Recs For All Occasions

The 12 Dancing Princesses

Flickers (552 words) by Missy
- Teen And Up Audiences - Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Alternate Universe - 1930s, Enemies to Friends

In which there are 12 dancing starlets, and they're going to make sure of their own fairytale ending.

Elderberries and Tannin (319 words) by Missy - General Audiences

In which it's not the dancing the princesses need rescued from, and they've got all the magic they need on their own.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Lament for the Children of Hamelin (152 words) by kutsushita - Not Rated

Super creepy Yulepoem. Very Edward Gorey-esque

The Iliad - Homer

O Temperate Hector (135 words) by lferion - General Audiences

Another fantastic poem. It was a good year for Yulepoetry.

Tam Lin

the flower among them all (6133 words) by evewithanapple - Teen And Up Audiences - Janet/Tam Lin

This is a wonderful and new retelling of Janet's story. I love how fierce she is in claiming what agency she can in her own life. From taking control of her land, to taking control of her body, to taking control of her future.

“It is my mark,” she says, “of my choosing, and I will bear it gladly.”

Winter Solstice, Camelot Station - John M. Ford

Once and Future (2770 words) by oliviacirce - General Audiences

If you haven't read the original poem by John M. Ford, you definitely should read it here, and then read this wonderful story that adds depth and detail to the background without taking away any of the magic.

Norse Mythology

Planted in Darkness (2178 words) by joy_shines - Teen And Up Audiences - Bragi/Iðunn | Idun (Norse Religion & Lore), Idunn/Hela (minor)

A story of Idunn told in an absolutely gorgeous mix of poetry and prose.

Crossovers and AUs

Society of Gentlemen - K. J. Charles/Band Sinister - K. J. Charles

To Be Known (24983 words) by enjambament - Explicit - David Cyprian/Richard Vane, Dominic Frey/Silas Mason, John Raven/Lord Corvin, Dominic Frey/Silas Mason/John Raven

When the call went out on the Yuletide Discord for someone to beta 20,000+ words of K. J. Charles crossover, I immediately volunteered, and I'm so glad I did. This story is absolutely wonderful - with rich characterization of both the Ricardians and the Murder, delightful interplay between them, excellent use of Richard's family, and some seriously hot sex.

The Queen’s Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

flash points, like gunpowder (3593 words) by betony - Teen And Up Audiences - Attolia | Irene/Eugenides

A fantastic 1920s/US Prohibition AU of the King of Attolia. Clever and twisty with great characterization.

Shakespeare and Marlowe RPF

Dynamite (3350 words) by foxxcub - Explicit - Christopher Marlowe/William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway Shakespeare

Hilarious Modern AU in which Kit Marlowe wakes up in a strange bed with a very sexy strange man after a drunken one-night-stand, and has no clue what the hell is going on or what he’s gotten himself into. Also, the characterization of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s relationship here is glorious.

London Cholera Epidemic RPF

An Account of the Nanite Epidemic in Broad Street (5942 words) by whetherwoman - General Audiences - Henry Whitehead, Dr. John Snow

It’s the London Cholera Epidemic, only with humans and androids living together IN SPACE. I love fandom so much.

Society of Gentlemen - K. J. Charles

A Family Man (5535 words) by thistidalwave - Teen And Up Audiences - Julius Norreys/Harry Vane

Modern AU, fake dating fic. Delightfully in-character.

Tooth and Nail (3949 words) by ChristyCorr - Relationships: Dominic Frey/Silas Mason

AU in which everything’s the same, except Silas is a dangerous radical werewolf.

Lawrence of Arabia

your words devour my heart (6722 words) by Rhovanel - Mature - Ali ibn el Kharish/T. E. Lawrence

Modern AU set during the Arab Spring. I approached this with understandable caution, but found it remarkably sensitively done.

Five Gods Universe (Chalion Series) - Lois McMaster Bujold

Offerings from the Oven (1531 words) by NaomiK - General Audiences

Modern AU in the form of a recipe blog, offering gifts to be be offered in service to each God in their season.

Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers

Traces Through Time (2461 words) by brutti_ma_buoni - Teen And Up Audiences - Harriet Vane/Peter Wimsey

Medieval AU, as told through extracts from the work of modern scholar Katherine Climpson.

Ocean’s 8

As a Shrike to Your Thorn (5704 words) by DachOsmin - Teen And Up Audiences - Lou Miller/Debbie Ocean

Delightful, perfect Fae AU.

Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

The Hat Trick (2977 words) by mikkey_bones - General Audiences - Anthony Blanche/Original Male Character

I freely admit, I opened this fic entirely because it was tagged “this fic has become a private joke between me and Evelyn Waugh's ghost,” “and i'm the only one laughing.” This was, as it turns out, an excellent life choice, because now I’m laughing too.

19th Century Paleontology RPF

Monsters Cuvier Did Not Dream Of (4781 words) by CenozoicSynapsid - General Audiences - Edward Drinker Cope/Othniel Charles Marsh

An eerie and atmospheric story about love and want and loss and one of the most OTT love/hate relationships of all time.

Coping Strategies (5663 words) by CenozoicSynapsid - General Audiences - Original Male Character/Original Male Character

A delightful first person POV caper story about stealing the skull of Edward Drinker Cope.

Vantablack Pigment Feud RPF

Up (at) yours (1227 words) by marginaliana - General Audiences - Stuart Semple, Original Characters

A heist story from the pov of Stuart Semple’s rather put-upon assistant.

No Colors Anymore (465 words) by neveralarch - General Audiences

No description I could write could adequately convey how delightfully unhinged this story is.

Discworld

A Business Proposition (100 words) by rabidsamfan - General Audiences - Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah

A perfect coda to Small Gods

I think I'm going to be posting a bunch of smaller sets as I go this year, grouped vaguely by theme more than fandom.

Singin' in the Rain

He Loves and She Loves (4618 words) by tigrrmilk - Teen And Up Audiences - Cosmo Brown/Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden

Great Don pov on his relationships with Kathy and Cosmo and why exactly he and Cosmo haven't ever been like that. I like all the references to old Hollywood in this, and how frank and perceptive Kathy is, and how perceptive Don isn't.

Lunch is for Ladies (1248 words) by Fabrisse - Teen And Up Audiences - Cosmo Brown & Kathy Selden, Cosmo Brown/Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden

Kathy invites Cosmo to lunch for a chat. Another great take on Kathy and her wonderfully matter-of-fact nature.

Variety Issue 34 1930 (2371 words) by sanguinarily - Not Rated - Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden/Cosmo Brown

In which the gossip mags are inclined to make insinuations about Cosmo's relationship with Don, or maybe his relationship with Kathy. Except there's no truth to the rumours. Yet. The dialogue in this is pitch-perfect, I could hear their voices so clearly in my head while I was reading this.

Camelot

The Heart That Loveth Me (Every Joyous Word) (1836 words) by harborshore - General Audiences - Guinevere/Lancelot du Lac/Arthur Pendragon - Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Fusion, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion

Four amazing alternate universes where everything maybe doesn't go wrong after all.

Philadelphia Story

Sir I Believe You Dropped Something (3446 words) by Jackalope80 - Teen And Up Audiences - C.K. Dexter Haven/Tracy Lord, Macaulay Connor/Tracy Lord, Macaulay Connor/C.K. Dexter Haven

SO. MUCH. FLIRTING. And banter. Flirting, and teasing, and banter. Everything I love about the movie, plus the ending I really wish it could have had. I really appreciate that this focuses on Mike's separate and very different developing relationships with Tracy and Dex before we ever see them all in a scene together.

ETA: And now with recs for my two gifts too. I am very tired and not at my best today. :)

Since Trick or Treats reveals have been eaten by a bug unless the author manually deanoned themself, I decided to throw up a quick recs post! A lot of these are pretty short, because I read the really short stuff first. I still have a number of longer stories on my phone waiting for me to get to them.

