour ago when I got the lovely feedback from my main recipient which assured me she liked my Yuletide story. (Given she's someone I highly respect in another fandom than the one we were matched, I was mightily relieved.) With that burden off my chest, I can proceed to the reccing stage. :) A first bunch of recs, to be followed by many more, under the cut.

( Recs for Being Human, Elementary, Broadchurch, Emma, Coriolanus, Historical RPF, A Place of Greater Safety, Orphan Black )

More thoughts on Astonishing X-Men, which, now that the „Torn“ arc is concluded, seems to kick off a lot of meta everywhere – witness likeadeuce’s splendid essay here.

With the exception of works such as Sandman by Neil Gaiman - invented, written and concluded (as in really concluded, no more sequels) by a single writer – comics are a multiple author affair. Which makes the definition of canon and in character or out of character writing fiendishly difficult (witness Magneto, who seems to be a tragic hero or raving lunatic depending on the whim of the author in question). It also means that each time a new writer tackles previously established characters, readers, not surprisingly, will look at his or her own previous repertoire and draw conclusions about how X is going to handle this particular universe.

In the case of Joss Whedon, this meant, among other things, that throughout his run of AXM so far there has been, along with praise, distrust and/or accusation along the following lines:
1) Joss can’t handle adult women and sexually mature relationships.
2) Therefore, what he’s doing with Emma must be the vilification of an adult woman and a sexually mature relationship.
Leaving alone charge 1) (which I don’t agree with, but discussion of the Jossverse in its three incarnations would lead too far from the subject at hand) , 2) has led people to overlook how Joss has actually been writing Emma, Kitty, Scott and the rest of the gang. Because above all, and this has been clear even before #18 came out, Joss takes Emma seriously. Her backstory, spawned by multiple authors - all her backstory. Emma the villain, Emma the teacher, Emma the survivor of a horrible genocide, Emma the woman who fell in love with Scott Summers, Emma the manipulator and Emma the heroine.

( Nothing changes; everything does )