on my authority

[aria]

I laugh when I see some variant of "if you can guess my Yuletide fic before Saturday, I'll write you a ficlet!" around my flist. I laugh because if I did this I would owe everyone a ficlet. I wrote two other fics as well, you know! You could try guessing those! All I really want to write right now is reams of Narnia fic, though, so I suppose if you want ficlets about my Edmund Is Queer agenda, you could have a go at guessing.

This post is not really for that, though. It is in fact a Yuletide recs post!


BLACK BOOKS

The Three Stages of the Aeneid
In which Bernard becomes obsessed with the Harry Potter books. It's good fun, the voices are perfect, and there's the brief cameo of a Spaced character if you're into that sort of thing.


BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM

Five Times Jess & Jules Kissed In Public
What it says on the tin, plus lesbian jokes, Jess heartbroken over Joe, Jules offering to set her up with boys, and Jess going to Tony to talk things through. It's all natural and giddy and scary and wonderful. Every year I go through the Jess/Jules fic, hoping that this time it'll be the one that rings perfect and true and is going to become my head canon. And this fic is it.


CHRONICLES OF NARNIA/TAM LIN

Journey to Make, Horizon to Chase
Susan goes to Blackstock. The writing is some strange perfect blend of Lewis' and Dean's styles, and the mythological mashup is even better. Obviously I love every fic that does good and interesting things with Susan, and this one has become instantly dear to my heart. Oh, and it actually makes me ship Susan/Caspian a bit.


CALVIN AND HOBBES

At Lunchtime, In the Wilderness
Crossover with Where the Wild Things Are. Max can see Hobbes. This is short and sweet, and I am delighted for all three of them.

The Roommate of +10 Confusion
Crossover with Foxtrot. Jason and Calvin are college roommates. Calvin still has Hobbes, there are wacky adventures, and Jason tries to make a spreadsheet to quantify Calvin. This fic gives me a huge, stupid grin. Also, I sort of suspect that it's That Yuletide Story, you know, the one everyone adores because it is so quintessentially Yuletide.

This kid I once knew
This is so meta I can't even stand it. Calvin has a webcomic about Spaceman Spiff! The real joy of this fic, though, is in following grown-up Susie, who is awesome and lovable and has good fond memories of Calvin.


DISCWORLD

The Last Snowfall
Granny Weatherwax meets Death for the last time, and Granny makes her choice. This is, in every way, perfect.

Make Time
Vimes has a hobby, a new reporter at the Times is printing inaccurate articles, and Vetinari knows everything, as usual. This is just so delightfully happy-making; it feels as though it should go in some official collection of Discworld short stories.


DEMON'S LEXICON

The Demon's Price
In which Alan bakes pies, Nick tries to provide distractions and make conversation, and Mae and Jamie invent a game. This makes me glow with joy. It's quite possible that the world is in desperate need of more fluffy Lexicon fic like this one.

in from the cold
A little bridging fic between Lexicon and Covenant, in which Nick fails to really adjust, and my heart breaks for him and Alan yet again. This is full of gorgeous lines, and the scene with Liannan is excellent.

Taking the Trouble to Practice
This is exactly the Nick/Jamie fic I have been wanting! It's about tasty demon/magician power dynamics, but it's also about Jamie babbling and being ridiculous, and about Nick being Nick, and I kind of adore it.

Unnatural mother
Annabel Crawford, and the times she doesn't feel helpless. I think it cracked my heart a little, and the end gives me shivers.


HARK! A VAGRANT

A Cunning Plan
Watson wants to win back Holmes' affections, so he sends out an advertisement for "gay Holmes" and ends up with Brett!Holmes, RDJ!Holmes, and Cumberbatch!Holmes all in his waiting room. I laugh a lot, and would also read dozens of these.

I Am Acton Bell's Metaphorical Manhood
I would love this one for the title alone. But it also features the poor, long-suffering Anne Brontë, her melodramatic siblings, and delightful straight-from-the-comics dialogue. The last line is icing on the awesomecake.

Mystery Solving Teens and the Case of the College Application
A Treat for me! What it says on the tin; the Teens hang around an old, not-haunted attic, being delightful and blasé. It is all very Kate Beaton and hilarious.