Original Works

I got two original works as gifts this year and they were both completely fabulous. I've never requested an original story before and I was a little worried that I'd be disappointed not to get something for one of my fandoms instead, but I wasn't at all. Both these stories are wonderful

Almost Blue (856 words) by Deepdarkwaters - Actor Cast As A Vampire Who Is Actually A Vampire, Disgraced Vampire Queen Moonlighting As A Barista

When I saw these character nominations I could not resist asking for a story about them. These characters are wonderful, and the story has a marvellous amount of backstory hinted at for its length.

Mundanity at the Nexus of Worlds (2433 words) by Silex - Original Characters, Original Non-Human Characters

I looked at the list of nominated original characters and declared that some of them were just begging for a coffee shop AU. This author wrote me one with all of my requested characters, and it is delightful.

Last Meal (1541 words) by Arithanas - M/M, Original Male Characters

Really, can you go wrong with a story tagged “Cowpocalypse!”? Exclamation point included? This is a delightfully original m/m story and the author clearly had a ton of fun with the character voices and over-the-top period slang heavy dialogue.

“The odds we escape this mux with our hides intact are nigh unto nairn,” Jonah said, groping Ezekiel’s butt with both hands, and breathing as if he had been calving in the middle of the day. “I’m planning to make your ass my last meal. Any problem with that, partner?”

Lyle (1146 words) by havisham - Giant Spider In A Dad Suit

This is surprisingly sweet and heartwarming. Lyle is an excellent dad.

A Blue So Loud (901 words) by tuesday - Original Alien Character(s), Original Human Character(s)

Creepy horror from a non-human pov.

The Blue Death was different. It was beautiful, but it was a planet of monsters.

Those Hard to Reach Places (415 words) by Shoulder_Devil - An Electric Toothbrush That Hungers for Human Brains

Unbelievably hilarious. Whoever came up with this character prompt deserves a prize, and this author is a hero of the revolution for pulling it off so perfectly.

Camp Guh-Nuh-Kutya (2120 words) by HostisHumaniGeneris - Original Female Character

I laughed through this entire story. Cadey is the most perfect oblivious Final Girl EVER.

Sunken Water (100 words) by Jean Cabot

A perfectly formed drabble.

A Fair Guardian (518 words) by Arithanas - Original Non-Binary Character, Sentient Hair

If my hair was as protective (and deadly) as this hair, I never would have cut it.

Hell Sick (2737 words) by Phlyarologist - Demon Who Has Accidentally Locked Himself Out Of Hell And Just Wants To Go Home

Possibly the funniest story in the collection this year and that’s a very high bar.

Forgotten Best Friends (866 words) by Arithanas - Black dog, Original Female Human Character

Oh, my HEART. This is so sad, but then it is not sad at all.

Black Dog of Deep Space (1907 words) by Anonymous - Original Male Character, Black Dog

Another, rather creepier Black Dog story. Even terrifying horror dogs in space are Good Dogs.


Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Miss Etta Place Seeks Work (549 words) by Miss_M - Etta Place

A wonderfully-characterized imagined future for Etta. Etta is a great character, who is rather underserved by the canon, so it was great to see a story focusing entirely on her.


MASH

Sweet things (639 words) by snowshus - Maxwell Klinger, Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Charles Emerson Winchester III, Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce

This has the wonderful stealth-heartwarming humour of the series, and great characterization.


James Bond

Silk (315 words) by ba_lailah - James Bond/Original Male Character

Cruelty has always been Bond's kryptonite.


Jurassic Park

walk of shame (from the comfort of your own home) (1177 words) by spock - Alan Grant/Ian Malcolm

A completely perfect flirty phone call, with fantastic character voices.


Labyrinth

The Party Don't Stop at Dawn (319 words) by FireEye - The Fire Gang

Sooooo creepy-perfect.

The Other Side of the World (752 words) by FireEye - Jareth, Original Characters

An excellent origin story.


