Yuletide recs (part two)
Still attempting to make it through this year's collection! Have my next installment of recs:
And, again, my reading is rather erratic, and some of these fandoms have other excellent fics or very good looking long ones I haven't been able to read, so do poke around if a fandom catches your eye. :-)
Have I Got News For You May 7th, 1862 (1638 words) by Thorya
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 19th Century Scientists RPF, Have I Got News For You RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, James Clerk Maxwell, Ian Hislop, Paul Merton
Additional Tags: cross-over
Summary: A {Partial} Transcript of the Traveling News Panel Performance Show:
Have I Got News for You
Performed at London Theater, May 7th, 1862
Guests: Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, and Professor James Maxwell
Does exactly what it says - it's an episode of HIGNFY, as it might have been in the 19th C. Brilliant, spot on and funny, and must have taken a ton of research to do.
The Very Happiest Place on Earth (2675 words) by Aris Merquoni
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Adam Adamant Lives!
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Adam Llewellyn De Vere Adamant, Georgina Jones, William E. Simms
Summary: Adam, Georgie, and Simms are on holiday, but will Adam's desire for a quiet day ever be fulfilled?
Every bit as fun and great as canon, which is to say: adorable! ♥
Application and Practice (2399 words) by Emiline
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Cadfael Chronicles - Ellis Peters
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Sister Magdalen (Cadfael Chronicles), Original Female Character(s), Mother Mariana (Cadfael Chronicles)
Additional Tags: Yuletide 2014, Nuns
Summary: Snippets from the life of Avice of Thornbury/Sister Magdalen after she comes to Polesworth.
Thoughtful little look at Avice of Thornbury (Sister Magdalen), settling into her new life, with the right sort of tone for the series.
Adam Lay Ybounden (2626 words) by emilyenrose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Henry IV - Shakespeare
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Henry IV of England & Henry V of England
Characters: Henry IV of England, Sir John Falstaff, Richard II of England, Henry V of England
Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship
Summary: It was an old tune, strangely sad. The drunken singers seemed to appreciate the sadness all the more because it was not theirs. Hard by the bar an enormously fat old man wiped his eyes, and wiped them again, and then blew his nose with a preposterous snort.
Excellent look at Henry and his relationship with Hal, and Hal and Falstaff, John of Gaunt and Richard II - and fathers and sons and substitute fathers. It fits in so well with canon, and makes you ache for Henry. Plus, bonus Shakespeare Undercover Monarch Trope.
Impulse Control (2862 words) by ryfkah
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hexwood - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mordion Agenos/Vierran Guaranty
Characters: Mordion Agenos, Vierran Guaranty, Martellian Pender, Sir Artegal (Hexwood), Martin Stavely, Fitela Wolfson
Additional Tags: Politics
Summary: “And if what you meant to imply, actually, was something along the lines of 'Mordion and Vierran, sitting in a tree,' then what I've got to say to you is, grow up!"
Post-book tag, with some excellent very-DWJ dialogue and character quirks. Lovely.
Emptiness in Harmony (2134 words) by Cyphomandra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Homeward Bounders - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Helen Haras-Uquara, Jamie Hamilton
Additional Tags: Misses Clause Challenge, Post-Canon, Canon Character of Color
Summary: Helen returns Home.
Post-book for Homeward Bounders, looking at Helen, without diluting the hardness of that ending (or Helen's sharpness of character).
into the dangerous world (1795 words) by anachronicity
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Hour
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hector Madden/Marnie Madden
Characters: Marnie Madden, Hector Madden, Freddie Lyon, Bel Rowley, Isaac Wengrow
Additional Tags: Childbirth, Male-Female Friendship
Summary: August, 1958. Racial riots are raging in Notting Hill, and Freddie Lyon is not there. Marnie Madden is having a baby, and Hector Madden is not there.
A nice look at the ensemble cast interacting & looking after each other in ways that mostly go unspoken.
Donation (3420 words) by merriman
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Libraries (Anthropomorfic)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Archive (Anthropomorfic), Book (Anthropormorfic), Catalogue (Anthropomorfic)
Additional Tags: Anthropomorphic, Libraries
Summary: When new books are added to the library, sometimes mistakes are made. Sometimes mistakes are fixed.
This is beautiful - the tale of a misplaced book that by the end will have you really feeling for 'her'. <3
The Closest Exit May Be Behind You (2406 words) by throughadoor
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Life (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Ted Earley, Rachel Seybolt
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary: Ted tries to dispense parental advice when Rachel encounters the lurking existential dread of the college application process. There's a dead body on an airplane and Dani hates the FBI. And Charlie is probably going to buy UCLA a building.
