Yuletide! squee/recs/discoveries
Squee!
As Welcome as the Dust (1739 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Traveler in Black - John Brunner
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: The Traveler in Black
Additional Tags: Order vs Chaos, Canon-Typical Levels of Getting What You Wished For and Regretting It, Be Careful What You Wish For, Yuletide Treat
Summary:
Whenever certain planets are in conjunction, the Traveler in Black goes on his periodic pilgrimage to carry out his task. He is not bound by the rules of ordinary mortals, but there are rules he is bound by, and he must follow them, for he has many names, but only one nature.
Each trek encompasses the portion of beings whose natures are stubbornly multiple as they attempt to deal with the chaos of their existence, and the traveler works to help them to fix themselves in Time.
Ribbon-note: The first and so far only Traveler in Black fic in the archive was written as a pinch-hitter's treat for meeeeee, and it's a beauty. Whoever crafted it totally gets the voice and sensibility of the original -- and the tag "canon-typical levels of getting what you wished for and regretting it" made me light up like a Christmas tree as soon as I saw it.
As usual, a lot of reads have been shunted to my "for later" queue, because due dates and illness, bah. But from what I've managed to consume so far, here are some additional recs:
The entire England Series - K. J. Charles slate (7 stories). I stumbled on some SPAG oversights here and there, but they're all conceptually sound and lovingly astute about how our favorites relate to one another and the wider world, whether they're approaching canon from the perspective of machinations at the Bureau, women yearning to be taken seriously, and/or people being Very Competent.
Fire in the candle-ring (3015 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dark Is Rising Sequence - Susan Cooper
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Will Stanton/The Black Rider
Characters: Will Stanton (Dark is Rising), The Black Rider
Additional Tags: Spanking, Figging, Dom/sub
Summary:
Will meets a familiar face, who makes a very unfamiliar demand.
Ribbon-note: I might be a little wild-eyed after reading this. Sexy, edgy, vivid -- and it's a refreshingly unsentimental take on this fandom's "someone addresses Will being alone" trope (which I've enjoyed, don't get me wrong, but I like where this went).
Rabbi Shaina Cohen Shows Great Patience And Fortitude (2235 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Yudah Cohen Series - Rebecca Fraimow
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Yudah Cohen, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Yuletide 2021, Epistolary, Family, Siblings, if you thought Yudah was annoying when he was alive...
Summary:
R' Shaina Cohen (she/they) at RadRadRabbi
Hate to poop the party, but there is no evidence that Judah/Yudah/Yehuda Coen/Cohen/Cohn existed
He's an archetype of Jewish folklore, like Shlemiel (the fool) or Hershele (the prankster)
Ribbon-note: The canon comprises three short stories that are online ("Further Arguments in Support of Yudah Cohen’s Proposal to Bluma Zilberman," "Shaina Rubin Keeps Her Head Under Circumstances Nobody Could Have Expected," and "Gitl Schneiderman Learns to Live With Her In-Laws"). The fic features tweets, DMs, reddits, emails about peer review, shitposting with a Rabbi Nachman quotation . . .
Outfits for Espionage
Fandom: Will Darling Adventures - K. J. Charles
Summary: "Or five outfits for going undercover to fight crime plus one not-really-an-outfit for celebrating your success."
Ribbon-note: This features Will being very understandably grouchy about the wardrobe required for his occupation. And also this gem:
"For someone who owns a bookstore," Kim says, "you have a lot of problems with books."
"I'd say at least half those problems are because I own a bookstore."
Speaking of bookstores . . .
this is a hellsite (3458 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sotherans (Twitter), Undisclosed Fandom
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Oliver (Sotherans) & Twitter
Characters: Oliver (Sotherans), demon trapped in book
Additional Tags: Bookstores, Twitter
Summary:
sotherans: it's that time of year again so here is your annual reminder that if you stumble across a creepy book abandoned in a dusty cabinet it is almost certainly a poor idea to open it
Ribbon-note: The Sotherans Twitter account is an actual entity, and if you're into Edward Gorey, with occasional cameos from Mr_AZ_Fell and friends, this canon is for you. (The main Tweeter, Oliver Darkshire, has a book coming out next year . . .) And also if you've worked as a bookseller, or are contending with shipping realities . . .
sometimes people are surprised when our books turned up mummified in enough layers to make a pharaoh blush but it is the only way anything can hope to survive the roiling landscape of the wolf-driven next-day-delivery economy
- Henry Sotheran Ltd (@Sotherans) October 20, 2021
Speaking of roiling landscapes, things are lively over in Duolingo Welsh:
Trouble with a Dragon/Trafferth gyda Draig (655 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Undisclosed Fandom, Duolingo Welsh Course
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Sioned (Duolingo Welsh Course), Owen (Duolingo Welsh Course), Megan (Duolingo Welsh Course), Morgan (Duolingo Welsh Course)
Summary:
A tale of a dragon, a nightclub owner, and two very hassled humans. And parsnips, of course.
