Yuletide Roundup

[corpsebrigadier]

With 2020 finally behind me, I've recognized that my exchange steam is running even lower than it was earlier in the yea.r (December was also just a complete mess of grading and holiday management, and I also ended up expending a lot of effort into other fandom projects.)

That being said--dang--it was a phenomenal Yuletide for me. I only ended up posting this rather belatedly, and I ran out of energy to browse the collection for more recs. However, I had a marvelous time with this exchange, even if I might have to take a break from exchanges in general for a time.

My Gifts

"The Urchins in the Tower" by UrsulaKohl (The 13 Clocks | The Golux & OCs, General, Interactive Fiction): a breathtakingly beautiful and bittersweet twine prequel to my favorite childhood book, featuring absolutely spot on to Thurber prose (It's in iambic meter!) and a route where you can get eaten by geese. It's definitely accessible to canon-blind readers, and I would advise anyone who likes dark fairytales, sibling relationships, or just really nice writing to check it out.

"A Matter of Survival" by misura (Betrayal at Krondor | Gorath/Owyn, Mature, 1.8K | Rape/Non-con): A brutal, bad-guy-made-them-do-it take on one of my earliest ships; a perfect piece of angst that played into some of the wonderfully tropey character dynamics for a canon that's been sadly underexplored in fandom until now.

"Dycedarg Portrait" by chacusha (Final Fantasy Tactics | Dycedarg Beoulve, Art): a delightfully schemey looking portrait of my favorite 1998 JRPG's schemer-in-chief.

"Speak Only the Most Convenient Truths" by FireEye (Final Fantasy Tactics | General, 0.5K): A delightful little scene taking place in one of those unexplored gaps in the game narrative, featuring my incredibly niche headcanons as House Beoulve and the royal family have an awkward encounter.

"Whispers and Moans" by moemachina (Final Fantasy Tactics | Dycedarg/Ruvelia, Explicit, 2.7K | Rape/Non-Con): Intense, hot, messed up pornography featuring my insanely rare rarepair; it's filled with political intrigue, reproductive angst, villains softening ever-so-slightly, and brutal demon-fucking--all of which are things of which I heartily approve.

My Fic

"The Unbroken Wheel" for Toft (16th Century CE RPF, Young Lady With Unicorn - Raphael | General, 2.2K): This was my take on a lost history behind Raphael's enigmatic painting "Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn." I got to flex a few research muscles on this one, and I drew heavily on the scholarship in this short volume of essays about the painting.