Yuletide 2016 recs

[raspberryhunter]

I got some wonderful fics this year and read other wonderful ones :) I also have a gift-squee post here, but I thought I'd add a couple more to make this a proper rec post :)

My gifts:

Firebound (2345 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Der Ring des Nibelungen | The Ring of the Nibelung - Wagner
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Ambiguous or Implied Relationship(s), Brynhildr/Sieglinde
Characters: Brynhildr | Brunnhilde, Loge (Ring des Nibelungen)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fate & Destiny, References antisemitic stereotypes
Summary:

There isn't much to do at the top of a desolate mountain, bound by inviolate will, except to chat.

I asked for Brunnhilde and Loge, talking, because the way Ring is set up they have a lot of the same concerns, and would that not be awesome? Answer: yes! Yes, it is awesome! It is especially awesome when Norse myth and gnomic wisdom is interspersed throughout, when Sieglinde plays a prominent role even though she's not actually in the fic except very briefly, and when it is AU that is fix-it. [Probably need to know canon.]

The Greek Origins of Certain Words (2788 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (anthology) - James Tiptree Jr.
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Characters: Original Characters
Additional Tags: Science Fiction, Post-Canon, Body Modification, Dysfunctional Relationships, Yuletide Treat
Summary:

“It’s a dying field,” Elsie said, “pornography.” She and Desmond were in bed together and she had taken to idly fidgeting with his body, as though he were terrain she was mapping: that was the term her industry used for relatively unmarked flesh. The terrain.

Sort-of-kind-of a sequel to, or at least takes place in the same universe as, "And I Awoke And Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side" -- but you don't need to have read the story to read this. Not only does this story replicate the breathless cadences and seventeen-new-SF-ideas-a-minute worldbuilding that characterize Tiptree's best work, but it's brilliantly about Tiptree's major themes: sex, love, biology, and what it means to be human. [Don't need to know canon, though it will be especially brilliant if you do; 10-minute canon.]

As Though to Breathe Were Life (2922 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (anthology) - James Tiptree Jr.
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Original Character-centric, Alien Cultural Differences, Not Entirely Hopeless
Summary:

“It’s a human thing,” I say. “The struggle, you don’t get how much we need it. Really trying, setting your heart on something grand and impossible, win or die.”

Original-SF-ish with all those marvelous Tiptreeian themes -- what does it mean to have free will, or not; what does it mean to be human, in all its pain and glory and terribleness. You don't need to know canon or like it to enjoy this story -- it is heartbreaking and wonderful. [Don't need to know canon.]

The Dead Authors Podcast Chapter 60: James Tiptree Jr. (1299 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (anthology) - James Tiptree Jr., The Dead Authors (Podcast), 20th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: James Tiptree Jr., Alice Sheldon, H.G. Wells (The Dead Authors Podcast)
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Yuletide, Time Travel, Gender Issues, Feminist Themes, Trans Character, Politics, RPF, Star Trek References
Summary:

"I must ask, should I be addressing you as James, Tip, Alice, or Raccoona?"

Man, I wish I'd had the idea to cross over James Tiptree Jr. as a guest on the Dead Authors Podcast! I've only listened to a couple of them, but I get the impression that generally in the podcast the "dead authors" tend to stay in their previous-life personas; here we get Alice Sheldon changed by her journey to the future into someone who can articulate things about feminism and trans-issues that she was not able to do in her own life. [Don't need to know canon, but will be better if you do; 10 minutes with Dead Authors Podcast will give you enough background.]

Other recs:


The Saga of Hearthruler Whitebeard and Snowsgrace Dreamfinder (4623 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Expert Judgment on Markers to Deter Inadvertent Human Intrusion... - Sandia Labs, 1850s London Cholera Epidemic RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: John Snow (1850s London Cholera Epidemic), Reverend Henry Whitehead (1850s London Cholera Epidemic)
Additional Tags: epidemiology, Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Future, radiation poisoning, form:saga
Summary:

Snow and Whitehead bring back miasma theory, and not before time.