Torchwood

Wind In Face (617 words) by NancyBrown - Myfanwy

A bit of Myfanwy-pov that grabbed me from the very first line.


Knitting (Anthropomorphic)

Sacked (366 words) by debirlfan - Red Heart Super Saver, handspun wool yarn, Lily Sugar'n Cream

*dies laughing*

Yarn Horror Stories (423 words) by by lah_mrh

A yarn horror-story with a funny-sweet twist at the end.


Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The End of Fellowship (247 words) by minnabird - Bodhi Rook

Defecting is never easy.


Jolene (Song)

we'll find in each other the things that we need (826 words) by rosefox - Jolene/Narrator

There’s a wonderful thread through this about the stories we make up about strangers and the stories we make up about ourselves.


Lynes and Mathey Series - Amy Griswold & Melissa Scott

snapshot (3181 words) by labocat - Julian Lynes/Ned Mathey

Another great, creepy story that slots quite easily into the existing canon.


Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett

The Garden of Sevigny (1067 words) by fajrdrako - Marthe/Philippa Somerville

A lovely missing scene that enriches and complicates the relationship between the characters.


The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells

Covert Ops (1570 words) by Lorelei - Murderbot

In which Murderbot hacks the studio that produces The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, and is much more successful than it intended to be.

Twelfth Night - Shakespeare

A Desperate State Of Being (2066 words) by tielan - Orsino/Viola | Cesario

I’m totally pretending this fic was for me! *g* One of my prompts was a request for fic queering Twelfth Night, and this does so in a simply delightful manner.


Marvel Cinematic Universe

your sharp and glorious thorn (1242 words) by copacet - Pietro Maximoff/Wanda Maximoff

In which Wanda warps reality to save her brother. So gloriously fucked up.

DC Comics

in loco fratris (6101 words) by meretricula - Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne

I don’t really have Batman feels, but I have a LOT of Batfamily feels especially when it comes to intra-Robin dynamics, and this hit me in ALL of those feels.



Art

X-Men

Jean Grey Holding Emma Frost Who Has Been Transformed Into A Cat by venndaai

Exactly what it says on the tin. I love the details of Jean’s hair and also the perfect look on cat!Emma’s face.

Original Work

Fin. by phoxinus - Ghost Whale

So beautiful and ghostly

Follow Me by Anonymous - Grizzled Soldier Who Keeps Adopting Abandoned Kitten

SO. CUTE. I think the last sketch is my favourite.

A post-reveals rec of two stories I betaed for close friends!

Eight Days of Luke - Diana Wynne Jones

Wayfinding (8318 words) by oliviacirce - David Allard/Luke (Eight Days of Luke), David Allard & Astrid Price

I love Diana Wynne Jones, but I had somehow never read this book. The combo of DWJ having written the original and Olivia writing fic for it was too much to resist, so I bought and raced through the ebook so I could beta this story.

This story starts immediately after the end of the book, and follows David and Loki's friendship for the next several years, as David meets more gods, makes the conscious choice to learn more about Luke's past, and realizes just what Luke means to him and what he's going to do about it. It's a perfect continuation of the themes of the book, a sweet chosen family coming-of-age story about choice and trust and change.

Because I went directly from reading the book to reading the fic, I can tell you that Olivia has an excellent feel for DWJ's voice, the transition from one to the other was nearly seamless.

Lion in Winter

Midwinter Queen (1646 words) by fajrdrako - Eleanor of Aquitaine/Henry Plantagenet

Elizabeth has been writing fic for considerably longer than I've been in fandom, but this is her first yuletide, and I'm so glad I talked her into signing up.

This is a delightful bantery Henry and Eleanor fic, which captures their sharp wits and the way they tangle with and hurt each other, but are nevertheless tied together by the chains of marriage and duty and history and love.

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

All Magics Great and Small (5881 words) by Shycraft - Bran Davies/Will Stanton

Lovely fix-it fic in which Bran knows, but doesn't remember. This treads a nice middle-ground, between repairing Bran and Will's relationship, and Bran's relationship to the Magic of Wales, while still remaining true to the ending of the series.

