yuletide recs #2
More recs: Chess (Board Game), The Weight - The Band (Song), Slings & Arrows, Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian, The People - Zenna Henderson, Points - Melissa Scott & Lisa A. Barnett, and Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch (6). Stories are organized roughly as anthropomorphic, song, TV, book; Rivers of London stories are in order from shortest to longest and are mostly gen.
(ETA: Now with better formatting. Serves me right for doing this while I'm falling asleep!)
the ultimate test of cerebral fitness (4000 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Chess (Board Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary: As I lay broken and bleeding on the battlefield, I began to wonder about the meaning of it all. I mean, what are we actually fighting for? Are we always destined to lose in some cosmic game? Why do the sides have to be different colors? Why can't the Biskups just be able to hook up for once without the world ending?
This is delightful and amusing! I love the narrative voice, which veers from a sort of classical military to OH GOD ROBOTS and back again, and the choice of Icelandic names for the pieces makes it nicely one step removed from the obvious anthropomorphic trope. Also, excellent stealth crossover.
Pennsyltory (3257 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The Weight - The Band (Song)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Narrator (The Weight), Chester (The Weight), Carmen (The Weight), Devil (The Weight), Anna Lee (The Weight)
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Supernatural Elements, Purgatory, POV Dead Character
Summary: Charlie finds himself somewhere between Pennsylvania and Purgatory.
This is a wonderful afterlife fic, and if this isn't at all what I've ever thought of when hearing the song, well, I guess I never really listened to the lyrics anyway. Beautiful description, kind of weirdly surreal, but hey, so's the song.
Going Dark (2206 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Slings & Arrows
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Maria (Slings & Arrows) & Anna Conroy, Darren Nichols/Richard Smith-Jones
Characters: Maria (Slings & Arrows), Anna Conroy, Darren Nichols, Richard Smith-Jones
Additional Tags: Terrible Musical Theatre, C6D (of a sort), The Eternal Suffering of Stage Managers, Women Being Awesome, Female Friendship, Theatre, Post-Canon, Canadian Politics
Summary: Maria's personal notes from the production of DIEFENBAKER! A Canadian Musical, by Darren Nichols and Richard Smith-Jones.
This is crazy hilarious, and frighteningly plausible considering the trainwreck of Darren and Richard collaborating. Anna is my very favorite S&A character, with Maria not far behind, and it's just delightful to read a story where they're the sane (or less insane) ones.
Burned Letters (2712 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Stephen Maturin/Diana Villiers
Characters: Diana Villiers, Sophie Williams
Additional Tags: Pregnancy, Ashgrove Cottage, Mentions of past abuse, Mentions of Abortion
Summary: A pregnant Diana Maturin, nee Villiers, spends her confinement at Ashgrove Cottage, writes many letters, and sends one.
OH DIANA. This is really a fabulous story, conveying her frustration and exasperation and fear and anger and misery and probably a million other emotions besides. It's so vivid, from the huge swooping skirts to the soup-covered children.
Patron Saint (2554 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The People - Zenna Henderson
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: some day my fic will come
Summary: Extraordinary things can happen in ordinary places. Even libraries.
I have always liked best fic for this series that shows an outsider (or at least, a person not in the know) view of the People, and this is just beautiful.
A Life in Star Signs (5231 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Points - Melissa Scott & Lisa A. Barnett
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Philip Eslingen/Nicolas Rathe
Characters: Nicolas Rathe, Philip Eslingen, Istre b'Estorr, Aicelin Denizard, Caro Rathe, Captain Trijn, Pointswoman Sohier, Hanselin Caiazzo
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Twelve scenes from Nicolas Rathe's life, each based off one of Astreiant's astrological signs.
This is lovely! I particularly like the epigraphs and their origins at the start of each section, and the structure, how each section proceeds linearly but also is related in some way to the sign.
Solidarity (1218 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale, The Faceless Man, Miriam Stephanopoulos
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Rescue
Summary: The problem with most wizards Peter had met was that they weren’t practical. An iron cage with a strong enough claustra spell was virtually inescapable with magic, but for someone who carried a lockpick set in their wallet for these kinds of problems, it was the work of a minute to jimmy the door open and stumble out into the balmy summer night.
