Second Round of Recs!
This time I'm starting from the second half of the alphabet. It gets less love.
The Art of Becoming (1529 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: George Darling/Mary Darling
Characters: George Darling, Mary Darling
Summary:
“Every child is affected thus the first time he is treated unfairly. All he thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but will never afterwards be the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter. He often met it, but he always forgot it. I suppose that was the real difference between him and all the rest.” (Peter Pan, Barrie)
What I Like: This takes George Darling, who is not a particularly sympathetic character, and makes him hurting and human. And the story fits very neatly into the canon. Go read. You won't regret it.
***
Four Universes Where It Mostly Worked Out (1107 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Richard II - Shakespeare
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Richard II/Anne of Bohemia, Richard II/Robert de Vere
Summary:
The entire premise of this fic is contained in the title.
What I Like: Richard II, frequently vilified in his own time and (and still is now by some authors) for his sexuality, his extravagance, his fashion sense, his frequent disagreements with his uncle-regents and, well, for NOT being a replica of his warrior father, Edward the Black Prince, here gets four happy endings. The endings all vary, but the common threads are acceptance, family and love. Also, Richard and his canonical boyfriend waiting for a key piece of news about Richard's equally belovéd wife may be one of the cutest things ever. And I REALLY want to hear more about Queen Richeldis now.
***
A Novel Solution (293 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sophia Grey/OFC, Sophia Grey/John Willoughby
Characters: Sophia Grey, John Willoughby, OFC
Summary:
Why did Sophia Grey marry Willoughby? She knew what he was, and she had the money and the beauty to make a better match...
What I like: Sophia's practicality. And humor. And the fact that she and Willoughby actually contrive to be unconventionally happy.
***
New Possibilities (1306 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Margaret Dashwood, Marianne Dashwood, Elinor Dashwood, Colonel Brandon
Summary:
The young Miss Dashwood's friendship with her brother-in-law bears unexpected fruits.
What I like: I've wanted Margaret to have adventure and love since I first saw the movie. Here, she gets both in a very Austenian way that makes perfect sense.
***
Juno's Swans (7052 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Swan Lake (ballet), Lebedínoye Ózero | Swan Lake
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Odette/Prince Siegfried
Characters: Odette, Odile, Prince Siegfried
Summary:
And wheresoever we went, like Juno's swans, / Still we went coupled and inseparable.
What I like: Odile and Odette are sisters, not rivals, and while they don't always understand each other and definitely don't want the same things, they do love each other. Also, Siegfried is a decent fellow who genuinely seems to like Odette. This story could easily have turned into a novel. You can tell.
***
The Tough Guide to Yuletide (3820 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Tough Guide to Fantasyland - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary:
What it says on the tin.
What I like: EVERYTHING. Seriously. It's funny and educational, and honest to God, it should be linked to the Yuletide rules next year, because it is the best explanation EVER.
***
I fell in love with the next fandom this year; there are a LOT in this category. For context, these are Jeftoon01's pictures--the fanart that the stories are based on.
Immersion (3339 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01
Rating: Mature
Warning: Major Character Death
Relationships: Beast/Belle (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01)
Characters: Belle (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01), Beast (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01)
Summary:
This time, she reached the Beast too late. She would do anything to get him back.
What I like: This is a story of madness--a very driven and very controlled obsession. It is creepy and it is wonderful.
***
The River Serpent (1235 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Mulan (1998), Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Characters: Fa Mulan, Shan Yu, Li Shang, OFC
Summary:
Even six months after the Mandate of Heaven fell upon another, the river runs foul all its length, no matter how they dredge it for corpses, or poison.
What I like: ZOMBIE MULAN FIGHTS FOR CHINA. And it is eerily mythic.
***
Second Best Day Ever (1266 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Princess, Tangled (2010)
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Characters: Rapunzel (Tangled), Mother Gothel
Summary:
Mother Gothel butchered Eugene in front of her eyes. Now Rapunzel will make her pay.
What I like: The way that Rapunzel vivisects her mother by quoting her own words back at her. And Rapunzel's vengeance, which is both terrible and appropriate.
***
Someone to Watch Over Me (2351 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Characters: Fa Mulan, Tiana (Princess and the Frog)
Summary:
Mulan is old when she comes to America. Restless and old. Tiana is nineteen when she becomes a monster. Not that the folks who decide how things can be haven’t been telling her that her kind has to stay on the edge her whole life. Between them, what can’t they do?
What I like: Their strength. Their determination. The fierceness with which they fight evil. And the acceptance that they find with each other.
***
The Destruction of All Things (1013 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Fa Mulan (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01)
Summary:
She's not a princess, she's a queen. And she'll make sure you get what you deserve.
What I like: Another strangely mythic re-telling of Mulan's story. This one is about power and control of that power, about wielding retribution while fighting to keep what humanity you have.
