Recs For All Occasions

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.

An Evening In by temaris - Georgette Heyer - Cotillian, Kitty Charing/Freddy Standen - Kitty and Freddy would so not be the hands-on parenting types. Funny and sweet.

One Sour, Two Sweet by jest - Georgette Heyer - The Foundling, Gen - A great slice of perfectly-characterized Gideon and Gilly friendship.

Life, Stripped of All Luxeries by keerawa - Lois McMaster Bujold - Chalion Series, Cazaril/Palli - Caz and Palli and the siege of Gotorget. Heartbreaking and perfect.

Last Words by philomytha - Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Series, Gen - Duv Galeni burns a death offering for his aunt. Wonderful and intricate and true.

Giving Hostages to Fortune by desert_vixen - Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Series, Gregor/Laisa - Gregor, Laisa and the people they consider family at the replicator-birth of their son. A quiet, lovely story.

Of Unfed Hope by sineala - Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Series, Miles/Duv - Miles and Duv while imprisoned on earth by Ser Galen. I rarely read slash in this fandom, but this story worked really well for me. Just the right level of h/c.

The Rules of Barrayaran Sex by philomytha - Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Series, Aral/Cordelia - A series of scenes from Aral and Cordelia's marriage. About a million types of awesome. Fabulously in character and complementary to canon.

Sworn in Silence by FloraStuart - Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Series, Gen - A young Aral on the night of of Mad Yuri's massacre. Incredibly well done.

can't steal happiness by wintercreek - Laurie R. King - Mary Russell Series, Gen - Tensions between Holmes and Russell just prior to her leaving for Oxford. Lovely and well-characterized.

Where Is A Place With Which To Flee by Tami - Laurie R. King - Mary Russell Series, Gen - A fantastic take on how Alistaire and Maurice became Ali and Mahmoud.

Subverting the Dominant Paradigm by futuransky - Diana Wynne Jones - Chrestomanci Series, Gen - Queering the Chrestomanci-verse in subtle and really interesting ways.

Brush Contact by wild_iris - Diana Wynne Jones - Chrestomanci Series, Gen - Witch Week fic featuring Estelle and Nirupam. Wonderful characterization and great fleshing out of the world. Witch Week was always one of my favorite books in the series, and I feel like this story really illuminates what it was I always loved about this book and these characters.

Explosions by placebetween - Diana Wynne Jones - Chrestomanci Series, Gen - Clashes between Christopher and Gabriel = everyone else left to clean up the messes. Great premise, fabulously executed.

On Unicorns and Megalomania by kaeda - Tanya Huff - Blood and Smoke Series - Lee and Tony and Brianna Bane, fourteen year-old apprentice and complete troublemaker. Sweet and funny.

Running Out by kaeda - Tanya Huff - Blood and Smoke Series, Lee/Tony - Lee managing both denial and pining at the same time. Manages to stay just on the right side of the line between angsty and maudlin.

Smoke and Numbers by ruffwriter - Tanya Huff - Blood and Smoke Series - Lee/Tony - Henry is protective, Tony is insecure, and Lee gets to be the one to figure it out and save the day. *hearts*

The Outskirter's Quest by xylaria - Rosemary Kirstein - The Steerswoman Series, Gen - A wonderful missing scene. Well written and easily fits right into canon. More people should read these books, so that there can be even more fic about them!

(You Are) The Sky in Technicolor by fadeoutin - Neal Gaiman - Stardust, Tristran/Yvaine - Tristran and Yvaine post-book. Lovely and atmospheric, very much in the feel of the book.

As Their Wimsey Took Them by thassalia - Dorothy Sayers - Lord Peter Wimsey Series, Gen - Peter as a parent, both through his mother's eyes and his own. There needs to be more fic featuring the Dowager Duchess, I do love her so.

Five Stories the Reader Never Began by nextian - Calvino - If on a winter's night a traveler, Gen - I confess, I have never read this book, but it didn't hamper my enjoyment of this fic one bit. Weird and wonderful and layered and so, so meta.

If On a Winter's Night a Reader by Esteliel - Calvino - If on a winter's night a traveler, Gen - Another gleefully meta take on the book and on fandom.

Like Clockwork by halotolerant - Terry Pratchett - Discworld Series - Vetinari/Drumknott pre-slash - Vetinari and Drumknott pre-slashiness. Subtly complicated.