This is great, and feels like it could easily be part of a missing episode & the voices are spot on (which isn't easy to do for Crews).
Fireside Conversations (5103 words) by magdarko
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Malory Towers - Enid Blyton
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mr Lacey (Malory Towers)/Miss Winter (Malory Towers), Gwendoline Mary Lacey and Mr Lacey (Malory Towers)
Characters: Mr Lacey (Malory Towers), Mrs Lacey (Malory Towers), Miss Winter (Malory Towers), Gwendoline Mary Lacey
Summary: The many economies forced on the Lacey family after Mr Lacey's accident did not, thankfully, involve a curtailment in the fires in the rooms, for it was a cold, draughty house, and the fireside had always been a natural place to which to draw up and have a comfortable chat.
Follows Gwendoline Mary after her forced exit from the series, believably fleshing out what happened to her, her reform, and looking at her family, even selling a ship that's fairly unlikely on the surface of it - all of it helping Gwen to look again at her values. Excellent.
Count As Our Successes (2869 words) by astralis
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Malory Towers - Enid Blyton
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Darrell Rivers, Gwendoline Mary Lacey
Summary: In Cornwall on business, Darrell Rivers is less than thrilled to run into Gwendoline Mary - for more reasons than one.
Darrell & Gwen meet up again, and what follows is a sharply drawn look at the two, and the things they both regret from school, again fleshing out the characters believably and yet still preserving a Blytonesque edge in the tone, in just the right way.
Why Miss Marple Prefers Knitting to Embroidery (3912 words) by Delancey654
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Marple - Agatha Christie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jane Marple
Summary: A character study about how young Jane's failure to solve her first murder mystery helped her develop into the elderly Miss Marple we all know and love.
Cleverly done mix of character portrait, backstory, and murder mystery fic, with lots of small details from canon lovingly woven together & some great lines in there.
Sonnet I (1607 words) by ijemanja
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Beatrice/Benedick
Characters: Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Hero (Much Ado About Nothing), Leonato (Much Ado About Nothing)
Summary: A miracle! Here's our own hands against our hearts. Beatrice writes poetry.
Wonderful fic, following Beatrice through the writing of that poem, finishing up with the sonnet in question.
إن سرقت، اسرق جمل، وإن عشقت، اعشق قمر (8068 words) by Lexie
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Mummy Series
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Evy Carnahan O'Connell/Rick O'Connell
Characters: Evy Carnahan O'Connell, Rick O'Connell, Alex O'Connell
Summary: The first thing that Evy does, upon coming out of the desert, is sleep for what feels like a week. The second thing she does is get married.
Glorious through-the-years fic for Evy and Rick, carrying on having adventures and being together &, yes, just exactly right. Wonderful.
The Close of Years Now Past (4431 words) by Who Shot AR
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Mummy Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jonathan Carnahan & Evy Carnahan O'Connell
Characters: Jonathan Carnahan, Evy Carnahan O'Connell
Additional Tags: Christmas, Childhood, Siblings, Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Yuletide Treat, Canonical Minor Character Death
Summary: Four Decembers in the Carnahan(-O'Connell) household.
Evy & Jonathan, growing up (and grown-up). It's really lovely and well done - I especially like the use of Evie's reading in there, too.
An Unlikely Heroine (3339 words) by imaginarycircus
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Catherine Morland/Henry Tilney
Characters: Catherine Morland, Henry Tilney
Additional Tags: horrid novels, overactive imaginations, sarcastic husbands
Summary: Catherine is convinced their neighbor was murdered and Henry is convinced that his wife has let her imagination overcome her common sense. But as we've seen--he's not always right.
This is great, and really sweet.
Daisy Bell (32278 words) by Nemo_the_Everbeing
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Sapphire & Steel (Sapphire and Steel), Steel & Silver, Sapphire & Silver & Steel, Diamond & Radium
Characters: Sapphire (Sapphire and Steel), Steel (Sapphire and Steel), Silver (Sapphire and Steel), Original Female Character(s), Diamond (Sapphire and Steel), Radium (Sapphire and Steel)
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Horror, Timeline Shenanigans, Irresponsible Uses of Chemistry, Metaphorical Uses of Chemistry, Original Operators Based on the List in the Title Credits, ghost story, Time Travel, Transient Beings, Answers that Answer Nothing, Misses Clause Challenge
Summary: In 1979, Sapphire and Steel arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy. In 1999, Diamond, Radium, and Silver arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy.
Amazing long missing assignment fic with Sapphire, Steel and Silver as well as two of the Elements mentioned in the credits & a typically eerie setting and plot. Marvellous!
