Yuletide Recs, Part I

Happy Yuletide!

I woke up to THREE absolutely wonderful gifts, and an entire collection to dive into. Here are some recommendations. If you enjoy these stories, please leave a comment or a kudo, or comment here if you don't have an AO3 account.

DON'T NEED TO KNOW CANON

The City and the City, by China Mieville

Spencer Tunick and the Giant Ul Qoman Protuberance.

There are two things you need to know to read this story. 1) There's a link in the author's note to the work of the real life artist Spencer Tunick. You need to click on it. 2) The premise of the book is that two cities exist as separate entities in the same place via their inhabitants' mutual agreements to pretend to not see anything belonging to the other city. Mieville takes this premise very seriously and uses it to explore serious political and social themes. This story actually also does explore political and social themes, but it also considers the farcical aspects and is hilarious.

"FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense" - Luke Burns

All you need to know to read these stories is this classic, hilarious McSweeney's piece, FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense. Go read it if you never have, you're in for a treat.

There are four Yuletide stories for this fandom and they're all hilarious. I recommend all of them.

NEED TO KNOW CANON

Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander

Two Beasts. My gift! Ellidyr, Eilonwy. 2074 words.

My favorite kind of fix-it, the kind that doesn't fix everything but provides a new chance and a path forward. The concerns are very much those of the book: self-knowledge, getting past first impressions of people, and taking that self-knowledge and actually doing something with it. Excellent characterization.

Die - Comics

who needs enemies. Dominic Ash | Ash the Dictator/Isabelle | Godbinder. 6195 words.

I love seeing tropey fic for rare fandoms. This has Ash and Izzy switching bodies; it's a great exploration of their relationship and their individual relationships with their own physicalities, plus hot sex and a solid plot.

Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey

Darkening Skies. Kylara/Lessa, Kylara/F'lar, Lessa/F'lar. 8551 words.

A really interesting, unusual canon-divergence AU; I won't spoil what it is as it takes a while for all the elements to become clear, but it's very cool. Also a terrific portrait of Kylara - her POV is done very, very well.

Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin

The Place of Birds. My gift! Penthe. 2378 words.

This is a crossover with Piranesi, but it's Earthsea canon that you need to know as it's about Penthe going to the House! It's an absolutely beautiful story, very well-characterized, surprising, and ultimately joyous.

The White Ladies of the Ring. My gift! Penthe/Tenar, Ged, Ogion. 7901 words.

What if Penthe had gone to the Archipelago with Tenar, and then stayed with her? Another very joyous AU, in which Penthe's loyalty and drive for sensual pleasure interacts very well with Tenar's guilt and desire for a private life. Also Ged stays in touch. It's great.

Nightfall. Arha, Penthe. 1683 words.

What if Arha had turned back to the Tombs at the last minute rather than leaving with Ged? Very well-written, very dark.

What have you enjoyed this Yuletide?