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Everyone is SUPER EXCITED FOR YULETIDE and so am I! MY ASSIGNMENT WILL BE AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE. But also it has reminded me that I never talked about the Exchange at Fic Corner, the children's and YA lit exchange from last month. WHICH IS A SHAME because my gift was really excellent:
And Found Me Here, Secret Country trilogy
Ruth breathed out. She was, apparently, still in her own head, no matter what else might be in it, and it was possible that not all the literature she loved was sorcerous.
I asked for fic about the stuff that we don't see with Ruth adjusting to the Secret Country's weirdness and her own alter ego, and this delivered exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. It's a really beautiful little piece with Pamela Dean's exact habit of the right quote in the right time, and the right time not to use a quote, too. Also, Lady Ruth's passive-aggressive form of 'helping' is PERFECTION.
Other stuff from the archive I really enjoyed:
The Village Witch's Ginger Hero, Chronicles of Chrestomanci
Marianne goggled. She was, she knew, as much of a beginner at writing as she was at state-approved magic, but even she was pretty sure you weren't supposed to use an adjective or two for every noun like that.
Really charming little Chrestomanci-verse fic. JULIA, JANET AND MARIANNE DISCOVER ROMANCE NOVELS. Hijinks, including a thoroughly DWJ-ish take on a classic kind of fairy tale, ensue.
The Persistence of Memory, Code Name Verity
She laughed - and then, without even undoing her plaits, she was Julie again, light, bright, laughing, and confident in being adored. “Not treacle tart,” she said. “Sachertorte. Let’s pretend the war away - let’s pretend we’re in Vienna!”
Julie and Maddie and A Little Princess and pretending. I love this for the way it showcases Julie's almost disturbing gift for pretense and for imagination -- so many layers of pretense! -- and, as always, Julie and Maddie, the heart of the story.
A Slip of the Heart, Dalemark Quartet
"Careful, Mitt," said the Duke of Kernsburgh. "That sounded rather clever. People are already beginning to suspect that you have a brain of excellent quality. Your useful reputation as a man of humble beginnings is in danger of being forgotten."
This is a story about MITT AND BIFFA and how they end up married. No one writes Mitt/Biffa fic! I'm so happy somebody did, and it's excellent, even though it's not my particular headcanon for them.
love like mountains, Dalemark Quartet
“He’s distressing you,” I said once we were alone. “Shall I kill him for you?”
We really lucked out with Dalemark fic from this exchange, actually -- this is another one of the ones that rarely gets written, a gorgeous and creepy expansion of the Adon and Manliabrid Mark I, and the mythological backstory underlying the series. WE NEED MORE DALEMARK FIC LIKE THIS.
A Walk in the Woods, Darkest Powers
Even though Derek, as a werewolf, should theoretically have the instinct to stalk quietly through the woods, I think the Edison Group might have accidentally bred that out of him. He can’t sneak to save his life.
A very cute piece of Chloe/Derek fluff, which I extra appreciated since that was one of the things that I was supposed to write for my own assignment (ON WHICH MORE ANON) and . . . couldn't . . .
Flower and Thorn, Fire and Hemlock
“Nothing lasts, together, forever,” she said, and the proprietor screwed up his face in disgust, but Tom, whom she’d really been speaking to, stiffened at her side.
The ending of Fire and Hemlock is an extremely difficult thing to grapple with, AS WE ALL KNOW, which makes postcanon fic challenging. This is one way of doing it, and one I find very believable - a course strewn with mundane and petty challenges, a very difficult line to walk between impossibility and hope.
Selected Letters of Abraham and Fanny Glassman: 1874-1886, The Great Brain
We have since established our own rudimentary law-as usual, a handful of men with pistols and the town's backing. Adenville has consequently left us to ourselves, forbidding any miner or "Gentile" from crossing the irrigation ditch that lies between our towns. I have prudently stayed on this side of the ditch, not wanting to test the question of whether a merchant is a miner, or a Jew a Gentile.
I'll admit, though I did read the Great Brain books in childhood, I barely remember them now -- but that didn't matter for my enjoyment of this story, which is a fun, rich, EXTREMELY WELL-RESEARCHED portrait of the life of a Jewish merchant family in nineteenth-century Utah and well worth the read.