The Squid Is A Metaphor
The squid that wants to be friends! Wednesday the cat! Pirates posting secrets all over their ship! The Captain and his obsession with his Nemesis! I love how this clearly takes place in the wacky Hark! A Vagrant world, and I adore all the pirates.

Well This Is Just Weird
The fic for me! Which features a multitude of Holmeses and Watsons. It is meta and funny and delightful and generally all I could ever want from a Beaton-inspired Holmesian tale.


LILO & STITCH

Awry Plans
David tries to take Nani on a date; Lilo and Stitch make a mess; David tells stories. What I love most about this one is that Nani was clearly the same sort of adorable hellion as Lilo when she was little, and the whole thing makes me beam with joy.

Mountains, Molehills
Breakfast at the Pelekai house: Lilo and Jumba want to meddle, David doesn't want to talk about marriage, Nani puts up threatening signs, and Stitch is adorably ominous. This fills my heart with fluffy love; it's a great little coda scene.


LOST GIRL

In Tequila Veritas
Four times Kenzi didn't drink alone, and one time she did. I love Kenzi's strange partnership with Trick, and the bad-then-good sex with Hale and how well they understand each other, and how much Kenzi's love for Bo shines through. This is such a great portrait of Kenzi, and I adore it.

The Thief, the Pook, His Strife, and Their Troubles
Kenzi hits on a phouka, Trick plays the put-upon bartender to perfection, and the background case involves Baba Yaga and a Koschei with a misplaced heart. Both Kenzi's inner monologue and outer dialogue are perfect, and I love her getting her own plotlines where Fae seek her out for her negotiating skills. I am only sad this fic is so short, because I would have kept reading it for ages, but I am still delighted that this wacky Kenzi-adventure exists.


MAGIC SCHOOL BUS

On Howliday
Arnold turns into a werewolf. Ms. Frizzle and the class react to this exactly the way you'd expect them to. I laugh until I cry.


MULAN

Soldiers, Soldiering On
Missing scenes: in which Ping learns to swear, visits a brothel, and sews for the other men. I love how real this feels, and its attention to detail while still retaining the feel of the movie. Mulan is awesome, and the way she shines here is great.


MUPPET SHOW/DOCTOR WHO

It's the Muppet Doctor Who Special, With Our Very Own Special Guest Star, Matt Smith!
In which the Muppets send up Doctor Who. I imagine this is funnier the more Doctor Who canon/behind the scenes trivia you have, but I'm sure that even without it the Muppets would be as charming as always. Every single one of the Muppet Doctors is perfectly cast, and all of them made me laugh with delight, but it was probably Beaker as Ten that broke me. Everything's great, though: Animal the Dalek repeatedly crashing into the orchestra pit, the accidental burning of script pages, the overlong intermission after Eight, Sam the Eagle's insistence on playing an American character ... Basically, this is perfect and hilarious and I am so glad to have it in my life.


ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD

Yesterday Was Blue
I love all R&G Are Dead fic that makes me notice new things about the play, which this does beautifully, remixing scenes and layering meanings. Even better, this fic pinpoints the moment when the tragedy becomes irreversible (and of course, like in Hamlet, it's before the play begins) and has something like a happy ending.


SLINGS & ARROWS

Thou Knew'st Too Well My Heart Was to Thy Rudder Tied
Geoffrey is trying to figure out a scene for Antony and Cleopatra, Ellen discovers him a little tied up, and bondage sex ensues. This fic has so many lines that made me laugh, but even when I wasn't laughing I was smiling delightedly the whole way through. Geoffrey and Ellen are perfect: they're wonderful, slightly awful people, and they love each other so, and oh, my heart.


TINTIN

Abstinence
A coda to the last book: Haddock has to get used to not drinking, and Tintin's there to help. The voices are perfectly; Haddock is of course great, but Professor Calculus made me laugh just as usual, and Tintin was absolutely wonderful. I love how self-aware Haddock is, and it's a great little coda.


YOUNG WIZARDS

But There Is This
Tom reminisces about a dumb wizardly stunt he pulled as a teenager. It's a great little slice of life, a fun bit of backstory, and gives me a big happy smile.

Of Whales and Florists
Nita takes her dad to meet S'reee. The humor is great, especially concerning Nita's thoughts on Dairine, and the whole premise is incredibly charming. Plus Nita's dad and S'reee bond over gardening. Of course they do.

