Day 21: Tamora Pierce Tortallverse fandoms, 15 recs, various pairings

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Day 21 - A rare pairing fic.

If you're wondering why you've only heard of half these names, it's because this post was originally meant for Canon Ship day, and I had decided to do a post on quasi-canon pairings.



Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Lianne of Naxen/Roald I of Conté
Fic Title: Friendship or Love
Author: opalgirl / blue_n_creative
Link: http://fiefgoldenlake.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=decathlon&action=display&thread=40221
Rating/Warning(s): G
Genre: Friendship/Romance
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Is enjoying the companionship of someone else love? Or is it something else?

We barely get to see Lianne and Roald in the books, much less get a glimpse of their (very pre-series) courtship, but this is a particularly cute -- and unexpectedly lovely -- version that will leave you squealing.

Excerpt:

Her doting father has no husband in mind for her, allowing her to choose her own. The daughter of a duke, wedding for love? Unheard of. But the old man has allowed his only son to remain single well past the time he would be considered ‘eligible’, after all.

She’s as pleased with a simple gift—flowers or a little trinket—as she is with the more luxurious presents his status can buy her. With her mother’s early death and with no other lady in the household, she’s managed her father’s household the last few years.

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Lianne of Naxen/Roald I of Conté
Fic Title: Hard Times
Author: sidonie
Link: http://fiefgoldenlake.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=themedweeks&action=display&thread=24615
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13 for adult themes (canon character death, suicide, miscarriage).
Genre: Angst.
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: A few brief moments in the difficult lives of King Roald I and Queen Lianne. Lianne and Roald are a tragedy, and this story doesn't shy away from it. It's the two at their lowest, most co-dependent that canon hinted at but didn't ever show.

Excerpt:

He had never seen her so fragile. Grief, illness, and miscarriage seemed to pervade their lives, but never had his beautiful wife looked like this. She was a living skeleton, eyes sunken, cheeks hollow, skin sallow and papery and terrifyingly hot. Her shallow, shaking breaths were too far apart; when Roald tried to breathe with her, he found himself gasping and dizzy. He continued to try.

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Roanna of Irimor/Gareth I of Naxen
Fic Title: Bad Timing
Author: Rosie eisoR / seori
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7496628/1/Bad-Timing
Rating/Warning(s): T.
Genre: Romance. AU
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Gareth returns from battle, to find things have altered in Corus - mostly concerning Roanna, the woman he hopes will be Duchess of Naxen.

According to quasi-canon, Roanna is the Duke Gareth's wife, though she hasn't been named in canon. This story breathes life into the character, with sharp dialogue, humour, excellent characterization of a young duke, and some very lovely imagery, beginning with a premise that makes the fic AU: what if Roanna married someone else?

Excerpt:

"I'm a fool," Gareth murmured bitterly.

"You are. I - Gareth, I can't get out of it. I've given him my word. If you'd seen him when he proposed - he called me pulchritudinous, and then I had to have him, for I had no idea what it meant." She smiled wryly, but it didn't look right on her, not with those overbright eyes. "I thought it was an insult, but he said it was - oh, what does it matter?"

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Kalasin jian Wilima/Adigun jin Wilima
Fic Title: Defying Gravity
Author: lionesseyes13
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6565807/1/Defying-Gravity
Rating/Warning(s): Teen. Warnings: domestic abuse, canon suicide, racism (colonisation)
Genre: Tragedy
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: The life and the death of the love between Kalasin and Adigun jin Wilimia. In canon, all we know about Thayet's parents is one solitary throw-away line. Lionesseyes picked it up, ran with it, and spun it into an even greater tragedy: the fairytale love story that turns dark, the marriage that runs into ruin. She gave Adigun and Kalasin life in vibrant detail - Adigun is absolutely awful without being entirely unsympathetic, Kalasin's inherent contraditions, and even a glimpse of Thayet in all her steel - and their world so much intensity I couldn't stop reading. I cannot praise it more. Go read!