The Mountains are Singing (4050 words) by SuperKat - Jane Drew, Will Stanton, Bran Davies

In which Jane chooses to remember what she never entirely forgot. A great character piece with a lovely sense of place.

Wisps and Shadows (1887 words) by katayla - Jane Drew, The Lady (Dark Is Rising)

Another lovely Jane story in which she seeks out what she's lost and embraces the potential Wild Magic that lives inside her.

An Undiscovered Country (3183 words) by Luzula - Bran Davies/Will Stanton

Will is the last of the Old Ones, but he is also still very much a boy, and I think that gets elided a lot in fic. This story highlights the dichotomy between those two halves of Will and the way he learns that he can balance them, and that he doesn't have to be lonely, even if he will always be alone.

Liege (2800 words) by leiascully - Bran Davies/Will Stanton

Another story where Bran never gets his memories back, but Will and Bran still get their happy ending. This is a lovely vision of a future for them together.

A Cold Mirror (2293 words) by Dolorosa - The Lady (Dark Is Rising), The Black Rider

The Lady crosses paths with the Black Rider over the years, in the liminal spaces between possibilities. The Lady is such an interesting character, and this is a great view of the mythos of this universe from her perspective.

The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

A Needle, A Thread (9185 words) by jibrailis - Costis/Kamet (Queen's Thief)

The one where Costis doesn't even realize he's courting Kamet. This is a great, sweet romance, with a nice amount of political intrigue in keeping with the spirit and tone of the books. I love how appropriately cranky and acerbic Kamet is in this story.

love like a morning (1681 words) by novembersmith - Attolia/Costis/Eugenides

Sweet, sleepy morning smut with a bit of voyeurism and rumination on love. I love seeing Attolia's pov on her love for Costis, since that's the side of this triad that doesn't have a lot of representation in canon.

Stone and Shadow (2425 words) by Assimbya - Attolia/Eugenides

A canon-divergence AU in which it's Attolia whose scheming changes history.

The Touching of Lips (1856 words) by Prinzenhasserin - Costis/Kamet

Yet another lovely story where everyone else can see how Costis feels about Kamet, but Costis can't figure out how to ask for what he wants. Wonderfully sweet.

The Things You Build Yourself (1646 words) by florianschild - Costis/Kamet

In which Kamet worries that everything he has is a gift from Eugenides, and wants this one thing to be something he has earned for himself.

Vorkosigan Series - Lois McMaster Bujold

Defensive Tactics (2945 words) by karanguni - Aral Vorkosigan/Ges Vorrutyer

Aral/Ges that's not sad and horrible. Well, it's sad and horrible in retrospect, but the story of them meeting and bonding as teenagers in the aftermath of war is surprisingly tender.

Genuinely Self-Absorbed and Deeply Shallow (1575 words) by april_rainer - Ivan Vorpatril, Alys Vorpatril

I love Ivan, and this is a great look at Ivan's strengths and how much he is his mother's son.

Three's Company (2503 words) by Philomytha - Piotr Pierre Vorkosigan, Miles Vorkosigan, Simon Illyan

Count Piotr Vorkosigan takes his young grandson for a ride into the mountains. Simon comes along, because nobody wants to tell Miles they don't trust his grandfather alone with him.

For all his skills as a leader of men, Piotr underestimates Simon, and they both underestimate Piotr's feelings for Miles.

Historical RPF

a flutter between us (5251 words) by jouissant - Richard I of England/Philip II of France

In which the future King of England and the present King of France are soul-bonded, and it makes everything all that more complicated. Great historical worldbuilding.

As Ice in the Desert (2267 words) by DachOsmin - Richard I of England/Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb | Saladin

Richard and Saladin almost certainly never met in real life, but that's never stopped fic writers before. This imagined visit of a disguised Saladin to his adversary's sickbed is wonderful, sweetly erotic identity porn.

such a guest as grief (1962 words) by angevin2 - Duke of Aumerle/Richard II, Richard II/Robert de Vere

Love and longing and death and grief. This story hurts, but in the best kind of way.

