Yuletide recs

[raspberryhunter]

A focus on fics that I don't think have got a lot of attention (with one exception because it's my fandom!) and that can be read with no or minimal (Wikipedia-level) canon knowledge — I've been shocked by how few comments some of these have; they're so good! PLEASE comment if you like them, even if only one line! :)



The Locust (2223 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side - James Tiptree Jr.
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Original Male Human/Original Male Alien
Additional Tags: Alien Sex, Localized Apocalypses, Early Modern Xeno, Size Difference, Epistolary, 16th Century CE, Plague
Summary:

Letter of Fr. Francisco Nadal to Fr. Bartolomeo Strozzi, 1588.

All right, I know everyone's reccing this, but I wanted Tiptree fic before it was cool, so I get to rec this too, okay?! If you like tortured Jesuits, alien sex, epistolary fic, and understated apocalypse, this IS the fic for you. Just pitch-perfect and amazing. (Also, I am guessing Selden wrote this… though I'm not sure.) Don't need to know canon. (In fact, this is more like origfic inspired by canon than an addition to canon.)

On the Nature of a Side (2315 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Possession - A. S. Byatt, Flatland - Edwin A. Abbott
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Maud Bailey/Roland Mitchell, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Characters: Maud Bailey, Roland Mitchell, Christabel LaMotte
Additional Tags: Crossover, Yuletide, Romantic Friendship, Epistolary, Mathematics, Poetry
Summary:

Once one has uncovered a set of nineteenth-century letters, one is forever an expert upon such discoveries, even if they entail the mathematical fantasia of a person such as Agnes Hart, niece to the famed educator Edwin Abbott Abbott.

I would never have thought to cross over Possession and Flatland. And to be fair it's really more of a Flatland piece set in the Possession universe than a Possession fic per se — it's just really very neat, both incisive in the matter of gender politics in the original Flatland and delightful in its mathematical physics, bringing a lovely twist into the story — and pitch-perfect in both the academic and the Flatland pastiche. If you liked Flatland and/or mathematical physics, I dare say you will love this fic. Probably need to know at least a wikipedia-level summary of Flatland to enjoy, though possibly not more than that. Possession familiarity probably not needed.

In Other Hands (4169 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: In Other Lands - Sarah Rees Brennan
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elliot Schafer/Luke Sunborn
Characters: Elliot Schafer, Luke Sunborn, Rachel Sunborn, Michael Sunborn, Gregory Sunborn, Adam Sunborn
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Monogamy, Yuletide 2017
Summary:

“Missing your boy, Little Red?” Rachel Sunborn asked.

“No,” Elliot said. He was not. He was independent and self-assured and didn’t care if all his friends were off at a tournament without him, throwing things at people for a week for absolutely no good reason and probably getting themselves killed.

Or: Five times someone suggested Elliot or Luke sleep with someone else, and one time they didn’t need to.

Oh man, this is just pitch-perfect snarky Elliot, sweet Luke (admittedly, not as much of him), and crazy Sunborns. It's a 5+1 fic, but with continuity between the sections and an overarching plot. Just wonderful. Probably need to know canon to appreciate, but man, it might be worth reading without canon knowledge and then checking out the book if you like the fic (you'll just be more confused than in the other order).

Verses from the Keltiad (1515 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Keltiad - Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Aeron Aiobhell, Gwydion ap Arawn, Sarah O'Reilly | Sorcha nî Reille, Arianera of Dôn
Additional Tags: Poetry, Meta, scholarship
Summary:

No culture in which bards and bard-craft are so highly revered could fail to incorporate poetry into its historical record – nor did it.

The Keltiad, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's epic wish-fulfillment 80's glitz Irish Arthurian fantasy, now has fic for it! Three (!) of them! Check them out, but I had to rec this one especially because it is POETRY. The first half you would need to know canon to appreciate, but the sonnets at the end, I think, are accessible as narrative poetry even without canon knowledge (although I guess it would spoil you a bit for the books). Don't miss the sonnets, at least!