The Pontic Rapport: Or the Curious Cousins, Kate and Cecelia
I have quite mislaid my original point, which is a tidbit I had from the Grenville twins. They are all in a pother about applying to crew these Jägeren, and seemed to think they had quite a good chance of being accepted.
PACIFIC RIM REGENCY AU. KATE AND CECELIA AND JAEGERS. Greatest Pacific Rim AU I have seen thus far, I am only saddened that there is not more of it.
Magic at Lyme, or the Midnight Company, Kate and Cecelia
“I did not mean to drop the entire pitcher of lemonade in my lap, Aunt Elizabeth. Nor did I mean to jump when I did so, and smash it on the floor. Nor to land with my elbow in the plate of chocolate custard. Nor-”
This is a really charming BABY KATE adventure, coupled with an exploration of the backstory of mysterious Aunt Elizabeth -- very much in keeping with the Regency-hijinks tone of canon.
Another Chance, Le Petit Prince
I had had my fill of all of the grown-up thoughts about returning to my squadron and worrying about survival on an empty island. So I stopped thinking about the grown-up things. There was a fox. Perhaps it would play with me.
Saint-Exupery's mysterious disappearance, through a Petit Prince-style view of the world. I don't know what to say about this fic, except that it's absolutely gorgeous.
Satin One-Step, Ramona series
“I got first dibs, so I’m buying,” she said.
Bob put his hands up in surrender. “I never argue with first dibs,” he said solemnly, and walked with her to the cash register.
This is the CUTEST STORY I never thought I would read about the courtship of Ramona Quimby's parents -- super-grounded in the place and time of Portland 1948, which adds a lot to its appeal. Historical detail is the way to my heart!
Give Sorrow Words, Secret Country trilogy
You got me into this, she thought fiercely, so help. But Princess Laura, as she almost always did, stayed silent.
We also lucked out with Secret Country fics from this exchange! This is another one that examines the awkwardness of taking on someone else's identity -- from Laura's point of view, this time -- and the ways the kids can and cannot fill those missing places.
The Stafford-Grant Adventure, Vesper Holly series
In it I asked that every available service of the police department be laid at my disposal in the retrieval of my ward, who had, I explained, left to attend a musicale, but may by now have gone chasing after brigands bound for who knew what quarter.
This is a PITCH PERFECT Vesper Holly adventure, exactly as exuberant and over-the-top as the original stories. Brinny's eternally anxious narrative voice is a DELIGHT.
Office Hours, Young Wizards
“I look forward to hearing about them,” Millman said. He opened the door for her. “Have a good day, Dairine. Try not to make anyone cry.”
I really love stories about people who don't have magic in magical universes, and this Millman-focused Young Wizards fic is a great example of the type.
The Air Beneath Her Feet, Zahrah the Windseeker
She asked Mother, who sighed and said, “Oh, darling, why bother about all that? Isn't this enough?”
It wasn't. Nsibidi was starting to get the feeling that it never would be.
This is an awesome exploration of Nsibidi's childhood, and the eternal drive to seek out more and different places that puts her in the eventual position to meet Zahrah. The exploration of the worlds is really cool, and feels a lot like canon.
Also I guess I should talk about what I wrote:
Double Feature, Darkest Powers
So I ended up matched with
evewithanapple, who requested either Derek/Chloe fluff or a femslash story about Tori and Liz. Since writing romance of any sort is not my forte, this led to a lot of flailing emails to my betas composed largely of "ARE THEY GAY ENOUGH YET???" But I did end up having a lot of fun writing ghost lesbians. Even though the title is terrible. I'M SORRY, LAURA, my inspiration ran dry! (Chloe and Derek are also in it, and I meant for it to ALSO serve as Chloe/Derek fluff, but then I got distracted by ghost lesbians.)
And, for completion's sake, since I don't think I ever linked it here, way back in August for Parallels, I wrote:
Adaptive Systems, Time of Eve
For this one I matched with
gramarye1971 . . . whom I love dearly and whom I had matched with for From Up on Poppy Hill with a beautiful request for historical exploration of the time period that I was NOWHERE NEAR QUALIFIED to fulfill. In a panic, I devoured Time of Eve and wrote this robot-POV fic instead. Protip: robot-POV is hard to write. BUT FUN. And I'd been meaning to watch Time of Eve anyway, so I'm not actually complaining.
