Yuletide Recs III

[selenak]

One last bunch of Yuletide recs while we're all still anoymous, and also: happy new year to everyone! May 2014 treat you well.



The Borgias

Slow Match (25579 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 9/9
Fandom: The Borgias (2011), The Borgias, Borgias - Ambiguous Fandom
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Micheletto & Lucrezia Borgia, Cesare Borgia/Micheletto
Characters: Micheletto (Borgias), Lucrezia Borgia, Cesare Borgia, Various Characters
Additional Tags: Drama, Angst, Romance, Action, Male-Female Friendship, Canon-Typical Violence, Historical Divergence, Post-Canon, Historical References
Summary:

Micheletto wanders, Cesare conquers, and Lucrezia offers a timely intervention. Some ties are not easily severed, but neither can they stay unchanged. Set right after season 3 (and from there on out).

I had issues with the third season, but among the aspects I liked was the odd friendship that developed between Micheletto and Lucrezia, Micheletto's storyline in general, and the Micheletto/Cesare relatonship. This story takes these aspects I liked without the stuff I disliked and develops it further in a Micheletto-centric tale that feels true to the show and characters at their best.

Historical RPF:

A Spy in the Courts of Love (6169 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 14th Century CE RPF, Legend of Good Women - Geoffrey Chaucer
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Richard II/Robert de Vere, Anne of Bohemia/Richard II, John of Gaunt/Katherine Swynford, Mary de Bohun/Henry IV
Characters: Geoffrey Chaucer, Richard II of England, Anne of Bohemia Queen of England, Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland, Philippa de Coucy, Agnes de Launcekrona, Katherine Swynford, Henry IV of England
Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, References to Underage Sex
Summary:

And though thee lyke nat a lover be, / Spek wel of love.

In which Geoffrey Chaucer is tasked to write a Legend of Good Women, and we get a great look at Richard II.'s court and convoluted mess of an extended family. I am particularly enamored with the Katherine Swynford appearance.

Lord of the Flies

In a Common Sea (1224 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ralph
Additional Tags: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Summary:

Ralph tries not to remember.

Because good lord, but how on earth is Ralph going to deal afterwards? Gutwrenching.

Puss in Boots:

By Design (6683 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Le Maître Chat ou Le Chat Botté | Master Cat; or Puss in Boots - Charles Perrault
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: le Chat botté | Puss in Boots
Additional Tags: Fairy Tale Retellings, Alternate Universe - Steampunk
Summary:

Wherein a Miller's youngest son finds a purpose, a King's daughter finds a friend, and a clockwork Cat finds a lot of tiny gears. Or, Puss in Boots: The Steampunk Reboot.

What it says on the label. Utterly delightful and adorable. Just the thing to cheer you up between angsty stories.

Tangled:

Learning (1307 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Tangled (2010)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Characters: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Rapunzel (Tangled), Original Female Character(s), Pascal (Tangled)
Summary:

Eugene knew more about being a princess than Rapunzel did.

Also adorable, in a slightly different way. This story takes into account that Rapunzel has thought of Gothel as her mother all her life, that she lived in completely different circumstances than the one she finds herself in now. And the way Eugene helps her adjust to her new life showcases their dynamic beautifully.

The Third Man:

no time to choose when the truth must die (4214 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Third Man (1949)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Holly Martins/Harry Lime
Characters: Holly Martins, Harry Lime, Major Calloway
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Grief/Mourning, Past Character Death, Angst, Writing
Summary:

After everything is said and done, Holly stays in Vienna and writes a novel no one will ever read.

Having to kill your best friend after said friend turned out to be completely different from who you thought he was - or was he? were you wilfully deceiving yourself or weren't you? - would take it out on anyone. This is an angsty character study that strikes me as very plausible.

The Welsh Princes Trilogy

Or, to be more precise, its first novel, Here Be Dragons, in which the relationship between John (as in "Lackland", Prince and later King) and his illegitimate daughter Joanna is one of the key elements.

In Winter (716 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Welsh Princes Trilogy - Sharon Kay Penman
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Joanna Plantagenet & John of England
Characters: John of England, Joanna Plantagenet, Richard Plantagenet (The Welsh Princes Trilogy)
Additional Tags: Father-Daughter Relationship, Middle Ages, Sibling Love, Self-Reflection
Summary:

John spots two of his children having a snowball fight, and does some reflecting.

Feels like a missing scene that fits in the novel beautifully.

The Wire

you're my truce (1920 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Wire
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Randy Wagstaff, Ellis Carver
Summary:

BALTIMORE stretched across his shoulder in big blocky letters. No fucking curly script, just the lines, straight and harsh, the angles at the top of the ‘M’ sharp.

What happens to Randy near the end of s4 is so gut wrenching that a story that provides some hope for him - without doing so in a way that negates the enormity of what happened - is very welcome to me. This story has a fantastic Carver characterisation, too.