When the Trees Were Enchanted (4673 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Llyfr Taliesin | Book of Taliesin, Mabinogion (Myth)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Gwydion (Mabinogion), Gilfaethwy (Mabinogion), Rhiannon (Welsh Mythology), Arawn's Wife (Mabinogion), Arawn (Mabinogion)
Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, The Battle of the Trees
Summary:

How Arawn King of Annwvyn pursued Gwydyon after the death of Pryderi, and how Gwydyon called up an army of trees to fight for him.

MY GIFT so I might be biased, but then again I might not, when I say this is one of the best things in Yuletide this year. A really cool crossover between the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion and the Battle of the Trees, that manages to explain what the heck both of them are about and bring in some characters who really ought to have been in the Fourth Branch but weren't, and link the first and second halves of the Fourth Branch in a way that makes me really happy. Done in great Mabinogion style. If you like the Mabinogion, definitely check this one out! Prooobably need to know at least Mabinogion canon.

The Awen (4071 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Llyfr Taliesin | Book of Taliesin, Welsh Literary Criticism RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Taliesin, J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Ifor Williams, Marged Haycock, John Morris-Jones
Additional Tags: Cymru am byth!, intertextuality, Unexpectedly Vicious Academic Papers, Dream Vision
Summary:

“Sleep now, and dream, and perhaps you will learn something. This is the river Taliesin came out of, you know, and I spent a night beside it when I was about your age.”

Where does a bard's inspiration come from? A tale of tradition, transformation and snarky early 20th century academics.

This is a really interesting dreamlike piece about where the awen comes from, and dueling academics, and literal redemption. It's just a really interestingly put-together piece, and if you like dream logic and snarky academics and redemptive arcs, you will probably like this one. (I also am pretty darn sure I know who wrote this one.) Don't need to know canon.

The Moonlight Road (6000 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Mysterious Mr. Quin - Agatha Christie
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mr. Satterthwaite/Mr. Harley Quin
Characters: Mr. Satterthwaite, Mr. Harley Quin (Agatha Christie)
Additional Tags: Supernatural Elements
Summary:

Mr. Satterthwaite visits an old friend and sees something unexpected one cold, wet night.

I'll be honest: Quin/Satterthwaite is not really my ship, as I find it really hard to envision it in a way that doesn't mess with my headcanon, and I almost skipped this one because of the pairing. SO glad I didn't; this is amazing. It's just lovely lovely writing, pitch-perfect Christie, it's Quin-casefic (which means the "case" is not (necessarily) about a murder or crime, but rather about seeing into human hearts and solving human problems), and the pairing is treated deftly and in a really very lovely way. All three Quin fics this year are amazing — there's additionally a lovely atmospheric work, and an interesting shipboard Marple-esque casefic — but I personally found this one particularly wonderful and one of my favorites this Yuletide. Don't need to know canon (or, at least, Wikipedia-level knowledge of the Mr. Quin stories will do).

felice te che puoi (4674 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Le nozze di Figaro | The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart/Da Ponte
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rosina Contessa di Almaviva/Susanna
Characters: Suzanne | Susanna (Figaro Trilogy), Barberine | Barbarina (Figaro Trilogy), Rosine Contesse D'Almaviva | Rosina Contessa di Almaviva (Figaro Trilogy), Antonio (Figaro Trilogy)
Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Master/Servant, Power Imbalance, bdsm undertones
Summary:

Susanna has plans to manage her new mistress. Sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry.

Oh, this is a very interesting look at the beginnings of the relationship between Susanna and the Countess, with an emphasis on the power imbalance between them. Also, as bonus, a fabulous Barbarina and Antonio. Need to know canon.

The Queen of Faery's Smith (6592 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Smith of Wootton Major - J. R. R. Tolkien
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Faery Queen/Original Female Character
Characters: The Faery Queen (Smith of Wootton Major), Original Female Character(s), Warriors Coming Back From the Marches
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Pining, Loyalty
Summary:

In which a new Smith becomes the bearer of the star, and the Queen of Faery takes a special interest in a human for the first time.

Beautiful language in a beautiful story about another Smith with the star. Just lovely. Probably need to know canon (though wikipedia-level familiarity is probably OK).