This entry is cross-posted at Livejournal from http://skygiants.dreamwidth.org/347609.html. Please feel free to comment here or there! There are currently
comments on Dreamwidth.
And Found Me Here, Secret Country trilogy
Ruth breathed out. She was, apparently, still in her own head, no matter what else might be in it, and it was possible that not all the literature she loved was sorcerous.
I asked for fic about the stuff that we don't see with Ruth adjusting to the Secret Country's weirdness and her own alter ego, and this delivered exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. It's a really beautiful little piece with Pamela Dean's exact habit of the right quote in the right time, and the right time not to use a quote, too. Also, Lady Ruth's passive-aggressive form of 'helping' is PERFECTION.
Other stuff from the archive I really enjoyed:
The Village Witch's Ginger Hero, Chronicles of Chrestomanci
Marianne goggled. She was, she knew, as much of a beginner at writing as she was at state-approved magic, but even she was pretty sure you weren't supposed to use an adjective or two for every noun like that.
Really charming little Chrestomanci-verse fic. JULIA, JANET AND MARIANNE DISCOVER ROMANCE NOVELS. Hijinks, including a thoroughly DWJ-ish take on a classic kind of fairy tale, ensue.
The Persistence of Memory, Code Name Verity
She laughed - and then, without even undoing her plaits, she was Julie again, light, bright, laughing, and confident in being adored. “Not treacle tart,” she said. “Sachertorte. Let’s pretend the war away - let’s pretend we’re in Vienna!”
Julie and Maddie and A Little Princess and pretending. I love this for the way it showcases Julie's almost disturbing gift for pretense and for imagination -- so many layers of pretense! -- and, as always, Julie and Maddie, the heart of the story.
A Slip of the Heart, Dalemark Quartet
"Careful, Mitt," said the Duke of Kernsburgh. "That sounded rather clever. People are already beginning to suspect that you have a brain of excellent quality. Your useful reputation as a man of humble beginnings is in danger of being forgotten."
This is a story about MITT AND BIFFA and how they end up married. No one writes Mitt/Biffa fic! I'm so happy somebody did, and it's excellent, even though it's not my particular headcanon for them.
love like mountains, Dalemark Quartet
“He’s distressing you,” I said once we were alone. “Shall I kill him for you?”
We really lucked out with Dalemark fic from this exchange, actually -- this is another one of the ones that rarely gets written, a gorgeous and creepy expansion of the Adon and Manliabrid Mark I, and the mythological backstory underlying the series. WE NEED MORE DALEMARK FIC LIKE THIS.
A Walk in the Woods, Darkest Powers
Even though Derek, as a werewolf, should theoretically have the instinct to stalk quietly through the woods, I think the Edison Group might have accidentally bred that out of him. He can’t sneak to save his life.
A very cute piece of Chloe/Derek fluff, which I extra appreciated since that was one of the things that I was supposed to write for my own assignment (ON WHICH MORE ANON) and . . . couldn't . . .
Flower and Thorn, Fire and Hemlock
“Nothing lasts, together, forever,” she said, and the proprietor screwed up his face in disgust, but Tom, whom she’d really been speaking to, stiffened at her side.
The ending of Fire and Hemlock is an extremely difficult thing to grapple with, AS WE ALL KNOW, which makes postcanon fic challenging. This is one way of doing it, and one I find very believable - a course strewn with mundane and petty challenges, a very difficult line to walk between impossibility and hope.
Selected Letters of Abraham and Fanny Glassman: 1874-1886, The Great Brain
We have since established our own rudimentary law-as usual, a handful of men with pistols and the town's backing. Adenville has consequently left us to ourselves, forbidding any miner or "Gentile" from crossing the irrigation ditch that lies between our towns. I have prudently stayed on this side of the ditch, not wanting to test the question of whether a merchant is a miner, or a Jew a Gentile.
I'll admit, though I did read the Great Brain books in childhood, I barely remember them now -- but that didn't matter for my enjoyment of this story, which is a fun, rich, EXTREMELY WELL-RESEARCHED portrait of the life of a Jewish merchant family in nineteenth-century Utah and well worth the read.
The Pontic Rapport: Or the Curious Cousins, Kate and Cecelia
I have quite mislaid my original point, which is a tidbit I had from the Grenville twins. They are all in a pother about applying to crew these Jägeren, and seemed to think they had quite a good chance of being accepted.