Metamorphose
Kit and Nita, after they decide to date. This fic is so perfectly teenaged, and full of awkwardness and uncertainty and a very Diane Duane-esque sort of sublime hope. This is exactly the sort of Kit/Nita story I want (and that I hope we'll actually see in future books).

Comments

[nextian]

I can't figure out your third! I was sure it was one of the Demon's Lexicon stories, but it's not, because you commented on it. And I get no credit for spotting the other two. It's all very ego-decimating.

Thanks for the recs. "This kid I once knew" is so fab.

[aria]

I find your guess charming, because it is very close to correct! Now I am curious which Demon's Lexicon fic you suspected of me.

Also! I did get around to your beta and even did things about it! My god, the number of last-minute edits, I can't even tell you. XD

PS I WOULD TOTALLY WRITE YOU STUPID FICLETS ABOUT EDMUND PEVENSIE IF YOU'D LIKE.

[nextian]

WRITE ME FICLETS ABOUT EDMUND PEVENSIE'S GAY AGENDA IN HIS PANTS PLEASE. Also it was, I think, in from the cold. Which I should've known wasn't yours, because capitals. Stuff like this: Nick sat up, thinking that was the thing to do: it was morning, it was time to wake up, Alan would see that he was all right and leave him to dress, and then they would eat cereal before going to work. But Alan didn't leave. Alan held open his arms the way he did when Nick was a child who had to be carried, and even though Nick didn't want to, he found himself being drawn to them, his face buried against Alan's shoulder as his brother held him until his blood seemed to be running properly through his veins again, and his heart stopped stuttering, and his skin no longer felt like ice.

[aria]

Haha, okay, would you like one where Edmund has the hots for Caspian or one where Edmund is not sure if Aslan would Approve Of This or one where Edmund is back home as a sexually mature and politically savvy king stuck as a boy in 1940s England?

Oh my god, that last line, I can totally see why you'd suspect in from the cold. It is very much the sort of Demon's Lexicon story I want to write a billion of, so.

[nextian]

ALL OF THEM i mean um, 1940s England?

[nextian]

Hahah, I just found it. A+ YOU.

[aria]

It is tiny and Nick is ANGRY. And I want to write all the DL fic! But first I am apparently writing you LOTS OF EDMUND in another window. As one does.

[aria]

HAHA UNSURPRISED BY THIS ANSWER.

Spoilers: I really want to write the big stupid epic of all four of them adjusting and readjusting and not coping and &c with all the ridic changes that keep happening to them. This is like early brainstorming or something, idk.


Peter was in a fight again. It was only two to one this time, which was better than Edmund had come to expect. He still had a split lip from last week, when there had been five of them.

He shouldered his way through the gathering crowd and leapt at the one who was already off-balance, being in the act of kicking Peter in the ribs while he was down. Edmund put all his weight into it; the point was to stun his opponent and knock all the breath from him before landing a good square punch to keep him down. Peter had never figured that out. Peter was matchless with a sword, but they didn't keep swords in schoolyards, did they, and Peter tended to forget that he was half again as old as he'd been a few months before.

That was the nice thing about being really little again, Edmund thought. He thought it in a rather offhand way, scrambling upright again from where Peter's first attacker lay stunned in the dirt, and turning to elbow the second one quite hard in the face, barely avoiding Peter. Peter was just old enough to forget that he wasn't a grown-up anymore.

The shrieks and scattering of the watching crowd meant that some real grown-up had come to break up the fight. Just as well. Edmund straightened, panting and feeling gingerly at the bruise starting to rise on his cheek. He saw that two of the masters had come to stop the fight, rather than the usual one, and was rather impressed.

There was the usual dressing-down, in which Edmund stood listening with bright-eyed attention and Peter stood sullenly. "Third time this week," one of the masters told Peter indignantly. "I'll have to write to your parents, and if it happens again --"

"It won't, sir," Peter said. Edmund fancied that in their previous life Peter would have delivered it sincerely, but now Peter sounded like the High King planning some covert war in the North. Edmund sighed.

They were left alone on the green. "As your adviser," Edmund said, "I really do advise you to stop getting so worked up. They don't know any better."

"It doesn't mean they can't show a little common courtesy, if respect is too much for them to handle," Peter said coldly. He glanced over at Edmund, and perhaps he took in the bruise, the old split lip, and Edmund's general disheveled state, because although the line of his jaw stayed very stubborn, his eyes softened a little. "I suppose they leave you alone except for when you join in."

