Yuletide recs V -- OCs & minors
It's always a treat to see stories about very minor characters, particularly those who don't often star in fanfiction, and there are several examples here. Also well-crafted original characters who fit so well into the source that you'd think they'd been born there.
Historical RPF
Quod Me Nutrit Me Destruit by Rexluscus
'At the sight of her new husband's handiwork, the sweet-faced boy playing Zenocrate wore a bloodthirsty smile of frank erotic promise far beyond what a child of his age ought to have been able to imagine, let alone perform. It left Will feeling lightheaded.' This take on Marlowe through Shakespeare's eyes runs with the William Hughes theory for the sonnets' dedicatee. Gleefully anachronistic & enormous fun
Neverwhere
The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning by Sophia Prester
'Unlike other dignitaries he had met in London Below, the Ringmistress was not given to layers of velvet and lace. Rather, she could have stepped straight out of Swinging London, right down to the yellow-and-black checkered shift dress and white patent go go boots.' The various strands in this novella-length sequel don't always bind together, but the individual pieces are engaging, and the inventive OC alone is worth the price of admission
Reservoir Dogs
Stories Untold by Russian Blue
'Changing his tone of voice, the pace of his delivery, his word choice, his body language. Building Mr. Orange.' Russian Blue uses structure & repetition to counterpoint the film's random violence in this clever vignette
Romeo and Juliet
Starling by Loathlylady
'Black, white, black, white inside, still unlimited shades and nuances without. She had been ground between the nuances, caught in some space between maid and bawd.' Luscious prose draws one into this intriguing take on the events of the play, as Rosaline looks back in her old age
Spirited Away
The Age of Not-Believing by Mithrigil
'Talking with the spirits doesn't mean the same thing it did when Chihiro was a little girl. It's more of a general sense, which she might have had to begin with--that eye for statues and houses and the peculiar turns of the wind.' An unusual older-Chihiro story that doesn't restrict itself to the usual suspects. Mithrigil melds the film's brand of magic and modern technology perfectly
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
and i have told you this to make you grieve by Kangeiko
'"A man may survive on crumbs for a long time, it is true; but sooner or later a full meal is needed to replenish him." / An actual meal may prove more useful to the populace than a spiritual one, Jaro thought, but if a spiritual meal was all you had to offer, there was no point dreaming of hasperat.' Kangeiko explores the complexities of living under the Bajoran Occupation through the eyes of Jaro Essa (from 'The Homecoming'/'The Circle'/'The Siege'). Precise details make the setting come alive
Twin Peaks
The Tender Boughs of Innocence by Amatara
'This corpse was in worse shape than the first, but the connection was unmistakable: those same tight, intricate shapes, chiseled in bloody streaks across the torso. Albert was reminded, suddenly and vividly, of the spirograph he'd owned as a kid.' A suitably spooky casefic, with perfect characterisation for the younger Albert as he investigates his first Blue Rose case. The cameos from Fire Walk With Me & the series are a bonus
Crossposted from Dreamwidth (with
replies). Reply wherever you prefer
Historical RPF
Quod Me Nutrit Me Destruit by Rexluscus
'At the sight of her new husband's handiwork, the sweet-faced boy playing Zenocrate wore a bloodthirsty smile of frank erotic promise far beyond what a child of his age ought to have been able to imagine, let alone perform. It left Will feeling lightheaded.' This take on Marlowe through Shakespeare's eyes runs with the William Hughes theory for the sonnets' dedicatee. Gleefully anachronistic & enormous fun
Neverwhere
The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning by Sophia Prester
'Unlike other dignitaries he had met in London Below, the Ringmistress was not given to layers of velvet and lace. Rather, she could have stepped straight out of Swinging London, right down to the yellow-and-black checkered shift dress and white patent go go boots.' The various strands in this novella-length sequel don't always bind together, but the individual pieces are engaging, and the inventive OC alone is worth the price of admission
Reservoir Dogs
Stories Untold by Russian Blue
'Changing his tone of voice, the pace of his delivery, his word choice, his body language. Building Mr. Orange.' Russian Blue uses structure & repetition to counterpoint the film's random violence in this clever vignette
Romeo and Juliet
Starling by Loathlylady
'Black, white, black, white inside, still unlimited shades and nuances without. She had been ground between the nuances, caught in some space between maid and bawd.' Luscious prose draws one into this intriguing take on the events of the play, as Rosaline looks back in her old age
Spirited Away
The Age of Not-Believing by Mithrigil
'Talking with the spirits doesn't mean the same thing it did when Chihiro was a little girl. It's more of a general sense, which she might have had to begin with--that eye for statues and houses and the peculiar turns of the wind.' An unusual older-Chihiro story that doesn't restrict itself to the usual suspects. Mithrigil melds the film's brand of magic and modern technology perfectly
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
and i have told you this to make you grieve by Kangeiko
'"A man may survive on crumbs for a long time, it is true; but sooner or later a full meal is needed to replenish him." / An actual meal may prove more useful to the populace than a spiritual one, Jaro thought, but if a spiritual meal was all you had to offer, there was no point dreaming of hasperat.' Kangeiko explores the complexities of living under the Bajoran Occupation through the eyes of Jaro Essa (from 'The Homecoming'/'The Circle'/'The Siege'). Precise details make the setting come alive
Twin Peaks
The Tender Boughs of Innocence by Amatara
'This corpse was in worse shape than the first, but the connection was unmistakable: those same tight, intricate shapes, chiseled in bloody streaks across the torso. Albert was reminded, suddenly and vividly, of the spirograph he'd owned as a kid.' A suitably spooky casefic, with perfect characterisation for the younger Albert as he investigates his first Blue Rose case. The cameos from Fire Walk With Me & the series are a bonus
Crossposted from Dreamwidth (with
replies). Reply wherever you prefer