Yuletide recs and reveals

[dolorosa_12]

I'm back from Ely, new year's celebrations were had, and it's 1st January, which means that Yuletide authors have been revealed. That means it's time for my annual post-reveals friending meme, as well as a rec list of my favourites in the collection.

My first recommendation will have to go to my lovely gift, which was a great fic about Ali and Nahri from the Daevabad series having adventures in Cairo.

On The Banks of the Nile (4639 words) by athersgeo
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Daevabad Trilogy - S. A. Chakraborty
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Alizayd al Qahtani, Nahri (Daevabad)
Summary:

Stranded in Cairo, Nahri thought the worst of their problems was Ali's trouble with Suleiman's Seal. Nahri had reckoned without the intervention of the British authorities, an Ifrit out for vengeance and a Jewish apothacary who knows far more than he's willing to admit...

I wrote five fics this year — my assignment, and four treats. These were across three fandoms: Romanitas by Sophia McDougall, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip, and Something Dark and Holy series by Emily A. Duncan.


My assignment was for Romanitas:

Scatter like paper in the eye of the storm (3795 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Romanitas - Sophia McDougall
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Noviana Una, Makaria, Noriko (Romanitas), Maralah, Lal, Varius (Romanitas)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:

Una and Makaria negotiate the terms of their peace treaty.

I wrote a further treat for my assigned recipient, also in the Romanitas fandom:

Dancing on the Water (1622 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Romanitas - Sophia McDougall
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Marcus Novius Faustus Leo/Noviana Una
Characters: Marcus Novius Faustus Leo, Noviana Una
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat
Summary:

Even in forgotten corners of the world, Una and Marcus cannot escape reminders of Novian power.

Gammarad had such good prompts for The Forgotten Beasts of Eld that I wrote two treats in that fandom.

Voices from Between the Stars (1842 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia A. McKillip
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Sybel (Eld)
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Yuletide Treat
Summary:

The Liralen was not the first legendary beast that Sybel tried to call.

The Beat of Her Wings (3111 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia A. McKillip
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sybel (Eld)/Coren of Sirle
Characters: Sybel (Eld), Coren of Sirle
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Yuletide Treat, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Summary:

The Liralen carries Sybel and Coren home, but not without a detour.

Finally, I was delighted that singedsun requested Something Dark and Holy, so I wrote a treat in that fandom too!

Your Hand on the Pages (1075 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Something Dark and Holy Series - Emily A. Duncan
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Malachiasz Czechowicz/Nadezhda Lapteva
Characters: Nadezhda Lapteva, Malachiasz Czechowicz
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat
Summary:

In a ruined church, against an abandoned altar, Nadya finds herself drawn to the darkness.

I was very methodical about keeping track of all the fic in the collection I was planning to rec, and I was really pleased to be able to recommend so many wonderful pieces of writing in so many fandoms! The recs are for Dominion of the Fallen (Aliette de Bodar), Ballet Shoes (Noel Streatfeild), Daevabad trilogy (S.A. Chakraborty), Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin), Jane the Virgin, Pride, A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett), A Memory Called Empire (Arkady Martine), Peaky Blinders, Sorcerer to the Crown (Zen Cho), Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik), Sorcery of Thorns (Margaret Rogerson), Tanakh (specifically the Book of Esther), The Thick of It, This is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone), and What We Do In The Shadows (TV and movie versions).


The House, Walking On (5065 words) by estelraca
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dominion of the Fallen - Aliette de Bodard
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Asmodeus/Rong Minh Thanh Thuan
Characters: Asmodeus (Dominion of the Fallen), Rong Minh Thanh Thuan
Additional Tags: Falling Action, Missing Scene
Summary:

Hawthorn is dead, but the house still needs them. Alone in the dark, Thuan and Asmodeus have to get up and keep going after killing that which they had sworn themselves to.

A Long Way from the Cromwell Road (1510 words) by Deepdarkwaters
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Petrova Fossil, Pauline Fossil
Additional Tags: Slice of Life, Sisters
Summary:

Petrova visits Pauline in Hollywood after the war ends.

The Past A Mirror, Tilted Slightly Askew (4320 words) by ambyr
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Daevabad Trilogy - S. A. Chakraborty
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Zaynab al Qahtani, Alizayd al Qahtani, Queen Hatset, Aqisa, Muntadhir al Qahtani
Additional Tags: sibling relationships
Summary:

Trapped in a hostile Daevabad, Zaynab reflects on her childhood and considers her future.

The Colors of Lorbanery (2000 words) by Edonohana
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary:

The woman who had once been Akaren stayed inside her house for several days, changing.

all i need underneath the tree (5216 words) by QueenWithABeeThrone
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Petra Solano/Jane "JR" Ramos, Rogelio de la Vega/Xiomara Villanueva, Michael Cordero Jr./Rafael Solano/Jane Villanueva, Petra Solano & Rogelio de la Vega
Characters: Petra Solano, Rogelio de la Vega, Jane "JR" Ramos, Michael Cordero Jr., Jane Villanueva, Rafael Solano, Xiomara Villanueva, Mateo Villanueva Solano
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background OT3 - Freeform, Christmas Shopping, Somewhat Epistolary
Summary:

Petra and Rogelio go Christmas shopping for each other. there's just one problem: they can't let each other know who it is they're shopping for.

it's fine! it's fine. they have got this.

right?

Discipulae (6463 words) by NaomiK
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sara Crew & Becky
Characters: Sara Crew, Becky (A Little Princess), Tom Carrisford, Ram Dass, Original Female Character(s)
Summary:

"I just realized," Sara said. "Becky, I could have a tutor now. I could hire someone to teach me anything I wanted. All the things that are hard to learn alone from books — Greek and Latin, Sanskrit, algebra, anything I wanted. What would you learn, Becky, if you could?"