"I like that you're one of them." He grinned at her. Feeling less pressure to be rude about her people when Feodar and the other soldiers weren't around, he faltered, "The life of a K'mir seems like a good life—an easy life—but it isn't a soldier's life, and it's not for me, Kalasin."

"You think our life is easy?" Kalasin echoed, glaring at him as they rode away from the village, her hands tautening on her reins. "You think it's not hard to go through life loving and hoping when you created your stupid, modular military society just so you wouldn't have to worry about really losing anyone or anything? In your world, if a soldier dies, you just recruit another. In your world, if something breaks, you just replace it. In your world, you never leave home without expecting to die. What do you imagine it's like to care if someone else actually survives or if something gets broken beyond repair? What do you reckon the world looks like to somebody who actually cares? How strong would someone have to be just to preserve hope when they see loved ones sold into slavery or slaughtered? How much strength do you think it requires to keep your spirits up when everything you've spent a lifetime building—everything that your parents and grandparents spent a lifetime building—can be destroyed by the decision of a warlord too far away to touch?"

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Cythera of Elden/Gareth II of Naxen
Fic Title: Sigh For Cythera
Author: Rosie eisoR / seori
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2012011/1/Sigh-for-Cythera
Rating/Warning(s): Teen.
Genre: Romance/Humour
WIP?: No. Completed MC

Why This Must Be Read: Sadly, the course of true love does not run easy for Sir Gary, particularly not when everything and everybody seem to be opposed to his infatuation with Cythera.

where the story I recc'd for his parents wasn't particularly fluffy, this story is hilarious. seori writes Gareth with all his scatching wit, even as he fumbles his way through a courtship with his future wife in canon. Cythera herself is as delightfully sharp as he is.

Excerpt:

Gary had claimed that he would run off to Tusaine and live out the rest of his life as one of King Ain's wives if he had to so much as speak to another Elden.

Having met the lovely Cythera of Elden, he was still considering Tusaine. Only, in this new version, he would bypass King Ain's gardens and head straight for the most uninhabited corner, where he wouldn't have to worry about competing for her attention, save with dangerously attractive goats.

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Thayet jian Wilima/Jonathan IV of Conté
Fic Title: Perchance to Dream
Author: q_sama
Link: http://q-fics.livejournal.com/9654.html
Rating/Warning(s): All ages.
Genre: Romance
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: A very short, very sweet ficlet on why Thayet might have agreed to be Jon's queen -- or more precisely, why she agreed to marry him. (There's a difference! Sort of!)

Excerpt:

"I was eleven when I stopped dreaming that I would marry for love," Thayet whispered, meeting Jonathan's steady gaze. "My mother told me tales of love--women falling for men from other clans, men risking the wrath of their family to marry into a feuding tribe....

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Thayet jian Wilima/Jonathan IV of Conté
Fic Title: For the Women in His Life
Author: q_sama
Link: http://q-fics.livejournal.com/131844.html#cutid1
Rating/Warning(s): All ages.
Genre: Romance.
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: They’ve already made many changes for the realm, but one more is necessary. After SotL ends, close glimpses of Jon the person vanish from the books. q_sama does a great job of drawing Jon and Thayet in that space of time, struggling to compromise between personal and public duties, and private and political issues.

Excerpt:

She swallowed and re-started. “We have a chance to change things – more important than the schools or taxes or the penal system.”

Taking her hand, he sat before her on the footstool. He was several inches below her, a perfect picture of a young man courting his love. “We’ve done so much in very little time,” he said cautiously. “If we do too much, we will pay for it. Gary has pressed me countless times—”

Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Thayet jian Wilima/Jonathan IV of Conté
Fic Title: What I Want to Hear
Author: kittykatloren
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7890728/1/What-I-Want-to-Hear
Rating/Warning(s): K
Genre: Humour/Romance
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Dear Thayet, I am sorry. I am a useless nincompoop, and you are beautiful and right and wonderful and magnificent. Please forgive my horrendous failings.