I loved this! I was reading going, "aw! awww!" in my heart the whole time. The loyalty and affection that the characters show for each other made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Valuable Contribution (1386 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary: Peter is making a valuable contribution in the Case Progression Unit. Then the magic happens.
A nifty AU start to the series. I love the idea that even if a pivotal event doesn't happen, the characters still end up where they "ought" to be.
Not a Tame Tiger (1755 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Thomas Nightingale, Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina
Summary: Varvara does not quite make some propositions. Nightingale does not quite refuse them.
This is great! It's a treat to see Nightingale with someone else of his generation and level, more or less, and I love the way the author fleshed out Varvara here.
Every word I'm heeding (1828 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Abigail Kamara, Molly (Rivers of London)
Summary: Just because Molly doesn't talk doesn't mean they can't be friends.
Abigail and Molly bond. Wonderful character voices, great moments of humor. And of course Molly gets recipe ideas from Pinterest.
Mind The Gap (4524 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Thomas Nightingale, Peter Grant, Jaget Kumar, Molly (Rivers of London)
Additional Tags: Case Fic, London Underground, Banter, TLF Travel Alerts, Slight spoilers for Body Work
Summary: DCI Thomas Nightingale and his erstwhile apprentice are caught up in (un)seasonal high-jinks on the London Underground. It's the most wonderful time of the year...
Funny and charming, great Nightingale voice, and genius loci.
A Conspiracy of Ravens (5732 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant/Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Birds, magical treason, Getting Together
Summary: When ravens start disappearing from the Tower of London, Peter and Nightingale visit someone from the latter's past to find out what's going on.
This was delightful! I loved the whole idea that the Folly used the legend of the Tower ravens to create a genius-loci-like guardian for the monarchy. And centering this story around the war celebrations and protests made the story both plausibly canon-ish and beautifully deep. I really liked Peter's narrative voice here, the little details that fill out a story and make it real (like his observations on driving in Bristol, and the fine china), and the very nicely fleshed-out OCs. The getting-together scene was lovely, as well, and I'm not a Grant/Nightingale shipper.
Crossposted from isis at Dreamwidth where there are
comments. | Comment at Dreamwidth
(ETA: Now with better formatting. Serves me right for doing this while I'm falling asleep!)
the ultimate test of cerebral fitness (4000 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Chess (Board Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary: As I lay broken and bleeding on the battlefield, I began to wonder about the meaning of it all. I mean, what are we actually fighting for? Are we always destined to lose in some cosmic game? Why do the sides have to be different colors? Why can't the Biskups just be able to hook up for once without the world ending?
This is delightful and amusing! I love the narrative voice, which veers from a sort of classical military to OH GOD ROBOTS and back again, and the choice of Icelandic names for the pieces makes it nicely one step removed from the obvious anthropomorphic trope. Also, excellent stealth crossover.
Pennsyltory (3257 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The Weight - The Band (Song)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Narrator (The Weight), Chester (The Weight), Carmen (The Weight), Devil (The Weight), Anna Lee (The Weight)
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Supernatural Elements, Purgatory, POV Dead Character
Summary: Charlie finds himself somewhere between Pennsylvania and Purgatory.
This is a wonderful afterlife fic, and if this isn't at all what I've ever thought of when hearing the song, well, I guess I never really listened to the lyrics anyway. Beautiful description, kind of weirdly surreal, but hey, so's the song.
Going Dark (2206 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Slings & Arrows
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Maria (Slings & Arrows) & Anna Conroy, Darren Nichols/Richard Smith-Jones
Characters: Maria (Slings & Arrows), Anna Conroy, Darren Nichols, Richard Smith-Jones
Additional Tags: Terrible Musical Theatre, C6D (of a sort), The Eternal Suffering of Stage Managers, Women Being Awesome, Female Friendship, Theatre, Post-Canon, Canadian Politics
Summary: Maria's personal notes from the production of DIEFENBAKER! A Canadian Musical, by Darren Nichols and Richard Smith-Jones.
This is crazy hilarious, and frighteningly plausible considering the trainwreck of Darren and Richard collaborating. Anna is my very favorite S&A character, with Maria not far behind, and it's just delightful to read a story where they're the sane (or less insane) ones.
Burned Letters (2712 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Stephen Maturin/Diana Villiers
Characters: Diana Villiers, Sophie Williams
Additional Tags: Pregnancy, Ashgrove Cottage, Mentions of past abuse, Mentions of Abortion
Summary: A pregnant Diana Maturin, nee Villiers, spends her confinement at Ashgrove Cottage, writes many letters, and sends one.
OH DIANA. This is really a fabulous story, conveying her frustration and exasperation and fear and anger and misery and probably a million other emotions besides. It's so vivid, from the huge swooping skirts to the soup-covered children.
Patron Saint (2554 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The People - Zenna Henderson
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: some day my fic will come
Summary: Extraordinary things can happen in ordinary places. Even libraries.
I have always liked best fic for this series that shows an outsider (or at least, a person not in the know) view of the People, and this is just beautiful.
A Life in Star Signs (5231 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Points - Melissa Scott & Lisa A. Barnett
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Philip Eslingen/Nicolas Rathe
Characters: Nicolas Rathe, Philip Eslingen, Istre b'Estorr, Aicelin Denizard, Caro Rathe, Captain Trijn, Pointswoman Sohier, Hanselin Caiazzo
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Twelve scenes from Nicolas Rathe's life, each based off one of Astreiant's astrological signs.
This is lovely! I particularly like the epigraphs and their origins at the start of each section, and the structure, how each section proceeds linearly but also is related in some way to the sign.
Solidarity (1218 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale, The Faceless Man, Miriam Stephanopoulos
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Rescue
Summary: The problem with most wizards Peter had met was that they weren’t practical. An iron cage with a strong enough claustra spell was virtually inescapable with magic, but for someone who carried a lockpick set in their wallet for these kinds of problems, it was the work of a minute to jimmy the door open and stumble out into the balmy summer night.
I loved this! I was reading going, "aw! awww!" in my heart the whole time. The loyalty and affection that the characters show for each other made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Valuable Contribution (1386 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary: Peter is making a valuable contribution in the Case Progression Unit. Then the magic happens.
A nifty AU start to the series. I love the idea that even if a pivotal event doesn't happen, the characters still end up where they "ought" to be.
Not a Tame Tiger (1755 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Thomas Nightingale, Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina
Summary: Varvara does not quite make some propositions. Nightingale does not quite refuse them.
This is great! It's a treat to see Nightingale with someone else of his generation and level, more or less, and I love the way the author fleshed out Varvara here.
Every word I'm heeding (1828 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Abigail Kamara, Molly (Rivers of London)
Summary: Just because Molly doesn't talk doesn't mean they can't be friends.
Abigail and Molly bond. Wonderful character voices, great moments of humor. And of course Molly gets recipe ideas from Pinterest.
Mind The Gap (4524 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Thomas Nightingale, Peter Grant, Jaget Kumar, Molly (Rivers of London)
Additional Tags: Case Fic, London Underground, Banter, TLF Travel Alerts, Slight spoilers for Body Work
Summary: DCI Thomas Nightingale and his erstwhile apprentice are caught up in (un)seasonal high-jinks on the London Underground. It's the most wonderful time of the year...
Funny and charming, great Nightingale voice, and genius loci.
A Conspiracy of Ravens (5732 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant/Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Birds, magical treason, Getting Together
Summary: When ravens start disappearing from the Tower of London, Peter and Nightingale visit someone from the latter's past to find out what's going on.
This was delightful! I loved the whole idea that the Folly used the legend of the Tower ravens to create a genius-loci-like guardian for the monarchy. And centering this story around the war celebrations and protests made the story both plausibly canon-ish and beautifully deep. I really liked Peter's narrative voice here, the little details that fill out a story and make it real (like his observations on driving in Bristol, and the fine china), and the very nicely fleshed-out OCs. The getting-together scene was lovely, as well, and I'm not a Grant/Nightingale shipper.
Crossposted from isis at Dreamwidth where there are
comments. | Comment at Dreamwidth