Yuletide 2018 Recs Part Four: Rogues and Scoundrels - 6 stories in 4 fandoms

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

Yuletide 2018 Recs Part Five: Epistolary - 7 Stories in 7 Fandoms

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones

Inappropriate Batwings and Assorted Boarding School Hazards (1241 words) by Satchelfoot - Not Rated - Christopher Chant/Millie

Delightful epistolary story set during Millie's first term at boarding school. Perfect character voices and excellent use of Throgmorten throughout.

The Queen’s Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

No Less Than I Will Miss You (1518 words) by pendrecarc - General Audiences - Eddis | Helen, The Magus (Queen's Thief)

A series of correspondence between Eddis and the Magus over the course of the series. I love their friendship so much.

Medieval Manuscript Illustrations

The Marvels of Whitby (1064 words) by Sath - General Audiences - Battle Snail, Barnacle Goose, Medieval Penis Tree

A correspondence between two monks with divergent interests

11th Century CE RPF

We'll Burn That Barn When We Come To It (3511 words) by lost_spook - Teen And Up Audiences - Harold II of England/William the Conqueror, Edith of Wessex (c. 1025-1075), Matilda of Flanders

It’s the Battle of Hastings, except Harry Godwinson is an organic farmer and William Norman is a french supermarket tycoon. Also, it is entirely epistolary, told in extracts from legal letters, angry text messages, emails, local news articles, and a local politics blog called “THE BAYEUX BLOGGER.” It’s amazing, and absolutely hilarious, with a much better ending than the actual Battle of Hastings.

Oxford Time Travel Series - Connie Willis

Dear Briele (6260 words) by lirin - General Audiences - Kivrin Engle

Kivrin in Oxford, before and after. As told via letters home to her younger sister.

Five Gods Universe (Chalion Series) - Lois McMaster Bujold

Oikos (1221 words) by Neotoma - General Audiences - Penric/Nikys

A lovely set of vignettes about Nikys’s new life with Penric, interspersed with her letters to her brother.

To Whatever - Shaenon Garrity

This is a delightful epistolary short story about becoming roommates with an eldritch abomination, and can be read for free here.

Correspondence (1512 words) by Isis - General Audiences - Ethan (To Whatever), Whatever Lives in the Walls (To Whatever)

Whatever also has some correspondence to share.