All the Expert Judgment on Markers... etc. fics are great this year, and you should read them all, but this one is especially amazing. The writer took two of seekingferret's wacky fandoms and merged them into a far-future SF crossover told in saga style about the triumph of careful scientific study (that characterizes the original Snow and Whitehead). Complete with a chapter of genealogy! AND in a really clever inversion, the right answer turns out to be miasma theory. So brilliant. If you are interested in history, epidemiology, SF, the 1850's London cholera epidemic, or sagas, read this! [Probably should know 5 minutes' worth of Wikipedia about Snow and Whitehead; all you need to know about Expert Judgement...etc. is that it's about trying to figure out how to code signs for dangerous nuclear waste so that people many years in the future will understand.]

undying at midsummer (1930 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Dalemark Quartet - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Navis Haddsson, Mitt Alhammittsson, Moril (Dalemark Quartet)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:

The Duke of Kernsburgh, several Midsummers later.

Pitch-perfect look at Navis and a realization he comes to. Perfect DWJ voice and characterization. [Need to know canon.]

The Huntsman's Reel (4440 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Simon Illyan/Alys Vorpatril
Characters: Alys Vorpatril, Simon Illyan
Additional Tags: Dancing, Assassins & Hitmen, Politics, Undercover as a Couple
Summary:

"Somewhere in this party," said Captain Illyan, "there are four Cetagandan assassins."

This hits all my competence kinks and Alys-and-Simon shippiness buttons, and is so gracefully and wonderfully written. (I am really wondering if this one is Philomytha, but I've already struck out once in guessing this Yuletide.) (ETA: score!) [Probably need to know canon? Lovely and plotty even if you don't.]

Judgment Call (1638 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Alliance-Union - C. J. Cherryh
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Allison Reilly, Sandor Kreja
Summary:

What's worked for eight years might need some review.

Pitch-perfect Cherryh voice and very solid worldbuilding make this a really nice piece. Full disclosure: I betaed this. [Need to know canon.]

The Dead Authors Fanfic: Christopher Marlowe and Walt Whitman (1461 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Dead Authors Podcast
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: H. G. Wells, Christopher Marlowe, Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare
Additional Tags: Podcast, Podfic, Poetry, Bad Poetry, historical allusions, sexual innuendo, Historically Inaccurate, cheap references, Meta, Metafiction, Screenplay/Script Format
Summary:

This fanfic is intended as entertainment for grownups, and to spread awareness of the Yuletide Rare Fandom Exchange. The Dead Authors Fanfic hasn’t been brought to you by 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center for children ages 6 to 18, but if you wanted to contribute to them, that would probably be nice. And now, here’s the host of The Dead Authors Fanfic, Mr. H.G. Wells.

This had me laughing so hard! The Walt Whitman pastiche alone is totally worth reading it for, but when you throw in Christopher Marlowe grouching and William Shakespeare being cool...! [Probably don't need to know canon, though 10 minutes with the Dead Authors Podcast would be sufficient.]

The Morn Is Hallowday (2462 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Tam Lin - Pamela Dean
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Molly DuBois & Christina (Tam Lin)
Characters: Molly DuBois, Christina (Tam Lin)
Additional Tags: Aftermath, Post-Book(s), Friendship, Female Friendship, Misses Clause Challenge, Late Night Conversations, Gap Filler, Shock, Fae & Fairies, Hot Chocolate, Cats
Summary:

Halfway through the walk from Forbes to Ericson, Molly realized that if Tina hadn't returned already from her folk dancing, she certainly would very soon, and in either case Janet's absence would require some explanation.

Oh gosh, a wonderful missing scene from the book that manages to replicate the atmosphere of the book extremely well and at the same time treat Tina with a sensitivity and compassion that the book doesn't always manage. [Need to know canon.]

At This Late Hour (8734 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Once and Future King Series - T. H. White
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Guenever/Lancelot du Lac/Arthur Pendragon, Arthur Pendragon & Kay
Characters: Kay (Arthurian), Arthur Pendragon, Guenever (Once and Future King), Lancelot du Lac, Bedivere (Arthurian), Mordred (Arthurian), Agravaine, Gawain (Arthurian), Gareth (Arthurian)
Additional Tags: Camelot, The Sword in the Stone
Summary:

It must have cost Gareth much to go against his brothers and try to warn Lancelot, and even more to go to his old tormentor and beg for help. Tonight, the fate of Camelot rests on Kay's shoulders.

I am always up for Once and Future King fix-it. Always! And it's so cool to see Kay get his time in the light. Lovely White voice. Full disclosure: I betaed this. [Need to know at least vague bits of Arthurian canon.]