smilebackwards

Mostly I've been reading The Old Guard fic so I should probably write up some fic recs for that (so much good fic!) but I also finished a couple published things.

Finished Reading:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. This was one of my favorite books growing up and I re-read it because I'm considering writing an AU using the forced obedience conceit. (Quick fic rec: Obedience by Sohotthateveryonedied [Gen, DCU, Tim Drake]). I'm really sad that they replaced the cover! I mean I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but the original cover was a really beautiful painting style. The new one is kind of cartoonish which is maybe better for the intended young audience but the original was just really nice!

Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty. This was the last book in the Daevabad trilogy and it was great. I recommend this series to anyone who likes politics and fantasy in their books.

Now Reading:
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age by William Manchester. Why so many sub-titles?? A World Lit Only By Fire is a great title by itself! But as the sub-titles tell you, it's a popular history of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. We had to read this for one of my history classes back in high school and I kind of always meant to re-read it. Now is a good time since I'm into The Old Guard. It's interesting but I do find it sometimes confusing because the dates jump around a lot.

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch but I think this may disappear from my Kindle before I finish it again.

Failed Out:
The Passage by Justin Cronin. Good writing but didn't get to the plot stuff I was interested in quickly enough and too many characters I didn't like. Still have it because I'm not sure what's going on with the library returns.

Up Next:
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen or maybe a re-read of The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. Or something else entirely.

Some enjoyable WIPs as we all quarantine. I love the feeling of seeing an email update for a WIP I'm reading. I like to have at least one at all times to look forward to. Right now I have three.


you're in my blood like holy wine by magneticwave | Game of Thrones | Sansa/Jon
Regency AU. Sansa is my favorite and she's amazing in this. Her political calculation is *chef's kiss*. Fabulously written. Warning for references to rape.

All Amok by WerewolvesAreReal | Star Trek | Gen, Spock
SPOCK! I love angsty Spock fic, okay? I genuinely thought for several chapters that this was written by kianspo who I also subscribe to and who wrote Don't Stop Believing and I was shocked when I realized it was written by WerewolvesAreReal who I followed for awesome Temeraire fic. And now for awesome Star Trek fic. Spock takes drastic measures when he finds he won't be able to make it back to Vulcan for pon farr. Warning for suicide attempt and suicidal ideation.

Asunder. by outpastthemoat | Star Wars Jedi Apprentice | Qui-Gon/Tahl, Obi-Wan
I actually haven't read the Jedi Apprentice series but I read so much Star Wars Prequels fic referencing it that I feel like I have and I love Jedi Master Tahl by osmosis. Qui-Gon doesn't die, but he still leaves Obi-Wan behind. Melancholy but hopeful.


And I may actually post part of my Gimli/Legolas Lord of the Rings WIP which is so close to being done--please let me finish it, I don't care about the plot holes anymore--for motivation and I almost never post WIPs.

Lord of the Rings is one of my forever fandoms and Gimli/Legolas is one of my OTPs. The Hobbit on the other hand I didn't really care for but there is some great fic.

From One Age to Another by determamfidd - Lord of the Rings, Gimli/Legolas
Legolas and Gimli each go home after the end of the war and end up explaining their relationship to their fathers. Lovely.

Degrees of Separation by blossomwitch - Lord of the Rings, Gimli/Legolas
Outsider POV of Gimli/Legolas. The dwarves are confused about why Gimli is so irritable after the war. Then he and Legolas are reunited and everything is cleared up.

Small Kindness by Elsajeni - The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, Gen
A poignant and perfect bridge between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. I'm very sad that Legolas and Fili and Kili didn't get time to be friends. I live for the coda.

Something Blue by Lapin - The Hobbit, Bilbo/Thorin
Bilbo and Thorin have what they both think is a marriage of convenience. A lot of miscommunication and mutual pining.

An Eye for Quality by Linelenagain - The Hobbit, Bilbo/Thorin
A re-working of the movies with Bilbo as Bella and everything about it is amazing. Bella's relationship with Fili and Kili is my favorite thing and the cultural worldbuilding for the dwarves is fantastic. And the courtship. Thorin is such a failboat. It's fabulous.


Also counting this for the Sunshine Challenge since it serendipitously aligns.

snowflake_challenge Day 8

In your own space, post self-recs for at least three fanworks that you created.

Victory Braid & Wedding Cup [Lord of the Rings, Legolas/Gimli]
Gloin POV of Gimli & Legolas. These aren't a series, they're just me basically writing very similar themes in different variations because I vastly enjoy outsider POV, cultural differences, meeting the family, and family acceptance. I may or may not be writing a third version of it. I enjoyed writing these a lot.

The Restorer: Vol 2 No 13 [A Study in Emerald, Gen]
A reverse John Watson companion to the original. I'm proud of this one because I managed some to do some nice formatting to mimic the canon! And I think I matched the tone pretty well.

Double Blind [Daredevil, Matt/Foggy]
Matt's secret identity causes confusion with the Avengers. This is by far my most popular fic and as of right now it's actually the most kudosed Daredevil fic on AO3 which is like wow and I feel can only be evidence of The Claw. Anyway, Matt's a dork and this was essentially me trying to cobble together a hilarious anon comment thread on the kink meme into a coherent story so the joy it gave me wouldn't be lost to the depths of the internet.

( What I'm Watching - Grimm - Season 1 (Rewatch) )

( What I'm Reading - Exit Strategy by Martha Wells )

And, as always, I'm reading a ton of fic. This month I'm reccing John/Rodney fics for stargateficrec which is one of my favorite comms. I feel kind of bad because I usually only rec the minimum 2 stories for a month, but it's because I'm saving up for future months! I have at least 3 this time. Every time I think I'm going to run out of fics, luckily I discover more.

Also, the Yuletide tag set is complete so people are starting to post letters and those are great fun to read and see about writing any treats from.