Includes both Welsh and English versions.
"A sandwich," says Sioned. Of course, she is a dragon. Dragons love sandwiches. "Should we visit Owen's nightclub tonight?"
"No," say Morgan and Megan together.
"I would like to see his nightclub."
"You tried to eat him last week, after he came back from Antarctica," says Megan.
"I was hungry!"
"Don't eat our friends," says Morgan.
Mae Owen yn hoffi pannas pinc (Owen likes pink parsnips) (1649 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Duolingo Welsh Course
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Owen/parsnips, Owen/pannas pinc
Characters: Owen, Y ddraig goch
Speaking of agricultural matters: I am not acquainted with Emperor's New Groove, but it's apparently responsible for prompting the two Hamlet x sheep crossovers in Yuletide Madness.
Via Rachel Manija's second rec post, these came to my attention:
Spherical Cows and Other Questions (1426 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: xkcd, xkcd What If 120
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, In-Universe Documents, Mathematics, Physics, Humour and Horror, Alternate Universe - Canon
Summary:
What If? questions and answers from a world that is not our own.
Jennifer Egan's "Black Box" -- I am not done reading this yet, because it is intense. Those of you into spy stories (especially honeypot missions) may want to take a look.
Not Yuletide, but posted on 25 December, and possibly of interest to the Sayers/Charles fanatics:
"Exit, pursued by a bear" (mentioned in my previous entry) shows up in "התחלה" (Beginning), a Lord Peter Wimsey/Will Darling Adventures crossover by Ellendili. I am not Hebrew-literate, so I resorted to Google Translate, which was worth it for (among other things) the glimpse of my beloved Countess of Severn and Thames. The author has earlier stories in both fandoms as well. This entry was originally posted at https://bronze-ribbons.dreamwidth.org/429398.html. I see comments at DW, IJ, and LJ (when notifications are working, anyway), but not on feeds.
As Welcome as the Dust (1739 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Traveler in Black - John Brunner
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: The Traveler in Black
Additional Tags: Order vs Chaos, Canon-Typical Levels of Getting What You Wished For and Regretting It, Be Careful What You Wish For, Yuletide Treat
Summary:
Whenever certain planets are in conjunction, the Traveler in Black goes on his periodic pilgrimage to carry out his task. He is not bound by the rules of ordinary mortals, but there are rules he is bound by, and he must follow them, for he has many names, but only one nature.
Each trek encompasses the portion of beings whose natures are stubbornly multiple as they attempt to deal with the chaos of their existence, and the traveler works to help them to fix themselves in Time.
Ribbon-note: The first and so far only Traveler in Black fic in the archive was written as a pinch-hitter's treat for meeeeee, and it's a beauty. Whoever crafted it totally gets the voice and sensibility of the original -- and the tag "canon-typical levels of getting what you wished for and regretting it" made me light up like a Christmas tree as soon as I saw it.
As usual, a lot of reads have been shunted to my "for later" queue, because due dates and illness, bah. But from what I've managed to consume so far, here are some additional recs:
The entire England Series - K. J. Charles slate (7 stories). I stumbled on some SPAG oversights here and there, but they're all conceptually sound and lovingly astute about how our favorites relate to one another and the wider world, whether they're approaching canon from the perspective of machinations at the Bureau, women yearning to be taken seriously, and/or people being Very Competent.
Fire in the candle-ring (3015 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dark Is Rising Sequence - Susan Cooper
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Will Stanton/The Black Rider
Characters: Will Stanton (Dark is Rising), The Black Rider
Additional Tags: Spanking, Figging, Dom/sub
Summary:
Will meets a familiar face, who makes a very unfamiliar demand.
Ribbon-note: I might be a little wild-eyed after reading this. Sexy, edgy, vivid -- and it's a refreshingly unsentimental take on this fandom's "someone addresses Will being alone" trope (which I've enjoyed, don't get me wrong, but I like where this went).
Rabbi Shaina Cohen Shows Great Patience And Fortitude (2235 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Yudah Cohen Series - Rebecca Fraimow
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Yudah Cohen, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Yuletide 2021, Epistolary, Family, Siblings, if you thought Yudah was annoying when he was alive...
