Recs For All Occasions

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.