Candyhearts has gone live!

I reveived a lovely glimpse at Ahsoka and the droid Huyang (I have mixed feelings about the Ahsoka miniseries, but Huyang - first introduced in Clone Wars, voiced by David Tennant in both incarnations - and his dynamic with Ahsoka I genuinely adored): Purpose.

And here are some other stories I liked at first sight:


Doctor Who:

Meddling in the Affairs of Humans: in which Susan ships Barbara/Ian, as I'm sure she did, and decides to do something about it.

Unwanted Memories: how Missy felt about what's happening with Bill in Bill's season finale, to put it as unspoilery as possible.



Hawkeye:

Fall in head first: in which Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova experience a delightful nursing-wounds/realising feelings kind of story, which captures their banter exactly and makes me want to rewatch Hawkeye.


Moon Knight:

Je te souris, tu me surprends: how Steven feels about kissing Layla. Adorable, and also a great look at Layla herself.

A first few Yuletide recs:


Agatha All Along:

Smart and Powerful: in which Jen encounters Agatha for the first time in the early 20th century. Banter, UST and foiled murderous intentions ensue.


Dune:

Adam's Rib: in which Irulan attempts to interview Paul for her histories between Dune and Dune Messiah. (It works for the Villeneuve movies as well until we get the third one, at least.) Very plausible take on these two and what they do and don't share, having grown up as the first born of great houses with Bene Gesserit training.


The Godfather:

Valediction: Tom Hagen and Connie Corleone after Sonny's death.


Macbeth:

The Future in the Instant: Lady Macbeth makes a choice, which involves talking to her husband at a key point of the narrative.


North and South:

Plum Pudding & Clustered Grapes: Margeret wants to host a Christmas dinner for the workers. No one else thinks this is a good idea...


The Odyssey:

The Hekubiad: In which Hecuba did make it to Ithaka post Troy, and provides us with her own pov on ensuing events.

Roma Sub Rosa Series - Steven Saylor

Sub Rosa: Saylor's take on Lucius Sergius Catilina was for me one of the most captivating elements of the book series, and this short story captures a lot of why, as we get a glimpse on Catilina and Meto shortly before the final battle.

Black Sails:

Appetite with an opinion of attaining: in which Thomas and James have a philosophical discussion that‘s so telling about both men and is very of its period to both. *geeks out*


Doctor Who:

Doctor Who: Great glimpse at the Doctor and Donna post Christmas Special, giving us a look at how that whole „fixing yourself“ thing is proceeding.

Frankenstein:

Cold Comforts: behold : novel fanfiction offering a different outcome for Frankenstein and the Creature that is still entirely ic for both.

Watership Down:

Shimmer of Snow: in which we learn more about Rabscuttle, and the tone of rabbit mythis is beautifully captured.

Emerging dazedly with my first bunch of reccommendations:.


Roman History

Something Familiar, Something Peculiar, Something for Everyone: Julia, the daughter of Caesar Augustus, has just learned that her father plans to marry her off to his best friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. She is unexcited by this prospect. Agrippa convinces her of the potential mutual advantages of this alliance.

(I've always had a soft spot for these two separately and together, and written about them myself, so it was lovely read this different and delightful take on Agrippa convincing Julia they can actually be a good match.

The Last Unicorn:

An Autumn Dirge: And so the unicorn left her forest for the second time.

(Heartbreakingly beautiful and poetic at the same time. Just like the original.)


Matthew Shardlake Mysteries

De Humani Nexus Fabrica (On the Fabric of Human Connection): A collection of short pieces in a variety of genres about Guy, Matthew, and their friendship.

Guy Malton is probably my favourite supporting character in this series of books, and the relationsohip beween him and the novels' hero, Matthew Shardlake, one of my favourite elements. I loved this layered take on them.

Sweeney Todd

Walking with a Ghost Johanna goes to see her father's grave.

(Johanna is one of the few characters still standing at the end of Sondheim's musical, and she has had an incredibly messed up life so far. This story gives her the chance to learn the truth about her parents and (start) to come to terms with what has happened.)

Willow (tv)

I liked this short lived tv series, cancelled after only one season. For me, it had great charm and a similar mixture of humor and heart than the movie had. So I was delighted to see all the fanfic this Yuletide:

Pierced through the heart (but never killed): Thraxus Boorman grows up.

(In which we find out his backstory, how his connection with Madmartigan happened, and it's a fun growing up tale with a heartbreaking ending.)

Making Magic: They could do with another wizard. Elora thinks Bavmorda's granddaughter would be perfect but Kit disagrees.

(The way the series wrote both Elora and Kit against expectations, reversing tropes, as it were, was great, and their relationship one of the most interesting in the tv show to me. This story is a good illustration of why.)

Wheel of Time (tv)

The Truth You Think You Hear: Nynaeve manages to channel when Liandrin leaves them with the Seanchan, and her weave interacts unexpectedly with the Waygate.

(Liandrin is a character who on paper could have been one dimensional but who, especially in the second season, as played by Kate Fleetwood is absolutely fascinating. So was the way she sparked off Nynaeve on the show, and here in this story.)