With a summary like that, what do I need to say? It's a silly exchange between Jon and Thayet, with an unexpectedly sweet end.


Fandom Category: Song of the Lioness
Pairing: Kara/Halef Seif
Fic Title: Ne Me Quitte Pas
Author: oneperfectfit / ceridweyn_lin
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7901390/1/Ne-Me-Quitte-Pas
Rating/Warning(s): T
Genre: Family
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: There are some gaps that can't be filled. But it doesn't stop people from trying. Ever wondered what happened to those two Bazhir girls Alanna taught in SotL #3? How did Kara and the headman's marriage - a bond from quasi-canon - turn out? This story showcases Kara's strengths and vulnerabilities, and I love the simple, quiet dynamic the author has woven between Halef Seif and Kara.

Excerpt:

Kara had been so busy with the mages' school she'd barely even suspected she was pregnant. There had been a girl, an orphan, with fire-magic. She hadn't responded to anyone else, no matter how much they'd tried, and her control over her Gift was negligible. Kara was one of the only people who could get her to speak.

She'd known Kourrem could have done it even better.

She'd only noticed she was pregnant three months in, and it made her feel so ignorant, that it had been pointed out by one of the teenage girls who had asked, politely but obliviously, if she'd noticed she had gained some weight. And Kara had burst into tears in the most unprofessional fashion, and done the charm to confirm it alone in her tent, and had been so stunned when it all turned up positive.

Fandom Category: Protector of the Small
Pairing: Vivenne of Cavall/Wyldon of Cavall
Fic Title: Negotiations and Love Songs
Author: Lisafer / q_sama
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/153278/chapters/220020
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
Genre: Drama/Romance
WIP?: No. Completed MC

Why This Must Be Read: During the peace negotiations that bring an end to the Tusaine War, a young Tusaine girl falls in love with a member of the Tortallan delegation. Wyldon is one of the most intriguing characters in Protector of the Small, yet because of the POV of canon, we know next to nothing about his personal life and background. Vivenne, his wife, is only given a name in quasi-canon. Lisafer captures Wyldon's voice, his rough practicality and honour, and her version of Vivenne is strong, stubborn, intelligent, and real. Add in a dash of forbidden love and a hilarious ensemble cast, and what's not to love?

Excerpt:

"Will we always stumble across one another when we're trying to flee cordialities?" Wyldon asked from his seat next to her father's chess set.

She smiled, taking the seat across from him. "It seems so."

"It could be worse," he said. "Goldenlake – Sir Raoul – has feigned a headache so he could be excused from the evening's festivities."

"Is he shy?" Vivenne asked.

"No." He smirked. "Just willful."

Fandom Category: Protector of the Small
Pairing: Vivenne of Cavall/Wyldon of Cavall
Fic Title: In the Stands
Author: q_sama
Link: Here
Rating/Warning(s): Gen.
Genre: General
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Vivenne attends the Fief Blythden tournament, sitting with conservatives in the stands. Who doesn't like watching a calm woman with sense sticking it to people who... don't? There's some excellent use of all five senses, and even though Wyldon doesn't speak during the story, his presence is very much felt. Warning: Vivenne is amazing, and her tongue is sharp

Excerpt:

“I haven’t seen you at one of these events in years,” Lord Dermid said, taking Vivenne’s hand and helping her climb the shaky wooden steps. “I thought you didn’t like watching your husband joust.”

“When I was eighteen, perhaps, and didn’t know how unlikely it would be to see him skewered on a lance,” she replied, her voice – as always – calm and neutral. “And by the time I was thirty I grew bored with it,” she added. Though I continued to watch for years. It was the same each time; the only variable seemed to be how far Wyldon’s opponent flew from the saddle, or what degree of anger would come with the inevitable shake of hands after the bout.