PACIFIC RIM REGENCY AU. KATE AND CECELIA AND JAEGERS. Greatest Pacific Rim AU I have seen thus far, I am only saddened that there is not more of it.
Magic at Lyme, or the Midnight Company, Kate and Cecelia
“I did not mean to drop the entire pitcher of lemonade in my lap, Aunt Elizabeth. Nor did I mean to jump when I did so, and smash it on the floor. Nor to land with my elbow in the plate of chocolate custard. Nor-”
This is a really charming BABY KATE adventure, coupled with an exploration of the backstory of mysterious Aunt Elizabeth -- very much in keeping with the Regency-hijinks tone of canon.
Another Chance, Le Petit Prince
I had had my fill of all of the grown-up thoughts about returning to my squadron and worrying about survival on an empty island. So I stopped thinking about the grown-up things. There was a fox. Perhaps it would play with me.
Saint-Exupery's mysterious disappearance, through a Petit Prince-style view of the world. I don't know what to say about this fic, except that it's absolutely gorgeous.
Satin One-Step, Ramona series
“I got first dibs, so I’m buying,” she said.
Bob put his hands up in surrender. “I never argue with first dibs,” he said solemnly, and walked with her to the cash register.
This is the CUTEST STORY I never thought I would read about the courtship of Ramona Quimby's parents -- super-grounded in the place and time of Portland 1948, which adds a lot to its appeal. Historical detail is the way to my heart!
Give Sorrow Words, Secret Country trilogy
You got me into this, she thought fiercely, so help. But Princess Laura, as she almost always did, stayed silent.
We also lucked out with Secret Country fics from this exchange! This is another one that examines the awkwardness of taking on someone else's identity -- from Laura's point of view, this time -- and the ways the kids can and cannot fill those missing places.
The Stafford-Grant Adventure, Vesper Holly series
In it I asked that every available service of the police department be laid at my disposal in the retrieval of my ward, who had, I explained, left to attend a musicale, but may by now have gone chasing after brigands bound for who knew what quarter.
This is a PITCH PERFECT Vesper Holly adventure, exactly as exuberant and over-the-top as the original stories. Brinny's eternally anxious narrative voice is a DELIGHT.
Office Hours, Young Wizards
“I look forward to hearing about them,” Millman said. He opened the door for her. “Have a good day, Dairine. Try not to make anyone cry.”
I really love stories about people who don't have magic in magical universes, and this Millman-focused Young Wizards fic is a great example of the type.
The Air Beneath Her Feet, Zahrah the Windseeker
She asked Mother, who sighed and said, “Oh, darling, why bother about all that? Isn't this enough?”
It wasn't. Nsibidi was starting to get the feeling that it never would be.
This is an awesome exploration of Nsibidi's childhood, and the eternal drive to seek out more and different places that puts her in the eventual position to meet Zahrah. The exploration of the worlds is really cool, and feels a lot like canon.
Also I guess I should talk about what I wrote:
Double Feature, Darkest Powers
So I ended up matched with
evewithanapple, who requested either Derek/Chloe fluff or a femslash story about Tori and Liz. Since writing romance of any sort is not my forte, this led to a lot of flailing emails to my betas composed largely of "ARE THEY GAY ENOUGH YET???" But I did end up having a lot of fun writing ghost lesbians. Even though the title is terrible. I'M SORRY, LAURA, my inspiration ran dry! (Chloe and Derek are also in it, and I meant for it to ALSO serve as Chloe/Derek fluff, but then I got distracted by ghost lesbians.)
And, for completion's sake, since I don't think I ever linked it here, way back in August for Parallels, I wrote:
Adaptive Systems, Time of Eve
For this one I matched with
gramarye1971 . . . whom I love dearly and whom I had matched with for From Up on Poppy Hill with a beautiful request for historical exploration of the time period that I was NOWHERE NEAR QUALIFIED to fulfill. In a panic, I devoured Time of Eve and wrote this robot-POV fic instead. Protip: robot-POV is hard to write. BUT FUN. And I'd been meaning to watch Time of Eve anyway, so I'm not actually complaining.
This entry is cross-posted at Livejournal from http://skygiants.dreamwidth.org/347609.html. Please feel free to comment here or there! There are currently
comments on Dreamwidth.