Uffish Thought

Fandoms are all over the place this month since I finished my Yuletide trawl, so lots of small fandoms + Star Trek + Star Wars, sorted into thematic clusters for your reading pleasure.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ADVENTURES

Another Life by @LullabyKnell (Star Trek AOS, gen)

In one moment, James T. Kirk is the acting captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, on his way home to Earth after stopping the Narada. In the next moment, without explanation, James T. Kirk is an Academy cadet on academic probation again, barely a day before Nero will destroy Vulcan.

He dares himself to do better. And with a planet on the line and no proof but his own memories, he knows that "better" means he'll need some help.

Classic time-travel fix-it elevated by a mid-story TOS-flavored twist! A wonderful adventure.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by blackkat/ @blackkatmagic​ (Star Wars, Fox/Mace)

Fox has a second chance, a to-do list, a stolen lightsaber, and a complete willingness to give everyone around him grey hairs. Plus a Jedi Master to seduce. It's going to be a ride.

*cackles* Fox deserved this SO MUCH! Hilarious and satisfying.

Magic Casements by @edwardianspinsteraunt​ (A Little Princess, gen)

Becky is the one who rescues Mr Carrisford's monkey, and so the one whom the Magic happens to instead.

Captures the sweet magic and friendship of the original while making some sharp points about its class issues.

INVESTIGATIONS

The Striped Leg by wildwestwind (A Study in Emerald, gen)

The Adventure of The Speckled Band, set in the world of A Study In Emerald.

This author really knows their Lovecraft, which brings a rich and creepy new dimension to this very classic case. Mmm, pastiche perfection.

A Country Mile by @bropunzeling​ (Think of England, Fen/Pat)

“You want us to go to a house party? Really?”

“I hate to ask it of you,” Daniel said, voice muffled in that queer way one got with the telephone. "But I need someone I can trust to look after things there until then. Would you?”

Fen and Pat attend a house party and encounter: poison (pen letters); poison (literal); perilous dinner conversation; potential friendship; and physics.

Danger, espionage, female friendship, a lady scientist, general competence in the face of misogyny, Fen's self-esteem issues vs Pat's unswerving support, and a damn good read: what more could you want?

What It All Comes Down To by phnelt/ @phneltwrites​ (Think of England, canon pairings)

“Those blighters—” strong language from Fen there. Pat has been working on her in regards to fruity language but Fen hasn’t much taken to it. “ —won’t let women shoot at these newfangled Olympics games, despite England boasting some of the best women shooters in the world. Present company very much included.” Fen gets so heated when she advocates. It brings up a healthy colour to her cheeks. Pat smiles at her, helplessly. “So we simply must show them how good women can be by having Pat train you up from nothing so you can trounce them in the name of her club and in front of the eyes of God and the Olympic Committee.” If this wasn’t obviously one of Fen’s schemes it would be clear after her speech.

Charming friendship-centric story, with some light intrigue on the civilian side of things for once.

UNEXPECTED MEETINGS

Poiesis (Making) by ama (Queen's Thief, gen + Costis/Kamet)

Kamet is bewildered by a summons he receives to meet with the King of Sounis. After all, what could they possibly have to discuss?

Post-canon interlude where Kamet and Sophos bond over poetry, with great character writing.

Scene on a Balcony by Mary_West (Lord Peter, gen + Sylvia/Eiluned)

8th October 1935 and it's the wedding of the year - Lord Peter Wimsey and Miss Harriet Vane have finally tied the knot. But the wedding breakfast (served at the Dowager Duchess' London house) is getting a little heated. So the balcony is an excellent place to which to escape.

If anyone ever needed a sensible lesbian auntie, it's Jerry - but also this is sweet and funny and well-observed, from the wedding details to the practicalities of being queer at the time.

The Nuclear Option by Tangerine/ @atangeriner​ (From Eroica with Love, Klaus/Dorian)

When Klaus needs help with a family affair, Dorian is more than happy to offer his services.

Superb, satisfying, full of banter and yearning, and I love the slow reveal of wtf is going on with Klaus.

Time Enough by fresne/ @fresne999​ (Ethan of Athos, Ethan/Terrence)

Terrence Cee had spent most of his life feeling like a jumpship caught in the gravity well of a blackhole. Engines on full bore. Only able to keep out of the crushing center, but never able to escape. Now in his new life on Athos, he found himself unsure of how to find a new pace.

Ethan wondered if there was a way to get his love life gestating again. Not frozen like zygotes stored in a bio-freezer against some eventual future.

