Yuletide reveals! Super late! Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (plus some gifts)
I wrote:The Mountain of the Rightful Emperor by 
pentapus
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Sanada Ryo/Xiu Rei Fuan a.k.a. Kento, Ensemble cameos
"Welcome to the Middle Kingdom," Kento said, switching to Japanese.
"Uh, yeah -- it’s nice," Ryo said.
So I was the worst anon ever this year. Even forgetting the egregious use of geology, my backpacking trip to China, and a Ryo headcanon I mentioned in my yuletide letter (Ryo dancing! Come on, who doesn’t want that?!), I literally told Spoke two years ago that I wanted to write her a story where Kento and Ryo worked at Kento’s Uncle’s guest house.
Well, it's true. I did want to write that. I wanted Kento to be the star. He's still the ridiculous, effusive strongman, but I wanted him to also be the eldest of five siblings, who takes care of people anywhere in his huge family, who has a complex cultural heritage with connections across oceans, and who has made some very deliberate decisions concerning his mystical magical samurai armor. Whereas Ryo is just kind of - trying to keep his head above water. He never has enough footing to be in control and doesn’t really realize there’s a world where he could be.
(Or a world where he could be a dancer!!! Come on, guys! Don't you want that.)
I also wanted to write some characters who don’t communicate the way I do, which is the way Rowen does, via involved, verbose logical discussion. Ryo is a difficult guy to talk to. That is Not His Thing. So they, uh, wrestle instead.
There is some discussion of historical violence in the story and of tension between China and Japan. Writing about that freaked me out a bit, but Kento was the first guy in canon to question how they were affected by violence, and I wanted Kento and Ryo to talk about violence, especially about how human vs. demon is a very simple moral line compared to human vs. human. I also wondered how heroes, with their Good Violence, deal the fact that regular humans can be worse than super villains and with less explanation.
Oh, and I wanted some mystical stuff to happen. Because that’s the world they live in. And ‘cuz I like it.
I received:
Yoroiden Samurai TroopersRites by
penitence_road
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Mia, Kayura, Ensemble
If purity were in the work of purification, they'd be all set. But that's not really how these things work. Or, The Netherworld's Trust-Building Exercises Are Pretty Hardcore. Features everyone, but stars Mia and Kayura.
Longfic! With Mia and Kayura! And Kayura trying to be a proper traditional girl while also ruling a demon underworld. I loved Mia and Kayura feeling each other out. The background that penitence_road gave Mia (French Catholic) made her even more of an outside observer, an interested academic observing Shinto practice in the netherworld, and I really liked that take on it.
Sleeping Arrangements by
alessandriana
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Mia, the Ronins
In the aftermath of the first battle against Talpa, they go home.
(Blatant fluff.)
Nrrrgh, so good. Exactly my kind of fluff -- cuddling with an air of hurt/comfort and lingering peril. Like, Ryo literally does not wake up for the entire story. He is so wiped out from all that Killing-Talpa business that he has to be carried from room to room by Kento as the story progresses. I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT WORKS FOR ME, BUT OH GOD, DOES IT WORK. Also, the Mia POV was great here as she tries to keep track of everyone while being wiped out herself. There’s a bit where she has to stop and stress by herself for a moment, but instead, she falls asleep leaning on the laundry machine - I have done that! I have totally done that! I mean, it was more college finals than demon attack, but it still happened.
Torii by Shusu (
Sameshima_Shuzumi)
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Kayura, Ronins
We're the unsung handymen of the netherworld. Only because Lady Kayura banned karaoke.
This was hysterical, and what really made it for me was the solid world-building underneath. There are some great descriptions of magic and the netherworld in here. And then everybody’s characters are fantastic. It gives it that real feel that just makes humor for me. And Kayura’s POV!
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells
Too Wise (to wait till those wolves make nice) by
mpatientdreamr
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells , Moon, Ember, Song, Chime, Jade, Malachite
Indigo Cloud Court has a couple of visitors.
Malachite! Moon! And some perfect Raksuran characterisations. Loved Ember especially - Moon thinks of him as basically the same as the royal clutch, Ember only listens to Moon when he wants to! Also, the author said she had been worried about making Moon cranky enough, which, yes, haha, perfect sum up of the Moon writing process -- always make him crankier.