***
The Art of Becoming (1529 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: George Darling/Mary Darling
Characters: George Darling, Mary Darling
Summary:
“Every child is affected thus the first time he is treated unfairly. All he thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but will never afterwards be the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter. He often met it, but he always forgot it. I suppose that was the real difference between him and all the rest.” (Peter Pan, Barrie)
What I Like: This takes George Darling, who is not a particularly sympathetic character, and makes him hurting and human. And the story fits very neatly into the canon. Go read. You won't regret it.
***
Four Universes Where It Mostly Worked Out (1107 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Richard II - Shakespeare
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Richard II/Anne of Bohemia, Richard II/Robert de Vere
Summary:
The entire premise of this fic is contained in the title.
What I Like: Richard II, frequently vilified in his own time and (and still is now by some authors) for his sexuality, his extravagance, his fashion sense, his frequent disagreements with his uncle-regents and, well, for NOT being a replica of his warrior father, Edward the Black Prince, here gets four happy endings. The endings all vary, but the common threads are acceptance, family and love. Also, Richard and his canonical boyfriend waiting for a key piece of news about Richard's equally belovéd wife may be one of the cutest things ever. And I REALLY want to hear more about Queen Richeldis now.
***
A Novel Solution (293 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sophia Grey/OFC, Sophia Grey/John Willoughby
Characters: Sophia Grey, John Willoughby, OFC
Summary:
Why did Sophia Grey marry Willoughby? She knew what he was, and she had the money and the beauty to make a better match...
What I like: Sophia's practicality. And humor. And the fact that she and Willoughby actually contrive to be unconventionally happy.
***
New Possibilities (1306 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Margaret Dashwood, Marianne Dashwood, Elinor Dashwood, Colonel Brandon
Summary:
The young Miss Dashwood's friendship with her brother-in-law bears unexpected fruits.
What I like: I've wanted Margaret to have adventure and love since I first saw the movie. Here, she gets both in a very Austenian way that makes perfect sense.
***
Juno's Swans (7052 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Swan Lake (ballet), Lebedínoye Ózero | Swan Lake
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Odette/Prince Siegfried
Characters: Odette, Odile, Prince Siegfried
Summary:
And wheresoever we went, like Juno's swans, / Still we went coupled and inseparable.
What I like: Odile and Odette are sisters, not rivals, and while they don't always understand each other and definitely don't want the same things, they do love each other. Also, Siegfried is a decent fellow who genuinely seems to like Odette. This story could easily have turned into a novel. You can tell.
***
The Tough Guide to Yuletide (3820 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Tough Guide to Fantasyland - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary:
What it says on the tin.
What I like: EVERYTHING. Seriously. It's funny and educational, and honest to God, it should be linked to the Yuletide rules next year, because it is the best explanation EVER.
***
I fell in love with the next fandom this year; there are a LOT in this category. For context, these are Jeftoon01's pictures--the fanart that the stories are based on.
Immersion (3339 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01
Rating: Mature
Warning: Major Character Death
Relationships: Beast/Belle (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01)
Characters: Belle (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01), Beast (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01)
Summary:
This time, she reached the Beast too late. She would do anything to get him back.
What I like: This is a story of madness--a very driven and very controlled obsession. It is creepy and it is wonderful.
***
The River Serpent (1235 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Mulan (1998), Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Characters: Fa Mulan, Shan Yu, Li Shang, OFC
Summary:
Even six months after the Mandate of Heaven fell upon another, the river runs foul all its length, no matter how they dredge it for corpses, or poison.
What I like: ZOMBIE MULAN FIGHTS FOR CHINA. And it is eerily mythic.
***
Second Best Day Ever (1266 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Princess, Tangled (2010)
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Characters: Rapunzel (Tangled), Mother Gothel
Summary:
Mother Gothel butchered Eugene in front of her eyes. Now Rapunzel will make her pay.
What I like: The way that Rapunzel vivisects her mother by quoting her own words back at her. And Rapunzel's vengeance, which is both terrible and appropriate.
***
Someone to Watch Over Me (2351 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Characters: Fa Mulan, Tiana (Princess and the Frog)
Summary:
Mulan is old when she comes to America. Restless and old. Tiana is nineteen when she becomes a monster. Not that the folks who decide how things can be haven’t been telling her that her kind has to stay on the edge her whole life. Between them, what can’t they do?
What I like: Their strength. Their determination. The fierceness with which they fight evil. And the acceptance that they find with each other.
***
The Destruction of All Things (1013 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Twisted Princess (Disney Fanart)
Rating: Not Rated
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Fa Mulan (Twisted Disney Princesses - Jeftoon01)
Summary:
She's not a princess, she's a queen. And she'll make sure you get what you deserve.
What I like: Another strangely mythic re-telling of Mulan's story. This one is about power and control of that power, about wielding retribution while fighting to keep what humanity you have.
***