A Required Notation (2015 words) by scioscribe - Hans Christian Andersen/Harald Scharff

I knew nothing about these men and their relationship before reading the recipient's letter, but I'm glad I took a chance on it. This is a lovely, bittersweet little story.

In The House Of Muses (1480 words) by bofoddity - Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Eaton, Sophy Gray

Imaginary interviews with three of the best-known models/muses for the Pre-Raphaelite artists. I love these kinds of stories, which forefront the forgotten/unacknowledged women of history.

By Bright Moonlight (1053 words) by saiditallbefore - Khutulun | Aiyurug | Khotol Tsagaan

Khutulun was a Mongolian ruler's daughter and legendary warrior who declared she would not marry a suitor who could not beat her at wresting. This is a lovely small snippet of her story.

 To love that well, which thou must leave ere long (1077 words) by harborshore - Christopher Marlowe/William Shakespeare

A lovely short series of short snapshots of Kit and Will together. Sexy, sweet and sad in equal measure.

Marlowe in the Otherworld (4896 words) by Mosca - Christopher Marlowe/Original Male Characters

"The one where Kit Marlowe lives. And lives, and lives, and lives."

Beautiful, hopeful and joyfully queer, with an unexpected take on the fae mythos. This fic just makes me so very, very happy.

Five Conversations with a Drunk Hemingway (1267 words) (archive-locked) by tuesday - F. Scott Fitzgerald/Ernest Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway & Zelda Fitzgerald

Witty dialogue and amusing characterization. This is how history should have gone.

Peter Darling - Austin Chant

binding with briars, my joys & desires (1100 words) by Laliandra - Peter Darling/James Harrington (Hook)

Post book Peter/James written for MEEEEEEEE. A lovely look at their relationship and the way they build a life together, with added WWI-era poetry feels, and a subtle cameo from one of my favourite fictional poets of the era.

in a cottage by the river (1143 words) by Anonymous - James Hook/Peter Pan

Another great look at their post-canon relationship.

He’s Peter Pan, who fears nothing, except for the part where this isn’t Neverland and he’s Peter Darling, really, who in fact fears an awful lot of things but most of all losing the hope he’s tentatively formed of an actual life for himself.

A Charm of Magpies Series - K. J. Charles

Highwire walking (10597 words) by TheWrongKindOfPC - Ned Hall/Crispin Tredarloe

A lovely, long look at Ned and Crispin's relationship shortly after the end of their book. I felt like this really captured the characters well, and nicely picks up and ties off some not-entirely-resolved threads from the end of their story.

Society of Gentlemen - K. J. Charles

Mr Webster's Wager (27385 words) by Fahye, emilyenrose - Gabriel Ashleigh/Francis Webster

In which Ash and Francis make a somewhat different wager. This story gave me so many more Ash feels than I ever even suspected I had! I just really adore the characterization of him here, the way he falls for Francis and the way he fights for him at the end.

Think of England - K. J. Charles

Playacting (2635 words) by kitmarlowed - Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva

Delightful undercover honeypot mission shenanigans! I love watching Daniel show off his skills, and also watching him admire how much better Archie has become at the subterfuge necessary for their chosen career.

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones

Adjusting One's Charm (2868 words) by Rosencrantz - Christopher Chant/Millie

Christopher and Millie in the first months of his time as Chrestomanci and the lead up to their wedding. I love Christopher - he's one of my favourite fictional characters of all time - and I find him by turns impossibly endearing and hopelessly infuriating, much as Millie does, I think. He is both of those things in equal measure in this story, which is wonderfully funny and sweet.

Millie's Fate (2866 words) by allyndra - Christopher Chant/Millie

This is such a great character study of Millie. So much of her life has been outside her control, that it's entirely understandable that she'd hate feeling trapped and not in control of her own choices. I love her conversation with Christopher and Conrad about how you can never entirely control your fate, but you can totally make contingency plans.