Lonesome Son by
mpatientdreamr
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells , Moon, Ember, Pearl
Pearl and Moon talk about Ember.
And then she wrote me another thing about Ember!
Alien Song by
mpatientdreamr
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells , Frost, Thorn, Bitter
Frost, Thorn, and Bitter during Flower’s funeral.
This was a neat look at the Royal Clutch and their position as outsiders to Indigo Cloud.
Lilo & Stitch (2002):
Leaving the Nest by
trollprincess
Lilo & Stitch (2002), Lilo, Nani
Lilo takes one last surf before she leaves.
This was great. Introduces a very real source of worry while also letting good things happen - and all told nicely through dialogue and character interaction. A great glimpse of Lilo and Nani’s future with David and Lilo’s unusual babysitters. AND LILO CRIES AT E.T. FOR TOO LONG, OH MY HEART.
Jhua Tehrqua by
failsafe
Lilo & Stitch (2002), Lilo, Stitch
Stitch struggles with listlessness and fears of being replaced one night when Lilo's all grown up.
This is a sad one, guys. A very depressing future in which Lilo and Stitch go to space, but Stitch is still not considered a free citizen. An interesting read since it wasn’t a vision I would have had of the Galactic Federation. She’s got some great descriptions of Stitch’s body language in here, really brings home the ouch.
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells
A Lady’s Education by
misura
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells, Madeline
They all have things to teach her.
Really nice, quick glimpse of Madeline’s interactions with the main cast.
The Hanged Man’s Prodigal Son by
misura
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells, Arisilde
Arisilde on the brink.
Arisilde, oh my heart. ;_;
and she is the woman by
misura
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells, Madeline
Two choice pieces of gossip arrived from Vienne that week, in short succession of one another.
I fucking love gossip in fic, guys. A quick spin on the existence of a Sherlock/Watson-like duo in the books canon. Madeline gets to be a novel heroine! And the way each character reacts differently is great. Madeline’s reaction being my favorite. :D
This entry was originally posted at http://pentapus.dreamwidth.org/69246.html. Please comment there using OpenID. (
comments)
pentapus
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Sanada Ryo/Xiu Rei Fuan a.k.a. Kento, Ensemble cameos
"Welcome to the Middle Kingdom," Kento said, switching to Japanese.
"Uh, yeah -- it’s nice," Ryo said.
So I was the worst anon ever this year. Even forgetting the egregious use of geology, my backpacking trip to China, and a Ryo headcanon I mentioned in my yuletide letter (Ryo dancing! Come on, who doesn’t want that?!), I literally told Spoke two years ago that I wanted to write her a story where Kento and Ryo worked at Kento’s Uncle’s guest house.
Well, it's true. I did want to write that. I wanted Kento to be the star. He's still the ridiculous, effusive strongman, but I wanted him to also be the eldest of five siblings, who takes care of people anywhere in his huge family, who has a complex cultural heritage with connections across oceans, and who has made some very deliberate decisions concerning his mystical magical samurai armor. Whereas Ryo is just kind of - trying to keep his head above water. He never has enough footing to be in control and doesn’t really realize there’s a world where he could be.
(Or a world where he could be a dancer!!! Come on, guys! Don't you want that.)
I also wanted to write some characters who don’t communicate the way I do, which is the way Rowen does, via involved, verbose logical discussion. Ryo is a difficult guy to talk to. That is Not His Thing. So they, uh, wrestle instead.
There is some discussion of historical violence in the story and of tension between China and Japan. Writing about that freaked me out a bit, but Kento was the first guy in canon to question how they were affected by violence, and I wanted Kento and Ryo to talk about violence, especially about how human vs. demon is a very simple moral line compared to human vs. human. I also wondered how heroes, with their Good Violence, deal the fact that regular humans can be worse than super villains and with less explanation.
Oh, and I wanted some mystical stuff to happen. Because that’s the world they live in. And ‘cuz I like it.
I received:
Yoroiden Samurai TroopersRites by
penitence_road
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Mia, Kayura, Ensemble
If purity were in the work of purification, they'd be all set. But that's not really how these things work. Or, The Netherworld's Trust-Building Exercises Are Pretty Hardcore. Features everyone, but stars Mia and Kayura.