I'm currently watching season 2 of Carnival Row - for non-watchers, a fantasy series set in a vaguely Victorian/Edwardian AU with fairies and other mythological beings as refugees/minorities in fantasy!America (or Fantasy!Britain), and incidentally, I do love how the wings of the fairies really feel like an expressive part of their bodies -, and in s2, it turns out that Fantasy!Russia is in the throws of revolution. Where apparantly they went directly from the October Revolution to the Stalinist purges. (Where you can become an Unperson who has never existed overnight.) Guys, thought I, even George Orwell gave it more time in Animal Farm.

(Just as not to give a false impression, the series doesn't glorify fantasy capitaliism, either, not least because the faries, being refugees, get exploited as cheap labor.)

Anyway, this reminded me again that the Anglosphere seems to divide between bad revolutions (the Russian one, and also in most cases of fictionalisation, both in straightforward historical fiction and in fantasy or sci fi analogues, the French Revolution) and good revolutions (aka the American once, and also in the majority of cases the English Civil War one). Except that in sci fi or fantasy analogues, the later is usually not called a revolution, it's called a rebellion. Prominently in Star Wars, but not just there. Whenever someone uses the term "comrade" or "citizen", and it's a narrative product of the Anglosphere, you can bet this revolution will not turn out to be a good one, but it will be called a revolution.

Now I seem to recall that even old Adams and old Jefferson in their letters to each other post reconciliation referred to the event they participated in as "our revolution" - at least they're quoted this way in John Adams -, so it's not like there has always been an abhorrence to the term among native English speakers. (Being not one but a German, I have somewhat different associations with the two terms anyway. "Rebellion" to me implies it didn't succeed in the end, whereas a "Revolution" did succeed.) And of course I noticed that the latest Star Wars tales, most prominently Andor, do make an effort to complicate the Rebellion and show it as something consisting of different factions and starting in different ways from different causes. But it's baked in the premise that you don't have to consider whether or not compromise with the Empire is possible because the Empire is evil, and of course there won't be executions because this is Star Wars (and now it's Disney, too). I still suspect that by and large, English language sci fi and fantasy will continue to signal that Good Revolutions happen against Evil Empires which are uniformly exploitative, that at no point terms like Citizen or Comrade will be used by the good revolutionaries, and that we won't get to see the good revolutionaries as the people in power having to govern thereafter except possibly in a quick epilogue. Notable and glorious exception: The Expanse, tv version (since I haven't read the books), ( which has a spoilery and unusual way of doing things )i.


On another note, two fanfic links in different fandoms:

Babylon 5: Signa Ex Diris: which is a brief yet great AU take featuring a female Londo and Cartagia, and how Londo's fate would have played out then. andraste comes to an amazingly ic and logical solution.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: So Wide A Sea: Galadriel at two very different and yet related points of her long life.

Fairy Tales:

The tale you tell: this is a crossover with Into the Woods, and a fantastic take on the Baker's wife and her backstory. To say more would spoil a great twist.

There were several lovely takes on the Six Swans fairy tale, and these two are my favourites:

roses and sentiments, drowning in the sea of clouds: Character study of the youngest brother. Co stars several other hybrid mythological creatures, and pushes my emotional button about siblings with its take on his relationship with his sister.

The sound of silent wings: this one has a truly original take on the King, and is the first one to make me truly root for his relationship with our heroine and see him as worthy of her.

Ladyhawke:

Restless Creatures: what our three heroes died next. Funny, charming and deeply felt.

The Last Kingdom:

Losing End of Time: a beautfiul study of the friendship between Hild and Uthred.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The same damn thing that made my heart surrender: Disa, Durin, and Elrond meet in the middle. Disa pov, and as awesome as her.

Only blood can bind: How Adar decided to turn against Sauron.

Ms Marvel:

Three times Kamal thought about revealing her identity, and one time she didn't Three times Kamala Khan thought about revealing her secret identity and one time she knew better.

She-Hulk: Attorney at law:

pro hac vice: Matt Murdock needs help on a case; Jennifer Walters doesn't mind taking a cross-country flight on short notice. Flirty banter and shared rage about injustice ensues.

Baggage that goes with mine: in which Jen visits Matt in New York and gets to know Daredevil's circumstances. Witty and charming, and I'm really glad the MCU came up with this pairing.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Shopping Trip: lovely slice of life story about Uhura and Una/Number One.

To Fix What Is Broken: Hemmer pov of the time between the end of Discovery's second season and SNW's first, in which not only the Enterprise needs to be repaired.

Twelfth Night:

(love,)without retention or restraint: wherein Sebastian, aware he hardly knows his new wife, befriends the woman who knows her best - Maria. Great take on the relationship between Olivia and Maria, and, I think, a rare use of Sebastian in a story that's not about his relationship with Antonio.

Some - only some - of the delightful stories up at trickortreatex:

Babylon 5:

Haunted in Small Ways: in which Vir and Lennier see people who aren't there. Or do they?

