minutia_r

Friendship and Finnish by Correspondence (Stand Still Stay Silent, Emil & Tuuri)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got this wonderful Emil & Tuuri epistolary fic! It's got great character voices and it's sweet and heartwarming, and you should all go read it.

But also! I got two treats in the Madness collection!

Respite and Refuge (Chanur Saga, Pyanfar/Khym)

Okay, I'm not going to lie, a big part of why I'm writing this rec post is so that someone other than me will read this fic and shower my writer with love, because as of this writing my feedback is the only feedback they've gotten, and yeah it's a tiny fandom and I'm sure they knew what they were getting into when they wrote it, but it's a damn shame because it's so excellent and deserves all the love. It's everything I adore about these two in one compact package: the way he quietly seeks her approval, the way she's coming to trust and rely on his competence, the tenderness and familiarity (and mild snark) between them.

Whimsy Above (SkyWorld)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I requested this fandom, but what I got was pretty amazing. A really interesting premise, an ominous yet inevitable conclusion, and graphics! And, at 100 words long, I can say with confidence that it's definitely worth your time.

And then there were stories that were not written for me!

The First Rule (Stand Still Stay Silent, the crew)

In my personal and unbiased opinion, all five of the SSSS stories in the yuletide collection are excellent and worth reading, but this was--after the one written for me--the one I liked best. It really captured both the humorous side and the perilous-adventures side of canon, with really enjoyable character interactions as well.

Judgment Call (Alliance-Union, Sandor (insert ambiguous but extremely significant symbol here) Allison)

This is such a Cherryh story, with all the solid details of ship-and-station life, and an understated, indirect, but no less powerful exploration of what these two mean two each other, and what they might yet mean to each other.

Worry Not (Sorcerer to the Crown, Damerell/Rollo)

So charming, so delightful, both the use of language and the characters. This pair of secondary characters has clearly got their shit together in re: human/fairy relations (as it were) far more than anyone else in the Sorcerer-to-the-Crown-verse.

Duel to Be Kind (Hark! A Vagrant, Nemesis ♠ Pirate (with bonus Nemesis' Sister ♠ Nemesis' Sister's Nemesis))

So, you may have noticed that I like things that are charming and delightful, with a playful use of language and a loosely Regency England setting. This is another one! With the bonus that you don't have to be familiar with the canon to appreciate it.

* shallow cluster * deep dive * Streaker find * (Uplift Saga, Creideiki)

You guys, somebody wrote trinary haiku. It's perfect, it's brilliant, it's worthy of Creideiki, why are you still reading this when you could be reading it.

I didn't get post-apocalyptic fic for jukebox this year! I got dystopian fic instead. That's very different.

Anyway, those of you who like cheerfully monstrous protagonists versus monstrous faceless government entities should definitely read my gift, based on Leonard Cohen's "The Future:"

And Now The Wheels Of Heaven Stop

Those of you who prefer things where everything and everyone isn't terrible probably shouldn't read it, but you're missing out, because it's really good.

It's a Kencyrath fic about the beginning of Tori and Grimly's friendship, with cityporn and Tori falling asleep while Grimly recites poetry and platonic bed-sharing!

And for those of you who are familiar with the Chronicles of the Kencyrath--or those of you who just like cityporn so much you are willing to read fic from unfamiliar fandoms for it--you can read it here:

Two from the North

Also, I have not had a chance to read much other yuletide fic yet but so far I can unreservedly recommend In the Right Way which is a really great story about Angelica Petrocchi and tone-deafness and sufficiently-analyzed magic.

So, the Rarewomen collection is open!

fawatson wrote me The Purpose of Life, which is a Vorkosigan Saga story where Lilly Durona Junior and Maree of Bharaputra's clone-creche find a sort of closure that I didn't think to ask for in my letter, but really should have. Also there are Mercenaries! With a glad cry!

Go read it.

ALSO, since Rarewomen doesn't have an anon period, I can already tell you what I wrote:

Loose Every Knot and The Things That Make Me Weak and Strange for cordialcount, a pair of Cyteen stories about young Ari Emory I and the origins of psychogenesis.

(They are theoretically part of a longer series. Theoretically. Also, heed the warnings on the second one.)

I also wrote American Poetry 1900-1950: The Drinking Game for DWEmma, a Lizzie Bennet Diaries story featuring Lydia, Mary, and pretty much what it says on the tin.

I am so lucky! I got not one, but two M-rated Fox in Socks stories. They both took my prompt and ran with it in separate kinky, funny, childhood-ruining, brain-bleach requiring directions. And the most delightful part is how they both followed the source text closely, so I always knew what was coming up but could never be sure how it would play out.

So You Want to be a Wizard

Someone tell Rob Ford, because this is the top-shelf crack. Mr. Fox is a fast-talking wizard, Knox is his somewhat reluctant and very confused apprentice. It is silly, charming, captures the dynamic between Fox and Knox very well, and is chock-full of references to other works and the lore of great wizards and their great socks.

Fox and Cocks

a) Rhymes

b) Scans

c) Is an actual tongue twister

and d) does all of the above things well while being the filthiest, most hilarious thing I have read in a long time. It is a thing of beauty.

Minutia says check them the fuck out.

As mentioned previously, I got not one but two stories for rarewomen this year, and they are both so excellent I don't know what to do with myself.

Betony wrote me from the private correspondence of miranda argent chant.

As you may have guessed from the title, this is Miranda epistolary fic. That alone would have me fistpumping the air with glee, but! This fic! It absolutely nails the scheming, self-absorbed Miranda of my heart, and it is funny as hell.

And also! Ollipop wrote me Kindred Instruments.

Yesssss, this is what I wanted in Lotus Durona fic--multifaceted and sparkling, cold-blooded and matter-of-fact, with currents of strong passions running beneath the surface. And I love the way Lotus and Vasa Luigi flirt: "How are your surgical skills?” “If you give me a knife, I’ll demonstrate.” INDEED.

Go read them; you won't regret it!

As I've mentioned already, and as some of you may have noticed, I haven't been around much lately. But I would be remiss not to mention--have been remiss in not mentioning--that I participated in rarepairfest, and metonymy wrote me a lovely Korra/Asami fic:

in case you shake apart and want a brand new start

Asami demonstrates her mad people skills and takes Korra clubbing! Korra wears a suit and dances like a doofus! It is super cute and fun; you should read it.