Like Music That Extinguishes the Far-Off Night (10996 words) by Tam_Cranver
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Pride (2014)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gethin/Jonathan (Pride)
Additional Tags: Christmas Party
Summary:

Christmas 1985--a quieter party than some of Jonathan's and Gethin's, but one to remember nonetheless.

History Talking to Itself (2194 words) by Sour_Idealist
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Mahit Dzmare/Three Seagrass, Yskandr Aghavn/Nineteen Adze/Emperor Six Direction, Past Mahit Dzmare/OFC
Characters: Mahit Dzmare, Three Seagrass, Twelve Azalea, Yskandr Aghavn, Nineteen Adze, Original Teixcalaanli Characters, Original Stationer Characters
Additional Tags: fake media, Epistolary, Fake Documents, Canonical Character Death, Worldbuilding, Poetry, Political Verse, Embedded Images (with descriptions)
Summary:

Twelve excerpts from Teixcalaan and from Lsel Station.

fool in the sky (1143 words) by seashellcolors
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: past Esme Shelby/John Shelby
Characters: Esme Shelby, Polly Gray, Tommy Shelby
Additional Tags: Kinda, Season/Series 04, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Misses Clause Challenge
Summary:

It takes Esme more time than expected to choose the course of her life.

Winter Sojourn (4266 words) by MrsWythe89
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sorcerer Royal Series - Zen Cho
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Henrietta Stapleton/Muna
Characters: Henrietta Stapleton, Mrs Stapleton, Prunella Gentleman, Zacharias Wythe, Robert "Rollo" Threlfall, Paget Damerell, Sakti, Muna, The Polong
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Post-Canon
Summary:

Mrs Stapleton could not make her mind up whether to be pleased or distressed about Henrietta's going away to Fairy. For there was no doubt it was an honour:

"The first English magicienne to have been invited to the Fairy Court! The instructress to the True Queens of Fairyland! It sounds very fine, I declare."

And yet … "That it should have come at Christmas," said Mrs Stapleton, wringing her hands. "We have never spent a Christmas without you!"

After the events of the book, Henrietta pays a long-awaited visit to Muna in Fairy.

On Dangerous Ground (5377 words) by reconditarmonia
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Irina & Miryem Mandelstam, Irina/Miryem Mandelstam
Characters: Miryem Mandelstam, Irina (Spinning Silver)
Additional Tags: Murder Mystery, Case Fic, Period-Typical Antisemitism, Magic, Misses Clause Challenge, Pre-Femslash, Competence, Canon Jewish Character
Summary:

When a murder is committed in Vysnia, many more lives than the victim's are at stake if Miryem and Irina can't find the killer.

book of hours (2158 words) by betony
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sorcery of Thorns - Margaret Rogerson
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Elisabeth Scrivener, Nathaniel Thorn, Silas (Sorcery of Thorns)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Found Family, Yuletide Treat
Summary:

Elisabeth creates a grimoire. Nathaniel and Silas help.

The Book of the Queens of Old Earth in Exile (13784 words) by raspberryhunter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: תנ"ך | Tanakh, Megillat Ester | Book of Esther
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Esther/Vashti
Characters: Ester | Esther, Vashti (Abrahamic Religions), Achashverosh | Ahasuerus | Xerxes I of Persia, Haman (Abrahamic Religions), Mordechay | Mordecai
Additional Tags: Misses Clause Challenge, Alternate Universe - Space, Artificial Intelligence, Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Planet, human/alien (mis)communication, Slow Burn, Canonical Character Death, giant ants, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, dislike to love
Summary:

They called her a queen, though she was not one: but the circlet of light on her head and the ceremonial robes she wore gave her the semblance of one to the Terrans in the city of Zsa, the Terrans who had been carried away from Old Earth when it was conquered by the Psyn.

She was not a queen, but the Terran Liaison to the Empress of the Psyn; and now she was no longer that.

Curtain Material (3668 words) by Monksandbones
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Thick of It (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Nicola Murray, Malcolm Tucker
Additional Tags: Memoirs, Revenge, Politics, Post-Canon
Summary:

The best revenge is writing a surprisingly excellent memoir.

like seeds among green (1214 words) by Serenity_Ribbon
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Blue/Red (This is How You Lose the Time War)
Characters: Blue (This is How You Lose the Time War), Red (This is How You Lose the Time War)
Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Character Study, Missing Scene
Summary:

On the banks of the Outaouais River, Blue has plenty of time to think.

If You Could Only See the Beast You've Made of Me (3036 words) by Cinnamongirl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Stu (What We Do in the Shadows), Nick (What We Do In the Shadows), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, this can be read as pre-Nick/Stu or gen, Canon-Typical Bad Decisions
Summary:

One must never lose sight of what's really important, even especially if one is a werewolf.

come back as something organic (5985 words) by attheborder
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: What We Do in the Shadows (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Laszlo Cravensworth/Nadja
Characters: Nadja (What We Do in the Shadows TV), Laszlo Cravensworth, Guillermo (What We Do in the Shadows TV), Colin Robinson, Nandor the Relentless (What We Do in the Shadows TV)
Additional Tags: Nadja's Makeup Addiction, Bitchy Witches, Self-Esteem Issues, Turned Human (Temporarily), Dank Memes, Misunderstandings, Colin Robinson Being Terrible, True Love, Yuletide 2019, Pastiche, Humor
Summary:

After an argument with Laszlo and a trip to Target, Nadja gets taught a lesson by a local witch.

I have not yet had time to go through Madness, so I don't have any recs from there yet. I'll come back and do that in another post.

What did you all like from the collection? I hope everyone's gifts and treats were great, and that their own assignments were well received.