They certainly didn't. Everyone got a bit of it, name-calling or shoulders deliberately knocked. It was so easy to spark Peter's temper with a bit of rudeness that some of the meaner boys did it for sport, but everyone had quickly discovered that Edmund, who they all remembered as having a rather spiteful temper last term, was now impossible to move. Of course then the name-calling had started up.

The first time one of the boys had knocked into Edmund and said, "Poofter," offhand and cruel, Edmund had flushed red. If he'd ignored it, or even if he'd turned right around and hit his accuser, that might have been the end of it. But he was surprised and did neither, and no one had been stupid enough to think the flush was anger.

What they didn't understand was that it wasn't embarrassment, either, just surprise. After that first time Edmund didn't react at all, although of course it was far too late by then. So it became an endless quiet torment. Edmund couldn't even imagine challenging any of them to a duel for the insult to his honor, because it was no insult at all, but no one in this world knew that. And he couldn't very well tell Peter; Peter would have seen it as an insult, even though it was true and really all right.

Edmund straightened his tie and began searching the field for his hat. Peter trudged alongside him.

"I suppose," Edmund said, "I don't get bothered at all."

[nextian]

They were left alone on the green. "As your adviser," Edmund said, "I really do advise you to stop getting so worked up. They don't know any better."

This is beyond perfect. I love the vision of Peter being the inadjustable one for once. ♥

[aria]

I have been thinking very hard about how they all cope with being in England again! Susan tries to live only in England and not think about Narnia too much. Lucy sort of ignores England and is biding her time until they get back to Narnia, because of course they'll get back to Narnia! Peter tries to get England to behave by Narnian rules and accept him the way Narnia did. And Edmund just sort of hopes that he'll figure out a way in which he can make the important bits of his Narnia experience applicable to England.

In conclusion, Edmund is the only healthy and sane one?

[labellementeuse]

♥ EDMUND. And Peter! Oh, this is so great, & builds a little on movie-canon at the beginning of Caspian which I, frankly, really like no matter how much it's not in the books.

Peter would have seen it as an insult, even though it was true and really all right.

I love that.

Peter said. Edmund fancied that in their previous life Peter would have delivered it sincerely, but now Peter sounded like the High King planning some covert war in the North. Edmund sighed.

And that. <33

I fancy I know your other long one, which I think is about as obvious as the one other people have guessed, but not your short treat. (I haven't gone reading in the DL fic yet, which I'm guessing now is where it is ... but that seems to be cheating.) However, I'm terminally embarrassed about guessing, so I won't, I'll merely have a smug sense of satisfaction when you reveal! That's fun, after all.

[aria]

YAY. This is me warming up to write ... some kind of Narnia fic? That will probably crib whatever I like from the books and the films. That's the way all the cool kids write Narnia fic now, right?

By the way, I am pretty sure you are right re: the other fic I have written! And even if you aren't, I am happy to write more Edmund Is Queer things! Would you like some gay panic at Aslan or perhaps Edmund crushing on Caspian? :D

[labellementeuse]

That's the way all the cool kids write Narnia fic now, right?

Completely - which is apparently, I don't remember if you know this, but that's apparently the approach Moffat is taking with Sherlock: everything is canon & nothing is, from A Study in Scarlet to A Study in Emerald. I really like that as an approach to canon and I particularly like it when the Narnia canon is a) so layered for me personally, and b) when many of those layers seem to respond to and repair some of the damaged parts of the original canon. I look forward to whatever you do!

Ooh, choice. Ummmm ... crushing on Caspian, please!

[trinity_clare]

WHERE IS THE LIKE BUTTON WHEN I NEED IT.

[trinity_clare]

You are free at any time to tell me all about your Edmund Is Queer agenda. I cannot imagine a moment of my life when I would not have wanted to hear it.

[endofthewest]

I like this, and I want more of Edmund being well-adjusted and sensible forever. ♥

[aria]

I AM DELIGHTED THIS MAKES SENSE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ME. :D

[aria]

Yay! I do kind of have Nefarious Plans to write lots of Edmund being well-adjusted and sensible if I can ever figure out how to structure it! WE SHALL SEE.

[epershand]

A+++ would read again.