Summary:
R' Shaina Cohen (she/they) at RadRadRabbi
Hate to poop the party, but there is no evidence that Judah/Yudah/Yehuda Coen/Cohen/Cohn existed
He's an archetype of Jewish folklore, like Shlemiel (the fool) or Hershele (the prankster)
Ribbon-note: The canon comprises three short stories that are online ("Further Arguments in Support of Yudah Cohen’s Proposal to Bluma Zilberman," "Shaina Rubin Keeps Her Head Under Circumstances Nobody Could Have Expected," and "Gitl Schneiderman Learns to Live With Her In-Laws"). The fic features tweets, DMs, reddits, emails about peer review, shitposting with a Rabbi Nachman quotation . . .
Outfits for Espionage
Fandom: Will Darling Adventures - K. J. Charles
Summary: "Or five outfits for going undercover to fight crime plus one not-really-an-outfit for celebrating your success."
Ribbon-note: This features Will being very understandably grouchy about the wardrobe required for his occupation. And also this gem:
"For someone who owns a bookstore," Kim says, "you have a lot of problems with books."
"I'd say at least half those problems are because I own a bookstore."
Speaking of bookstores . . .
this is a hellsite (3458 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sotherans (Twitter), Undisclosed Fandom
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Oliver (Sotherans) & Twitter
Characters: Oliver (Sotherans), demon trapped in book
Additional Tags: Bookstores, Twitter
Summary:
sotherans: it's that time of year again so here is your annual reminder that if you stumble across a creepy book abandoned in a dusty cabinet it is almost certainly a poor idea to open it
Ribbon-note: The Sotherans Twitter account is an actual entity, and if you're into Edward Gorey, with occasional cameos from Mr_AZ_Fell and friends, this canon is for you. (The main Tweeter, Oliver Darkshire, has a book coming out next year . . .) And also if you've worked as a bookseller, or are contending with shipping realities . . .
sometimes people are surprised when our books turned up mummified in enough layers to make a pharaoh blush but it is the only way anything can hope to survive the roiling landscape of the wolf-driven next-day-delivery economy
- Henry Sotheran Ltd (@Sotherans) October 20, 2021
Speaking of roiling landscapes, things are lively over in Duolingo Welsh:
Trouble with a Dragon/Trafferth gyda Draig (655 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Undisclosed Fandom, Duolingo Welsh Course
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Sioned (Duolingo Welsh Course), Owen (Duolingo Welsh Course), Megan (Duolingo Welsh Course), Morgan (Duolingo Welsh Course)
Summary:
A tale of a dragon, a nightclub owner, and two very hassled humans. And parsnips, of course.
Includes both Welsh and English versions.
"A sandwich," says Sioned. Of course, she is a dragon. Dragons love sandwiches. "Should we visit Owen's nightclub tonight?"
"No," say Morgan and Megan together.
"I would like to see his nightclub."
"You tried to eat him last week, after he came back from Antarctica," says Megan.
"I was hungry!"
"Don't eat our friends," says Morgan.
Mae Owen yn hoffi pannas pinc (Owen likes pink parsnips) (1649 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Duolingo Welsh Course
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Owen/parsnips, Owen/pannas pinc
Characters: Owen, Y ddraig goch
Speaking of agricultural matters: I am not acquainted with Emperor's New Groove, but it's apparently responsible for prompting the two Hamlet x sheep crossovers in Yuletide Madness.
Via Rachel Manija's second rec post, these came to my attention:
Spherical Cows and Other Questions (1426 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: xkcd, xkcd What If 120
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, In-Universe Documents, Mathematics, Physics, Humour and Horror, Alternate Universe - Canon
Summary:
What If? questions and answers from a world that is not our own.
Jennifer Egan's "Black Box" -- I am not done reading this yet, because it is intense. Those of you into spy stories (especially honeypot missions) may want to take a look.
Not Yuletide, but posted on 25 December, and possibly of interest to the Sayers/Charles fanatics:
"Exit, pursued by a bear" (mentioned in my previous entry) shows up in "התחלה" (Beginning), a Lord Peter Wimsey/Will Darling Adventures crossover by Ellendili. I am not Hebrew-literate, so I resorted to Google Translate, which was worth it for (among other things) the glimpse of my beloved Countess of Severn and Thames. The author has earlier stories in both fandoms as well. This entry was originally posted at https://bronze-ribbons.dreamwidth.org/429398.html. I see comments at DW, IJ, and LJ (when notifications are working, anyway), but not on feeds.