Sweet get-together for the boys that addresses Terrence's trauma and socially deficient upbringing, plus meet-the-family shenanigans and rich worldbuilding for Athos in all its problematic glory. I am retroactively very pleased with myself for nominating this fandom for Yuletide (even if it took me a few months to get around to this one)!

and remains quiet by marycrawford/ @mcvices​ (Nirvana in Fire, gen)

She picks up her cup and sips delicately of the chrysanthemum tea she brought. It is cooling and calming. She doesn’t need calming, but Mei Changsu might. She is about to administer a medicine that the patient will find disagreeable.

The patient looks fevered, at the moment. “What is wrong with Jingyan?”

The AU divergence point is a little oblique - if I'm reading correctly, the Emperor dies early during the war and Consort Jing takes advantage of her Dowager status to go north to see MCS - but honestly who cares about the premise, because holy SHIT this author writes Consort Jing to perfection, in all her ruthlessly compassionate (or compassionately ruthless?) complexity.

PORN WITH FEELINGS

No Pity, But a Little Love by beautifulduckweed (Will Darling Adventures, Will/Kim)

The author's summary is a mess so I'm leaving it out, but this is a great post-series look at their relationship that captures their banter and mutual delight, plus Will getting exposed to more queer spaces, all structured around Will attempting anal sex again under less fraught circumstances.

Privacy by Resonant (Due South, Fraser/RayK)

“Guess it’s a while since you had a door with a lock on it?”

“I’ve never had a door with a lock on it."

I don't know how long it's been since Resonant wrote new DS fic, but she always nails (heh) their weird and weird-about-each-other charm and this is no exception!

through the desert, repenting by beautifulduckweed (Think of England, Archie/Daniel)

Daniel da Silva comes face-to-face with the deadly consequences of making a mistake and turns to a bad childhood habit to cope—but it's not enough, and Archie Curtis doesn't know how to help.

AKA the one where Archie counters Daniel's self-harm with sex, or as the author's tags put it "In the absence of therapy banging it out will have to do".

Sliding in not-quite-late with these! The Untamed recs are first since I think that’s what most of ya’ll are around for, then Yuletide & related small fandoms and some random anime fandoms under the cut.

THE UNTAMED

With Absolute Splendor by Lise / @veliseraptor - I’ve seen this recced all over the place, and for good reason! Absolutely my favorite Jiang Cheng POV, as he insists that Wangxian get married at Lotus Pier then repeatedly fails to get out of his own way as he rebuilds a relationship with Wei Wuxian. His complicated layers of trauma and grief and anger are so well-written, and he’s trying so hard <3

make this chaos count by devotedbones - Wei Wuxian returns to Cloud Recesses after his travels and immediately gets in a fight with some assholes talking shit about Lan Zhan. Sounds a bit cracky, but it’s not, and Wei Wuxian’s voice is so compelling - mischievous and longing and righteous, with his belief in LWJ just enough to counterbalance his belief that he’s unwanted.

Keep the Customer Satisfied by @whenas-in-silks/WhenasInSilks - modern AU where Meng Yao deploys his Customer Service Smile and sneakiness in an actual customer service job, and Lan Xichen just keeps breaking his computer for some reason. (+ excellent comic relief from frenemy/coworker Xue Yang, and The Hat)

combat baby by dustyloves/@theo-decker - Buffy fusion, in which Lan Zhan is called as Slayer after Wei Ying’s death - but Wei Ying comes back. I was surprised by how much I liked this, since normally I am reflexively cranky when the Slayer gets AU’d to being male, but something about Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan’s trauma and anger and the weight of expectations really worked for me. And also the kinky sex. :D

The One-Body Problem by metiskit - in which Jingyi accidentally gets possessed by the Yiling Patriarch - who turns out to be a really nice guy? Hilarious, but with Wei Wuxian’s deep well of Issues as a compassionate counterpoint. Starts stronger than it finishes, imo, but absolutely worth reading.

YULETIDE & ADJACENT

I had a very quiet Yuletide this year, because I did my semi-annual fandom thing where I read all the YT fic for a fandom and then went and caught up on the last six months of fic that I'd missed. So I basically just binge-read Queen's Thief, The Goblin Emperor, and Nirvana in Fire, with side trips in anime fandoms that I've never even seen the canon for, because why not end 2020 on the appropriate 'fuck it' note.

( Queen's Thief, NIF, Goblin Emperor, Naruto, BNHA )