Crossposted from Dreamwidth -- Comments there:
And, again, my reading is rather erratic, and some of these fandoms have other excellent fics or very good looking long ones I haven't been able to read, so do poke around if a fandom catches your eye. :-)
Have I Got News For You May 7th, 1862 (1638 words) by Thorya
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 19th Century Scientists RPF, Have I Got News For You RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, James Clerk Maxwell, Ian Hislop, Paul Merton
Additional Tags: cross-over
Summary: A {Partial} Transcript of the Traveling News Panel Performance Show:
Have I Got News for You
Performed at London Theater, May 7th, 1862
Guests: Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, and Professor James Maxwell
Does exactly what it says - it's an episode of HIGNFY, as it might have been in the 19th C. Brilliant, spot on and funny, and must have taken a ton of research to do.
The Very Happiest Place on Earth (2675 words) by Aris Merquoni
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Adam Adamant Lives!
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Adam Llewellyn De Vere Adamant, Georgina Jones, William E. Simms
Summary: Adam, Georgie, and Simms are on holiday, but will Adam's desire for a quiet day ever be fulfilled?
Every bit as fun and great as canon, which is to say: adorable! ♥
Application and Practice (2399 words) by Emiline
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Cadfael Chronicles - Ellis Peters
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Sister Magdalen (Cadfael Chronicles), Original Female Character(s), Mother Mariana (Cadfael Chronicles)
Additional Tags: Yuletide 2014, Nuns
Summary: Snippets from the life of Avice of Thornbury/Sister Magdalen after she comes to Polesworth.
Thoughtful little look at Avice of Thornbury (Sister Magdalen), settling into her new life, with the right sort of tone for the series.
Adam Lay Ybounden (2626 words) by emilyenrose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Henry IV - Shakespeare
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Henry IV of England & Henry V of England
Characters: Henry IV of England, Sir John Falstaff, Richard II of England, Henry V of England
Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship
Summary: It was an old tune, strangely sad. The drunken singers seemed to appreciate the sadness all the more because it was not theirs. Hard by the bar an enormously fat old man wiped his eyes, and wiped them again, and then blew his nose with a preposterous snort.
Excellent look at Henry and his relationship with Hal, and Hal and Falstaff, John of Gaunt and Richard II - and fathers and sons and substitute fathers. It fits in so well with canon, and makes you ache for Henry. Plus, bonus Shakespeare Undercover Monarch Trope.
Impulse Control (2862 words) by ryfkah
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hexwood - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mordion Agenos/Vierran Guaranty
Characters: Mordion Agenos, Vierran Guaranty, Martellian Pender, Sir Artegal (Hexwood), Martin Stavely, Fitela Wolfson
Additional Tags: Politics
Summary: “And if what you meant to imply, actually, was something along the lines of 'Mordion and Vierran, sitting in a tree,' then what I've got to say to you is, grow up!"
Post-book tag, with some excellent very-DWJ dialogue and character quirks. Lovely.
Emptiness in Harmony (2134 words) by Cyphomandra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Homeward Bounders - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Helen Haras-Uquara, Jamie Hamilton
Additional Tags: Misses Clause Challenge, Post-Canon, Canon Character of Color
Summary: Helen returns Home.
Post-book for Homeward Bounders, looking at Helen, without diluting the hardness of that ending (or Helen's sharpness of character).
into the dangerous world (1795 words) by anachronicity
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Hour
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hector Madden/Marnie Madden
Characters: Marnie Madden, Hector Madden, Freddie Lyon, Bel Rowley, Isaac Wengrow
Additional Tags: Childbirth, Male-Female Friendship
Summary: August, 1958. Racial riots are raging in Notting Hill, and Freddie Lyon is not there. Marnie Madden is having a baby, and Hector Madden is not there.
A nice look at the ensemble cast interacting & looking after each other in ways that mostly go unspoken.
Donation (3420 words) by merriman
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Libraries (Anthropomorfic)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Archive (Anthropomorfic), Book (Anthropormorfic), Catalogue (Anthropomorfic)
Additional Tags: Anthropomorphic, Libraries
Summary: When new books are added to the library, sometimes mistakes are made. Sometimes mistakes are fixed.
This is beautiful - the tale of a misplaced book that by the end will have you really feeling for 'her'. <3
The Closest Exit May Be Behind You (2406 words) by throughadoor
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Life (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Ted Earley, Rachel Seybolt
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary: Ted tries to dispense parental advice when Rachel encounters the lurking existential dread of the college application process. There's a dead body on an airplane and Dani hates the FBI. And Charlie is probably going to buy UCLA a building.
