175 | Yuletide 2017 Rec Post

[straightforwardly]

Time for my yearly Yuletide recs! I'm not quite finished with commenting on everything I read and loved, but I have finished reading, so I figured I'd get the recs post up now.

Of course, I need to start this off with the fic which was written just for me! ♥

Tuesday Afternoon (2172 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Gokusen - All Media Types
Relationships: Sawada Shin/Yamaguchi Kumiko
Characters: Sawada Shin, Yamaguchi Kumiko, OFC
Additional Tags: Slice of Life, Totally Coincidental Meetings Ok, Dating, Yuletide Treat
Summary: Most afternoons, when he is free, Sawada Shin likes to go to a little café close to university.

I don't know if anyone on my flist has read the Gokusen manga, but if you have, definitely read this. It's just so lovingly written, and the characterization is perfect. ♥

(The rest of the recs are in alphabetical order by fandom.)

Praying nuns, weeping queens (15th Century RPF, Elizabeth Woodville & Elizabeth of York, 4K)
In an alternate medieval Europe, with an all-female church hierarchy, Elizabeth Woodville struggles to find safety for her daughters after the murder of her sons. She thinks she has powerful allies in the new Borgia pope, and in Cardinal Margaret Beaufort's secret 'Council of Women', but all is not what it seems.

And besides, her eldest daughter Bess is more interested in power than in safety, with devastating consequences.

Starring Lucrezia Borgia as the pope! The worldbuilding in this is excellent, and I love how politics and personal relationships collide here. Also, that ending. *_*

*

We Who Love Him (The Borgias, Micheletto & Lucrezia; background Cesare/Lucrezia, 1K)
After Cesare survives an assassination attempt, Lucrezia and Micheletto find common ground and a sense of purpose.

This gave me so many feelings. An excellent rendering of Lucrezia, Micheletto, and their relationships with Cesare and with one another.

*

firestarting (A Dark Room, Builder/Wanderer, 1.7K)
The materials of a fire comprise three parts: the tinder, the kindling, and the fuel.

This might honestly be my favorite thing I’ve ever read for this game? I adore the use of game mechanics, and the progression of the relationship between the Builder and the Wanderer is wonderful.

*

Weave (Fallen London/Sunless Sea, Silk-Clad Expert/Player, >1K)
The bindings are time-consuming. Winding the thin silken cord around her limbs and the brass bedstead is finicky work, even when she so eagerly positions herself to assist you.

This is hot like burning, and exactly the kind of weird PWP that Fallen London is made for.

Of Devils and Other Fine Things (Fallen London/Sunless Sea, Wistful Deviless/Zee Captain, 1.1K)
Wooing a devil can only end in tears.

The atmosphere is so perfectly that of the Neath, and the romance so perfectly suited to the Devils who live there.


*

and when i wake you, i’ll be the first thing you see (Folger’s Coffee Commercial, Brother/Sister, 1.8K)
He’s telling her stories, an endless barrage of things funny and things sad. She’s not listening, not really; she’s watching his face light up. The curve of his lips and the animate gestures he makes. There’s a strange part of her that thinks: he’s grown handsome since I last saw him. The thought slides through her like oil in water, and she tries to shrug it off.

This commercial is one of my favorite Yuletide traditions, and this fic might actually be my favorite from all that I’ve read for it.

*

After the Battles (The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, Torhthelm & Tidwald, 2.4K)
“By one man's will many must woe endure.” - Wiglaf

A fascinatingly creative retelling of the original canon.

A Riddle of Maldon (The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, Torhthelm/Tidwald, Drabble)
none

The original canon told in the style of an Anglo-Saxon riddle, with all that that implies. Seriously excellent, and clever too.

*

By Degrees (Mansfield Park, Mary/Fanny, 16K)
Her conscience had been disturbed, and she could no longer dislike Mary Crawford enough to be safe from her, if such a thing had ever been possible at all.

This is amazing. Exactly the kind of Mansfield Park retelling I liked best. Mary and Fanny are perfectly characterized, flaws and all.

The Value of an Event on a Wet Day in the Country (Mansfield Park, Mary/Fanny, 1.9K)
Fanny finds herself caught in the rain. Again.

This fic is filled with such a painful sense of yearning. The author clearly understands both Mary and Fanny—and understands, too, how easy it is for them to misunderstand one another without realizing that they’re doing so.

*

From the beast she pulls a lover (Omar Rayyan Paintings, The Lady In Furs, 3.9K)
It would be sad, of course, to see such an illustrious family fall by the wayside, but there were plenty of careers a young girl of her background could have – and there was always marriage.

The worldbuilding here is *_*. It's based on a painting, so no canon knowledge is necessary.

*

and stirring faint beneath the winter snow (A Redtail’s Dream, Hannu; mild Samuli/Hannu, 4.2K)
Days spent hunting in the winter forest; nights spent dreaming of something he'd rather forget.

Hannu's life after the end of the world.

An excellent take on the aRTD characters in a post-Rash world. I’m not even particularly interested in the main pairing, and I still loved it.

*

Better when you duel (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kozue, 1.3K)
There are things the school doesn't want Kozue to remember. She hangs on to memories when she can, and starts to build them into actions.

This starts out looking like your standard post-canon Utena fic, and then it takes the most amazing turn. I want about a million stories set in this universe. *_*

*

The Secret of the Silver Pines Pirate (Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, Velma/Marcie, 11K)
When Marcie’s aunt sees a ghost in her pie shop, Marcie asks Velma to come investigate. But solving the mystery behind the pie-stealing ghost may be easier than resolving the differences that lie in Marcie and Velma’s pasts.

I was wavering on whether I should read any of the Mystery Incorporated fic at all this year—I wasn’t really feeling it—but the premise of this fic sounded so promising that I had to click on it, and I’m glad I did. This was perfect, and handled all the implications of the series finale so well.

*

After the Bathhouse (Spirited Away, Ensemble, 2.8K)
Everyone changes and learns, and their lives continue to intertwine as they grow.

A quiet, satisfying post-canon fic that takes place almost directly after the movie ends.

*

Development (Stardew Valley, Abigail/Haley, 3.1K)
Haley meets Abigail in the maze on Spirit's Eve, and something changes.

RARE PAIR OF MY HEART, and written so well at that! So much attention is paid to all the little details of Stardew Valley here, and I love it, I love it, I love it.

*

The Captain & the Shore (Suradanna & the Sea, The Captain/Suradanna, 12K)
It takes a few decades to really get to know a person. Especially when they keep changing; especially when they're unsure of themselves.

An excellent post-canon fic. I read Suradanna & the Sea, and then I read this pretty much straight after, and it flowed perfectly.

*

The Blood of Visionaries (Valdemar, Tylendel/Vanyel, 21K)
“I won’t leave you,” Vanyel pledged, his grip tightening on his lute. “And I won’t let anyone take you from me, either.”

Tylendel’s heart ached at the words. He wished he could believe that either of them would have any choice.

SO THIS TURNED ME INTO A PILE OF FEELINGS. If you like: Tylendel, Tylendel/Vanyel, the sheer iddiness of the Vanyel books, and/or fix-it fics, read this. It’s so satisfying. ♥