Longfic! With Mia and Kayura! And Kayura trying to be a proper traditional girl while also ruling a demon underworld. I loved Mia and Kayura feeling each other out. The background that penitence_road gave Mia (French Catholic) made her even more of an outside observer, an interested academic observing Shinto practice in the netherworld, and I really liked that take on it.
Sleeping Arrangements by
alessandriana
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Mia, the Ronins
In the aftermath of the first battle against Talpa, they go home.
(Blatant fluff.)
Nrrrgh, so good. Exactly my kind of fluff -- cuddling with an air of hurt/comfort and lingering peril. Like, Ryo literally does not wake up for the entire story. He is so wiped out from all that Killing-Talpa business that he has to be carried from room to room by Kento as the story progresses. I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT WORKS FOR ME, BUT OH GOD, DOES IT WORK. Also, the Mia POV was great here as she tries to keep track of everyone while being wiped out herself. There’s a bit where she has to stop and stress by herself for a moment, but instead, she falls asleep leaning on the laundry machine - I have done that! I have totally done that! I mean, it was more college finals than demon attack, but it still happened.
Torii by Shusu (
Sameshima_Shuzumi)
Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Kayura, Ronins
We're the unsung handymen of the netherworld. Only because Lady Kayura banned karaoke.
This was hysterical, and what really made it for me was the solid world-building underneath. There are some great descriptions of magic and the netherworld in here. And then everybody’s characters are fantastic. It gives it that real feel that just makes humor for me. And Kayura’s POV!
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells
Too Wise (to wait till those wolves make nice) by
mpatientdreamr
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells , Moon, Ember, Song, Chime, Jade, Malachite
Indigo Cloud Court has a couple of visitors.
Malachite! Moon! And some perfect Raksuran characterisations. Loved Ember especially - Moon thinks of him as basically the same as the royal clutch, Ember only listens to Moon when he wants to! Also, the author said she had been worried about making Moon cranky enough, which, yes, haha, perfect sum up of the Moon writing process -- always make him crankier.
Lonesome Son by
mpatientdreamr
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells , Moon, Ember, Pearl
Pearl and Moon talk about Ember.
And then she wrote me another thing about Ember!
Alien Song by
mpatientdreamr
Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells , Frost, Thorn, Bitter
Frost, Thorn, and Bitter during Flower’s funeral.
This was a neat look at the Royal Clutch and their position as outsiders to Indigo Cloud.
Lilo & Stitch (2002):
Leaving the Nest by
trollprincess
Lilo & Stitch (2002), Lilo, Nani
Lilo takes one last surf before she leaves.
This was great. Introduces a very real source of worry while also letting good things happen - and all told nicely through dialogue and character interaction. A great glimpse of Lilo and Nani’s future with David and Lilo’s unusual babysitters. AND LILO CRIES AT E.T. FOR TOO LONG, OH MY HEART.
Jhua Tehrqua by
failsafe
Lilo & Stitch (2002), Lilo, Stitch
Stitch struggles with listlessness and fears of being replaced one night when Lilo's all grown up.
This is a sad one, guys. A very depressing future in which Lilo and Stitch go to space, but Stitch is still not considered a free citizen. An interesting read since it wasn’t a vision I would have had of the Galactic Federation. She’s got some great descriptions of Stitch’s body language in here, really brings home the ouch.
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells
A Lady’s Education by
misura
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells, Madeline
They all have things to teach her.
Really nice, quick glimpse of Madeline’s interactions with the main cast.
The Hanged Man’s Prodigal Son by
misura
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells, Arisilde
Arisilde on the brink.
Arisilde, oh my heart. ;_;
and she is the woman by
misura
The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells, Madeline
Two choice pieces of gossip arrived from Vienne that week, in short succession of one another.
I fucking love gossip in fic, guys. A quick spin on the existence of a Sherlock/Watson-like duo in the books canon. Madeline gets to be a novel heroine! And the way each character reacts differently is great. Madeline’s reaction being my favorite. :D
This entry was originally posted at http://pentapus.dreamwidth.org/69246.html. Please comment there using OpenID. (
comments)