Moments of Transition, Moments of Revelation: The AU I've been hankering for for eons, in which Sheridan does not return from Z'ha'dum, so Delenn and Ivanova have to carry on alone. Enter Neroon!

Ghosts

And things that go bump in the night: Trying to plan for Halloween in a house full of ghosts should be much, much easier than this. Alison pov, with the entire ensemble getting great moments.

Sandman (TV)

A place for one (or two): lovely Lucienne and Dream friendship story.

A good night's sleep: which modern Johanna Constantine can finally get.


Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

So this is Halloween Five times Christine Chapel planned Halloween, and one time she didn’t have to. As charming and warm-hearted as the show at its best.

West Wing:

Dead Man's Creek: in which Bartlet makes the gang go to a Republican-voting town on Halloween, because of course he does.

In honor of last weekend's episode and discussion, a few excellent Delenn & Neroon (touching on Delenn/Neroon) stories to rec:

Double Meaning

After a Fashion

Truce

Because the Marvel shows - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and The Defenders - are leaving Netflix as of the end of this month, I dipped into some of them to rewatch some favourite scenes or episodes and found that several years later, my basic opinions on their virtues and flaws haven't changed. This includes: Luke Cage, s2 and Jessica Jones, s2 and 3 went too much into the dark direction, while Daredevil by virtue of an excellent third season (complete with "bringing the team back together again" arc) managed to make up for a mixed second season and avoided going out on a grimdark note; Danny Fisk works best for me as a guest star on other people's shows - he's a breath of fresh air in s2 of Luke Cage and before that, his scenes with Luke in Defenders were great fun -, and not so much in what I've seen of his own show; Frank Castle's show surprisingly (or not, if you consider how he starts out) manages to avoid the "hero gets alienated from their loved ones" trope plagueing DD, LC and JJ in their sophomore seasons and instead has Frank bonding with his recurring cast in both seasons (this includes displaying good household repair skills), and unlike Luke and Jessica ending his shows better off than where he was when he started, but my main problem with The Punisher is the shameless anti weapons regulation propaganda (complete with strawman liberal weakling senator whose arguments are ridiculously unlike anything real activists against the US gun cult use) which I can't get over because of the rl implications; I'll always regret we didn't get the Daughters of the Dragon show with Colleen and Misty; Jeri Hogarth, not Trinity, is my definite Carrie Ann Moss role; and while The Defenders is objectively not a good miniseries, I still love it. The Matt & Jessica as well as the Luke & Danny interactions were golden, Matt/Electra are my "they are bad for each other with the canon freely acknowledges but also, they are irresistable to me together" doomed pairing and all the Electra scenes mid season do fo rme what "but I knew him" does for Steve/Bucky shippers, and the Jessica and Luke scenes are a way more hopeful note for both characters to go out on (not just in terms of their relationship with each other) than the canon of their solo shows.

Now, given that Spoilery Thing Which Happened in Spider-man: No Way Home and the other spoilery thing that happened in Hawkeye, of course I have a wish list for more spoilerly things in future MCU movies and the Disney shows.

( Spoiler cuts have had a rough day )

I also checked the fanfiction situation, and here are some I liked:

aka Every Color but Purple: Jessica and Matt on a case.

Fear and Hope: Jessica and Danny on a case

Not far from the tree: Sister Maggie and Matt, after.

Hamlet:

Old Hamlet's New Groove: AU in which Claudius got the wrong potion and turned his brother into a swan instead of assassinating him. The rest is most definitely not silence.



Mary Reilly - Valerie Martin):

The Mary Reilly Papers: which takes the novel's conceit of being a genuine found Victorian diary, complete with editorial remark at the end, imagines a current day scholar or several reading said diary, and manages to be hilarious.

Penny Dreadful:

A trial all must undergo: the unexpected friendship between the Creature/John Clare and Vanessa was among my favourite elements in s2 and s3, and this shows said relationship growing between them.


Queen's Gambit:

Your past becomes your present if it's always on your mind: Jolene's story, from her own pov.

Liminal Lens: post canon story about Beth (and Benny) which pulls off the trick of making this chess ignoramus who hasn't finished a single game feel like she gets it, and is captivating to read to boot.


Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro:

A spot of bother: does the thing I'd have thought impossible if you asked me: the "two characters with repressed feelings for each other have to pretend being married" trope for Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton, in a historical plausible and ic feeling, satisfying way. I loved it.


Isaac Asimov - Robot Stories

Training Data: sharp and clever and to the point like Susan Calvin herself, with a great robot problem, an excellent Dr. Calvin and a very sympathetic OC.


Sense8:

Serve me the sky tonight: in which, post show, Rajan decides he should woo Wolfgang properly, because the guy deserves some romance in his life. Kala agrees. Sometimes this reader's heart just wants adorable fluff, and this satisfied the need perfectly.


The Three Musketeers (2011 Anderson Movie):

The second certainty in life: in which we read the various replies of the Royal Tax Office to various movie characters. Hysterical, and makes this entire version worth it.