This is great, and feels like it could easily be part of a missing episode & the voices are spot on (which isn't easy to do for Crews).
Fireside Conversations (5103 words) by magdarko
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Malory Towers - Enid Blyton
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mr Lacey (Malory Towers)/Miss Winter (Malory Towers), Gwendoline Mary Lacey and Mr Lacey (Malory Towers)
Characters: Mr Lacey (Malory Towers), Mrs Lacey (Malory Towers), Miss Winter (Malory Towers), Gwendoline Mary Lacey
Summary: The many economies forced on the Lacey family after Mr Lacey's accident did not, thankfully, involve a curtailment in the fires in the rooms, for it was a cold, draughty house, and the fireside had always been a natural place to which to draw up and have a comfortable chat.
Follows Gwendoline Mary after her forced exit from the series, believably fleshing out what happened to her, her reform, and looking at her family, even selling a ship that's fairly unlikely on the surface of it - all of it helping Gwen to look again at her values. Excellent.
Count As Our Successes (2869 words) by astralis
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Malory Towers - Enid Blyton
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Darrell Rivers, Gwendoline Mary Lacey
Summary: In Cornwall on business, Darrell Rivers is less than thrilled to run into Gwendoline Mary - for more reasons than one.
Darrell & Gwen meet up again, and what follows is a sharply drawn look at the two, and the things they both regret from school, again fleshing out the characters believably and yet still preserving a Blytonesque edge in the tone, in just the right way.
Why Miss Marple Prefers Knitting to Embroidery (3912 words) by Delancey654
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Marple - Agatha Christie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jane Marple
Summary: A character study about how young Jane's failure to solve her first murder mystery helped her develop into the elderly Miss Marple we all know and love.
Cleverly done mix of character portrait, backstory, and murder mystery fic, with lots of small details from canon lovingly woven together & some great lines in there.
Sonnet I (1607 words) by ijemanja
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Beatrice/Benedick
Characters: Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Hero (Much Ado About Nothing), Leonato (Much Ado About Nothing)
Summary: A miracle! Here's our own hands against our hearts. Beatrice writes poetry.
Wonderful fic, following Beatrice through the writing of that poem, finishing up with the sonnet in question.
إن سرقت، اسرق جمل، وإن عشقت، اعشق قمر (8068 words) by Lexie
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Mummy Series
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Evy Carnahan O'Connell/Rick O'Connell
Characters: Evy Carnahan O'Connell, Rick O'Connell, Alex O'Connell
Summary: The first thing that Evy does, upon coming out of the desert, is sleep for what feels like a week. The second thing she does is get married.
Glorious through-the-years fic for Evy and Rick, carrying on having adventures and being together &, yes, just exactly right. Wonderful.
The Close of Years Now Past (4431 words) by Who Shot AR
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Mummy Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jonathan Carnahan & Evy Carnahan O'Connell
Characters: Jonathan Carnahan, Evy Carnahan O'Connell
Additional Tags: Christmas, Childhood, Siblings, Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Yuletide Treat, Canonical Minor Character Death
Summary: Four Decembers in the Carnahan(-O'Connell) household.
Evy & Jonathan, growing up (and grown-up). It's really lovely and well done - I especially like the use of Evie's reading in there, too.
An Unlikely Heroine (3339 words) by imaginarycircus
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Catherine Morland/Henry Tilney
Characters: Catherine Morland, Henry Tilney
Additional Tags: horrid novels, overactive imaginations, sarcastic husbands
Summary: Catherine is convinced their neighbor was murdered and Henry is convinced that his wife has let her imagination overcome her common sense. But as we've seen--he's not always right.
This is great, and really sweet.
Daisy Bell (32278 words) by Nemo_the_Everbeing
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Sapphire & Steel (Sapphire and Steel), Steel & Silver, Sapphire & Silver & Steel, Diamond & Radium
Characters: Sapphire (Sapphire and Steel), Steel (Sapphire and Steel), Silver (Sapphire and Steel), Original Female Character(s), Diamond (Sapphire and Steel), Radium (Sapphire and Steel)
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Horror, Timeline Shenanigans, Irresponsible Uses of Chemistry, Metaphorical Uses of Chemistry, Original Operators Based on the List in the Title Credits, ghost story, Time Travel, Transient Beings, Answers that Answer Nothing, Misses Clause Challenge
Summary: In 1979, Sapphire and Steel arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy. In 1999, Diamond, Radium, and Silver arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy.
Amazing long missing assignment fic with Sapphire, Steel and Silver as well as two of the Elements mentioned in the credits & a typically eerie setting and plot. Marvellous!
Crossposted from Dreamwidth -- Comments there: