Otter's Rock

The third yuletide fic I wrote was a treat for a pinch-hitter, which was an excuse to write Wimsey fic. Now, I love the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, but I have only once been brave enough to write Peter himself--and that was only for a few scenes in a crossover. I minored in English, but that is simply not enough to give one the depth of knowledge of pre-20th-century British literature that one needs to be able to write Peter, who drops allusions and quotes like nobody's business. I spent so much time doing keyword searches through poetry archives, it was ridiculous. So instead, I wrote about Harriet and Mary, who I think would get along well together.

But in the course of doing canon review, I looked for a timeline, and discovered that Mary is much older than I thought she was--she's only five years younger than Peter! He, the Dowager Duchess, and the narrative all treat Mary like she's some silly young girl in Clouds of Witness, and she's actually 28! She and Parker don't marry until she's 35! She's older than Harriet! She served as a nurse in WWI, and she was old enough that she might have served in France itself! (Younger women were only allowed to nurse in British hospitals.) That changed a lot about how I saw her and interpreted the few scenes she's in, and also changed how I saw her and Parker's relationship. I now headcanon that the reason it took so long for Mary and Parker to marry is that at first he was hoping she'd grow out of her radicalism, and she wasn't willing to marry him on that basis, and also had to work out if she was okay with someone as socially conservative as Parker is. Which left them with some things to work out.

Title: Tea for Two
Fandom: Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers
Characters: Harriet Vane, Mary Wimsey
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Written for: tucuxi in Yuletide 2024
Rating: Gen

Harriet regarded the invitation with some suspicion. She had resolved to put Lord Peter—and all the tangle of gratitude, resentment, and admiration he provoked in her—out of her mind, at least for now. He was out of town, on a case, and Harriet had rather been hoping to use the time to settle her mind a bit.

She was beginning to plot out the next Templeton novel, and it was going as well as it ever did at this stage—meaning she was wondering why on earth she'd ever thought detective novels should be her passion, as she poked holes in every possible complication she dreamed up, and the ones she couldn't poke holes in would require ever so much research. But it would come; it always did. When she could focus; Lord Peter was not always conducive to that.

And here, as Lord Peter (and all his distractions) was safely out of the way, came a note from his sister, Lady Mary—or, as she styled herself, Mrs. Charles Parker, with an invitation to tea. Not at the Parker residence, but at a restaurant. There would be little danger of seeing the detective, and thus being unpleasantly reminded of her recent sojourn as a target of the judicial system. The restaurant was a respectable one, well within her budget, and easy to get to.

(  Much as she was grateful that Lord Peter was out of town for the moment, she was curious about him; what had made him, and why he was so interested in her. Lady Mary might answer some of her curiosity, without having to deal with the confounding man directly. )

Happy Yuletide, everyone!

First, I got a delightful little fic written for me:
promenade.  My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle and Mrs. Higgins.  Wonderful story.  Mrs. Higgins was superb, and Eliza's reactions to the English upper class abroad are perfect.

Here are some other fics I have enjoyed:

4'33"--John Cage
The Sound Of A Yuletide Fic Not Being Written. There sure are a lot of cars going by.  Great meta look at writing, and 4'33"

The Addams Family (movies)
An Addams Family Contract (Written in Secret, Signed in Blood).  “I’m an Addams,” Debbie protests indignantly. Immediately after making this statement, Debbie realized that it was true.  (Or, Wednesday wants to exorcise Debbie. Debbie wants to kill Wednesday. A negotiation begins.)  This is AMAZING and hysterically funny, and the thought of Debbie and Wednesday working together is TERRIFYING.

Don't I Deserve Love (and Jewelry).  The plan to win Wednesday’s friendship did not start well. She shared her admiration for the girl’s blowtorch, then hinted about her own childhood affinity for matchsticks and fire accelerants, but Wednesday was unimpressed.  Do better,” she said before lowering her hockey mask and stalking after Pubert.

Honeymoon in Transylvania.  Ahahahaha, this is wonderful.  Gomez and Morticia vs. the TSA!

Alien Series
A Room with a Crappy View. 17k of Ripley and Hicks awesomeness post-Aliens. This is an absolutely AMAZEBALLS fic, and I LOVE it. I love that they deal with their trauma. I love how they wrote the Colonel, doing the best she could on the evidence she had and how frustrating that was and yet, when you look at it from her POV, what better way could she have handled it? The action is great, the relationships between Ripley and Hicks and Bishop were awesome, this is an absolute treat.

All About Eve
Getting Back to Being a Woman.  Karen knew enough not to go to New Haven.  Never let it be said that Margo Channing doesn't know how to take care of her friends.  I love this. I could just hear Bette Davis and the others saying their lines, and the ending is perfect--I think Karen and Lloyd will be able to have a much better relationship after this, if he's willing to accept and live into the changed relationship.

Till I have the possession of everything she touches.  Addison DeWitt/Eve Harrington and their daughter.  VERY well done Addison perspective.

Aubrey-Maturin series.
Vent de Boulet.  Jack & Aubrey, Teen.  The aftermath of Stephen's escape from the French interrogators at Port Mahon.  Wonderful portrayal of the relationship between them and natural consequences of their trauma-filled lives.

Babette's Feast
Body and Soul.  After the French dinner, a new normal established itself among the faithful.

Ballet Shoes
A Long Way from the Cromwell Road.  Petrova visits Pauline in Hollywood after the war ends.

Bletchley Circle
Logical Recovery.  After the showdown with Marta Magro at the warehouses, Jean, Millie, and Lucy embark for Glasgow to find Eliška. Archival research, an extended stay with Jean's cousin, undercover rescue missions, and much emotional processing of past events ensue.

Cabaret
Infinite Variety.  London, 1950. Clifford has coming looking for Sally. Instead he finds a girl who may or may not be her – or their – daughter, the reclusive former Master of Ceremonies, and an annoying parrot. He becomes part of their strange household, full of love and bickering; sorrow, pain and music. No-one will tell him where Sally is, or even whether she’s alive. No-one will tell him anything. Except the parrot, who tells him that life is a Cabaret.  Oh, wow, this is painful but SO GOOD and the ending is perfect.

DC
Teen Titans
From Cold to Fire.  "Do you want to go out with me?" "What?"

Young Justice
Getting Stupid in your area.  Hang-time includes considerations of evil clones and taking down a newly raised lich lord.  Love the banter.

Die Hard
Your Answers Please.  “Come on, kid,” McClane said gruffly. “This place is fucking depressing. You’re coming to stay with me.”

Enchanted Forrest Chronicles
Best Served Cold.  In which Antorell causes trouble in the Enchanted Forest, and Cimorene and Alianora make an amphibious new friend.  Hilarious, I love Ribbita!

Ghostbusters
Better Than Roses. Janine dates. It's...something.

The Goblin Emperor
Imperial (non) Immunity.  Csevet doesn't get sick. Maia's not so confident.

Light a Mourner's Candle.  The Archprelate finds a chaplain for Maia.

Against a Sure Winter.  When the opportunity arose to become one of the four ceremonial bodyguards for the new Emperor, Cala Athmaza volunteered. He didn't fully realize what he was letting himself in for, but he knew in his heart he had made the right choice.

Sugar Lumps.  Maia spends some time with his horse.

Greek Mythology
beauty, her artificers.  Shortly after their wedding, Aphrodite sustains a small wound.  Really great Aphrodite/Hephaestus dynamic.

a thing of beauty, golden.  Olympus’ one-century wonder appears in Hephaestus’ workshop between one strike on his anvil and the next..  Another really great Aphrodite/Hephaestus fic.

Hancock
yeah I know the shortcut, rather take the long way. Ray daydreams a New York that looks a lot like something out of an old Daredevil comic - towers looming over the city like cragged, jaded sentries, impartial to the neon kaleidoscope of chaos churning along below them. Hancock roosts on the tallest, craggiest one of course, brooding as he watches the slow pulsing heartbeat of the city below him. Ready to dive off his perch and into action with the first cry of distress, and there’s probably lots of those in a city like New York. Lots of zooming around, saving people, saving the world. Hopefully with slightly less metaphorical middle fingers to the world. And less alcohol. Ray’s not an idiot though, and one sparkly life-changing month doesn’t just fix people.

History RPF
15th Century.
these late eclipses.  Anne Neville, like others of her line, is born with a gift.  I LOVE the way magic is brought into this, it melds so well with the history.

19th Century/German folklore
The Bargain.  Bettina finds a secret door at her grandmother's house, one that leads to something very unexpected. The things she learns as a result change her life in small but important ways.

Imperial Radch
Still Left in Want of Mercy.  The Republic of Two Systems is about a month old. Seivarden is having yet another crisis - can Mercy of Kalr get her through it? Maybe, with the crew's and Fleet Captain's help.  Interesting Ship perspective.

high above the trees.  An unexpected embassy. Really excellent, probably the best way I've ever seen "Awn Lives" done.

The Incredibles
Life of a Superhero, Junior Grade.  Fortunately, this was Tuesday night training, not a real villain-chasing experience.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
The Magicians of Starecross Hall.  Being a series of interludes in the life of John Segundus, newly practical magician, in the year following the disappearances of Messrs. Strange and Norrell. Including: a new school for young magicians, explorations of the King’s Roads, Lady Pole’s alarming needle-work, unanticipated trips to Faerie, and John Childermass.  I love this story!  How the school got started, and 'Miss Wintertowne' (although I do think she would style herself 'Mrs' Wintertowne, because she is married and up through the 18th Century 'Mistress/Mrs' vs. 'Miss' had as much to do with age and experience and such as it did with marital status) and how she uses embroidery as a kind of art therapy.  I love the slow burn, and I love the stuff about exploring the King's Roads and Faerie.  It is excellent and awesome.

Lilo & Stitch
The Dance.  Lilo peeked out from behind the curtains and looked over the stage.

A Little Princess
Discipulae.  "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?"  Really great look at what their lives could be like post-canon.

Marvel
Captain Marvel
Take my hand (and we'll march to the front lines). There's a dream Vers has sometimes.

this youthful heart can love you. Carol waited a week before she left with the Skrulls.

Space Cases.  Monica tried many other times to win her mother over to a pet. A rabbit, a pony, a parakeet. This is not any of those stories. This is the story of Monica Rambeau and a Flerken named Goose.  Or: Why Nick Fury is never allowed to babysit ever again.

The Tesseract's Wife.  A straight line is not the shortest distance between two points: non-linear snapshots of a love story.

Fly Me To The Moon.  "It's a vacation. Like spring break," Carol says. Monica's eyes widen. "Really? So we can hang out? What are we going to do?" "Well," Carol says, leaning back in her chair and flashing that old, familiar smirk. "I thought we could go to the moon."

Into the Spiderverse
i got you.  Miles thinks he's hiding the truth about Spider-Man, but one unfortunate night, it comes to light.

one last leap.  Telling his parents he's Spider-Man is a leap of faith Miles can't bring himself to take.

My Life to Liv.  Liv survived her encounters with her interdimensional Spider-nemeses, of course. So what's next for her?

Interdimensional Phone Pals.  Gwen Stacy is many things, but open to friendships isn’t really one of them.  Or,  Five rules Gwen makes for herself, and how Peter B. makes her question them.

Into the Spiderverse/Murder, She Wrote
Spider, She Wrote.  Miles and May visit her old friend Jessica in Cabot Cove.

Mulan (1998)
the proper order of things. Great outsider perspective.

The Mummy
After the Mummy.  London was becoming Rick's least favourite place, and not just because of all the rain. Loving Evy was one thing: figuring out whether she loved him back after the Egyptian heat faded away was something else. Where's a good rising of the undead when you need one? Don't worry, Jonathan found one.  Lovely fun adventure.

Course Correction.  Jonathan really is serious about staying away from tombs and mummies this time (except trouble always seems to find him). Good thing Ardeth is there to help him stay on-track.

Travelers by Night.  Very quickly, Jonathan weighed the odds. On one hand, potential death, whether by armed bandits, a mummy’s curse, or people who looked like bandits and who were very angry about someone unleashing a mummy’s curse. On the other hand, potential riches, home ground, and topics of conversation other than what happened at school fifteen years ago and who got it in the neck where.

Murderbot
How I Spent My Vacation Between Survey Missions. What happens when ART reunites with Murderbot during another break between research survey missions? Media gets viewed, of course, but there might also be some bad news for more shady corporations.

Situation Normal.  Hi, I said, along with amusement sigil 159 = wave. It seemed a little inadequate, but what do you say to the ship that radically altered your appearance, helped you figure out your past, and also threatened you with terrifying weapons? Amusement sigils seemed like my best bet.

My Fair Lady
Here We Are Together.  Eliza and Freddy are working together. Henry isn't happy, and makes sure everyone knows it.

One Day at a Time
what they say about the young. Without the kids around, it feels like everything has changed, except for all the other things about Penelope's life that could change, too.

a return to normal.  Penelope and Schneider's Friday night plans fall through, so they have a movie night instead.  Very sweet.

Persuasion.
The Pen in Their Hands. Five letters that were written, but were never sent, aboard H.M.S. Laconia. (And one that was.)

Smooth Water. “If I wanted easy comfort, I should not have become a captain’s wife.” Wonderful Austen voice.

A Step Not Taken.  What if that day at Lyme had gone just a little differently?

Peter Wimsey
The Duke's Parlormaid.  A story in correspondence, with detective interruptions.  Really captured the feel of the books and all the character voices.

Poirot
The Mice Will Play.  When Poirot returns unexpectedly from a case, he finds out something new about Miss Lemon.

RED
The One Bathtub.  “I did have dinner plans,” Han said, grudgingly, and so Victoria kicked the door in and graciously allowed Han to be the first into the bathroom. She understood the pain of missed reservations.

Rivers of London
Through All the Years, This Is My Home.  At night, when the rest of the staff and most, if not all, of the masters were asleep, Molly would wander the moonlit halls and remember what fresh air felt like on her skin. Of Molly, of Thomas, and of the years they've spent together - and of the Folly, strong and everlasting.  Lovely Molly perspective.

Peelian Principles.  "You're very calm about this," Seawoll said on the fifth day.  Nightingale's perspective on Peter's time as a hostage, and REALLY AWESOME.

UXB.  When one the deadliest weapons of the Blitz threatens London once again, Peter finds himself on the front line.  Wonderful casefic, just perfect.

Saved!
Conversation Starters. Cassandra and Roland have five important conversations.

Sense and Sensibility
Realization and Renewal.  As Marianne recovers, Elinor and Colonel Brandon find themselves drawn to one another.

Sense8
Blue and Gold.  Wolfgang comes home with Kala and Rajan after Paris. Finding a place with them.

Star Trek: Rihannsu
Day Comes Up New.  "I have done something spectacularly stupid," Arrhae said.  This is a wonderful extension and meditation on what might happen past canon.  Ever since I first read The Romulan Way as a teen, I've wondered what happened to Arrhae in the end, and the subsequent books were great but didn't answer the ultimate question.  This doesn't either, but it suggests something further, which I appreciate.

Terminator Movies
A Fistful of Sarahs.  The sky cracks open, and Sarah watches herself tumble out of a rift in the space time continuum. She’s older than she is now, and she’s got a lot more scars, and she’s carrying the biggest and weirdest looking gun Sarah’s ever seen.

with all the hope in my heart (and doubt in my mind). Sarah Connor has done this before. Dani has not. Post-Terminator: Dark Fate.

Fate, the Future, and Other Sons of Bitches.  Sarah and Dani hit the road.

Winnie the Pooh
In Which Pooh Hunts for the Meaning of Christmas.  Pooh finds a mysterious envelope pinned to the door of his house.

In Which Eeyore Loses His Tail Again, Or At Least Plans To.  It's a bright, sunny day, and Eeyore has a plan to make it tolerable. Now if only his friends will cooperate.