Fandom Category: Protector of the Small
Pairing: Shinkokami/Roald II of Conté
Fic Title: Aeroplane Over The Sea
Author: oneperfectfit / ceridweyn_lin
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7200550/1/Aeroplane-Over-The-Sea
Rating/Warning(s): Teen.
Genre: Romance
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: It takes Shinko time to fall in love. It's Shinko, with all her strength, grace, and distance, and so much quiet sweetness in her relationship with Roald. It also features glimpses of the ensemble PotS cast that are so sharp and accurate.

Excerpt:

It takes her an age and a day to fall in love. Shinkokami knows that things happen gradually, that not everything is a rushing waterfall, but perhaps it takes her longer than most to love her husband.

Loving him isn't the problem. She does that almost from the moment she meets him and sees his kind eyes, his warm, shy smile. Roald is an easy person to love. But to be in love with him, to devote herself- that takes her much longer.

Fandom Category: Protector of the Small
Pairing: Yukimi noh Daiomoru/Nealan of Queenscove
Fic Title: Just Exchange
Author: rainstormamaya
Link: Just Exchange
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Genre: Romance
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Neal and Yuki, just before Neal is posted to the Scanran border.

It is a simply exquisite look at Neal and Yuki, with particular care taken with Yuki's Yamani background. The layers to this story, from their dialogue to the gestures to their understanding is just stunning, even as the goodbye breaks your heart. (But fixes it at the end.) It's the intimate look at Neal/Yuki we never saw in canon.

Excerpt:

Yuki’s heart breaks, just a little, to hear her insolent, witty, noisy Neal reduced to this. She knows what even Kel perhaps does not consciously realise: that Neal is afraid. He has never been quite as confident as he has seemed, always looking over his shoulder, hoping for his father’s approval, hoping to fill the gaping holes his brothers left, hoping that all his carefully crafted walls will not come down and reveal his inadequacies. Not a good enough healer, she knows he thinks, not a good enough knight, not good enough for anything: he sets himself up to like people he sees as better than himself, however false that view is. He admires Kel because she is so much the perfect knight, but he envies her too, envies her certain knowledge of her carefully honed skills. It is easy for him to believe that he is not good enough for her.

Fandom Category: Protector of the Small
Pairing: Yukimi noh Daiomoru/Nealan of Queenscove
Fic Title: Neither wind nor rain
Author: max
Link: Here
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Genre: Slice of life
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Not even the most Yamani practical wives can cure romantics.

The writing is exquisite, and it has some of the most beautiful imagery you will ever find.

Excerpt:

She isn’t here to say, it’s the tea, silly. That’s why I sent it to you and, ruefully, he thinks it’s just as well, can almost feel her gently exasperated cuff to his head at his damned eastern lovin’ as he presses the note to his lips (because he can see her, shaking her head at her own folly, doing exactly the same thing before taking the package down to the courier, imparting some of her jasmine fragrance onto the slip of brewing instructions with that butterfly-light touch of her mouth) and breathes a little of her essence in.

Fandom Category: Protector of the Small
Pairing: Yukimi noh Daiomoru/Nealan of Queenscove
Fic Title: My Dearest
Author: Elsceetaria / elsceetaria
Link: Here
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13.
Genre: Fluff.
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Neal and Yuki exchange letters(that may or may not include some bad poetry).

This story was written for me, but that's not why I'm reccing it. The why of it is everything to do with Neal's hilariously bad poetry (because he is canonically the type), and Neal's perfectly overblown prose.

Excerpt:

I call it Ode to Your Eye Brows. It is simply a fragment - a mere token of my love for you as if the written word could ever truly express my feelings for you. Trust that all is well here. I can hope to be home safe with you soon. How I hate saying that. There is so much that could go wrong, and soon can in no way be soon enough. Let us not, however, think of that.