Eleven Echoes (1611 words) by russian_blue - Mordecai Roberts/Miss Rosalie

Mordecai|Tacroy character-study. There's a lot of great stuff here about choices and consequences and the way redemption has to be earned. I especially liked this bit:

Nobody told him to do it. And that was the worst part: because if he could choose his path then, he could have done it all along.

He just hadn't.

Blood & Smoke Series - Tanya Huff

Lock Me In Your Pocket (6460 words) by torakowalski - Tony Foster/Lee Nicholas

Coming out is hard, and Lee is really rather bad at it. I spent most of this fic wanting to shake some sense into Lee, and then give him a hug, and then shake more sense into him. He's awkward and uncomfortable and afraid, and so wrapped up in his own discomfort and worry that it takes him much longer than it should to notice the effects his choices are having on Tony. But, bless him, he gets there in the end, in a most endearing way.

Points Series - Melissa Scott & Lisa A. Barnett

Maneuvers (1031 words) by anthean - Nicolas Rathe, Philip Eslingen, King of Thieves

A delightful bit of post-Fairs' Point characterization. Great dialogue and a great feel for the way Nico and Philip's relationship contributes to the tentative trust forming between the Points and the Guard.

Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer

Mordre, She Wroot (8040 words) by sistermagpie - Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath as amateur detective. I would have loved this story just for the title alone, but it is also completely delightful in it's own right.

The Secret Garden

An Abiding Magic (11397 words) by dasyatidae - Colin Craven/Dickon Sowerby, Mary Lennox/Original Female Character, Mary Lennox/Susan Ann Sowerby

A slightly time-adjusted story in which Colin, Mary and Dickon grow up and follow their interest in the Magic of nature and healing into the field of medicine and psychiatry and open a progressive asylum at Misselthwaite Manor. This really sounds like it shouldn't work, and yet it really, really does. I love it when fandom surprises me this way.

Those Who Know Secret Things (4669 words) by Arsenic - Mary Lennox/Dickon Sowerby

A beautiful story about unconventional choices and secrets that are secret because they're precious, rather than because they're shameful.

I don't think I've ever read Secret Garden fic with this much uncle Archibald in it before, and I really love how he's characterized here and how his and Mary's relationship is shown.

Devil's Cub - Georgette Heyer

The Libertines (1969 words) by GloriaMundi - Dominic Alastair/Mary Challoner, Justin Alastair/Léonie de Saint-Vire

In which Mary has opinions about the casual mistreatment of women by men and totally calls her father-in-law on it. Mary going conversationally toe-to-toe with the formidable Duke of Avon is so great, and I love the explicit acknowledgement of the period-typical misogyny that usually goes unremarked upon and is often replicated in regency romances.

Kate and Cecelia - Caroline Stevermer & Patricia Wrede

Sorcery & Sebastian, or A Most Magical Season (16437 words) by meretricula - Kate Schofield/Thomas Schofield, Cecelia Tarleton/James Tarleton

A completely genderswapped but still epistolary retelling of Sorcery & Cecelia. Really interesting and cleverly done.

Mary Russell - Laurie R. King

Tapping On the Window With Your Thimble (1066 words) by voleuse - Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell

A sweet, well-characterized coda to "The Marriage of Mary Russell."

Suradanna and the Sea - Rebecca Fraimow

This is a charming and unique short-story published at The Fantasist with a wonderfully compelling but not always entirely sympathetic protagonist.

Suradanna and the Sea of Stars (1026 words) by DeCarabas - Suradanna/The Captain

Suradanna and the Captain in space. Still trading, just from different ports.

The Captain and the Shore (12385 words) by neveralarch - The Captain/Suradanna

A fantastic, long fic that feels like a perfect sequel to the story. I love the characterization of Suradanna and the Captain and their relationship to each other and to the people around them.

The Course of Honour - Avoliot

This is an Original Fic novel published on the AO3 earlier this year. It's queer, arranged-marriage space opera and it's completely delightful.

Fundamental Theorems (1576 words) by blue_spruce - Kiem Tegnar/Jainan nav Adessari

This is a lovely follow-up that captures the feel of the characters delightfully, and highlights exactly how head-over-heels in love Kiem is with Jainan, and how much he adores watching his husband show off his hard-won skills and intelligence.

Misunderstandings (1176 words) by Eluvia - Jainan nav Adessari/Kiem Tegnar

In which Kiem keeps doing nice things for Jainan and Jainan assumes he must be working up to apologizing for something, but can't figure out what Kiem has done this time. Completely adorable.

Bitch Planet - Love God Herself by metatxt

An absolutely stunning comics vid. And a perfect marriage of song and source material.

Blazing Saddles - Two Againts One by seekingferret

Great character study/film overview. Another excellent song choice.

Blue Planet - The Blue Planet by cupidsbow

OMG this made me smile so much. It's a nature documentary to the tune of the Beach Boys and it is a delight!

A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery - Easy on the Eyes by dkwilliams

Harriet, through Peter's eyes. ♥

Galaxy Quest - May Fortune Favor the Foolish by actiaslunaris

Wonderfully captures the feel of the film.

Galaxy Quest - Starman by purplefringe

I was worried this song was a little too on-the-nose for this fandom, but in fact this vid is wonderful and makes beautiful use of the song.

Ghostbusters (2016) - Body High by anoel

An awesome representation of Holtzmann's awesomeness.

Ghostbusters (2016) - Get Loud by heresluck

46 seconds of pure awesome, Holtzmann style.

Hawkeye (Fraction, Aja, etc.) - Get Better by absternr

This is just so perfect, I don't even know what to say about it. It's a beautiful tribute to the source and wonderfully encapsulates everything I loved about it.

L.A. Confidential - I Get the World: The World Gets Me by franzeska (locked to AO3 users)

This vid just blew me away. It's a great exploration of the source with an impeccable musical choice.

Life - Another Place to Fall by himundergreen

Charlie and Dani, apart and together. Reminds me why I love this show so much.

Luke Cage - Battle Cry by thingswithwings

Another perfect song choice. Terrific focus on Luke, Misty and Claire.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016) - Never Look Away by Scribe

I haven't seen this adaption, but this vid makes me really, really want to. Fantastic use of the song too.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - My Love by josette-arnauld

A wonderful trip through Jack and Phryne's relationship, told in a lot of slow cuts that really focus on their facial expressions and shared looks.

One Hundred and One Dalmations (1961) - Gone, Gone, Gone by fiercynn

So adorable! Filled my heart with joy.

Pirates of Penzance (1983) - Rock This Town by grammarwoman

Absolute perfection! Made me laugh out loud and grin with glee.

Pitch (2016) - The Greatest by amathela

Just wonderful. This fills me with all the baseball feels and ALL the women in sports feels.

Pump Up The Volume - Steal the Air by Rhea314

A great distillation of everything the movie stands for.

RPF - Carrie Fisher - A Better Son/Daughter by eruthros

Oh, my HEART! This vid totally made me cry. A fitting tribute to everything that made Carrie Fisher so awesome.

RPF - Carrie Fisher - You're My Best Friend by eruthros

An adorable vid about Carrie Fisher and Gary Fisher.

RPF - Chris Hadfield - Going through space with the world by bironic

The Chris Hadfield experience. Pure joy in vid form.

Rivers of London - An Introduction by condnsdmlk

AMAZING constructed reality vid for the Rivers of London books. Magnificent editing and choice of source.

Singin' in the Rain - Welcome to the Jungle by odessie

A fascinating, unexpected and somewhat bittersweet take on the movie. Really well done.

Victor Victoria - Objectified by cupidsbow

A great vid for one of my favorite movies. Really highlights the gender-fuckery that makes the movie such a delight