ermingarden | Snowflake Challenge #6: Recs

Snowflake Challenge promotional banner featuring a cup of frothy coffee or hot chocolate on a plate with a piece of greenery and a cozy comforter with a sprig of baby’s breath. Text: Snowflake Challenge: 1-31 January.

Rec at least three fanworks you didn’t create.

First things first, I have to rec the absolutely mind-blowing novella CenozoicSynapsid wrote for me for Yuletide:

Ciel D'Oro (18766 words) by CenozoicSynapsid
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Il nome della rosa | The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Adso da Melk, Guglielmo da Baskerville | William of Baskerville
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Murder Mystery, Monks, Scholastic Philosophy, Polyphonic Music
Summary:
The second book of Adso of Melk, in which is described his journey to the city of Pavia, together with a description of the cathedral which is named San Piero Ciel D'Oro, and of the tombs of Augustine and Boethius and other famous men who are buried there. Containing also a narrative of a most infamous murder, and the investigations of this matter which were made by the learned friar William of Baskerville, employing methods of deduction. And in addition some discourses on music sung in one voice or in many voices, namely which of these is most fitting and proper for the celebration of the Holy Offices and the most solemn feast of the birthday of our Saviour.

This is one of the best works of fanfiction I have ever read. Heck, it's better than most published novels! The plot is so clever, and the author really captures the interplay of allusions that characterizes the source text. And the strength of the intellectual element doesn't come at the expense of the emotional element; there are moments that really tug at the heartstrings. I can't recommend this more highly!

Here are two fantastic Silm fics written in 2020, both Maedhros-centric:

an imaginary line (10354 words) by TolkienGirl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Fingon | Findekáno & Maedhros | Maitimo, Maedhros | Maitimo & Original Male Character(s), Fëanor | Curufinwë & Maedhros | Maitimo, Maedhros | Maitimo & Maglor | Makalaurë, Finrod Felagund | Findaráto & Maedhros | Maitimo, Curufin | Curufinwë & Maedhros | Maitimo, Maedhros | Maitimo & Sons of Fëanor, Maedhros | Maitimo & Sauron | Mairon, Maedhros | Maitimo & Morgoth Bauglir | Melkor
Characters: Maedhros | Maitimo, Fingon | Findekáno, Curufin | Curufinwë, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Himring, Ravens, Elfstone, Slice of Life...but it's Himring, Cold Weather, Cold War, In a way, probably plays fast and loose with canon at various points, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Aftermath of Torture, Flashbacks, This is wholly platonic not slash thank u for respecting that
Summary:
The man stands, the day shines. His insides and
his outsides kept apart with an imaginary line—

- Richard Siken, The Way the Light Reflects

[What if Maedhros taught the ravens to speak?]

stay thy mind, and all the rest (25576 words) by mc_dude
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fingon | Findekáno/Maedhros | Maitimo
Characters: Maedhros | Maitimo, Fingon | Findekáno
Additional Tags: a tremendous amount of brooding, seriously maedhros come down from there, you'll catch a cold and your lungs cant deal with that, vaguely touch-starved, maedhros' steward stares into the camera, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Dissociation, a tremendous amount of gay longing
Summary:
The sons of Fëanor are well renown for their many unrivaled qualities. For Makalaurë, his voice, Tyelcormo his beasts, and Curufinwë his father’s skill. For Maitimo, firstborn of Fëanáro, he has his name, and his beauty.

I posted a big bucket of Star Wars fic recs here for May the Fourth, but there are always more:

For anyone familiar with SWTOR, the Crew Skills series by buckles is an ongoing series of short fics taking the SWTOR crew skills missions as writing prompts. Very fun!

bureaucratic nightmares is a thoroughly delightful series by 13th_blackbird and anthean, focusing on Thrawn, Eli Vanto, and the crew of the Chimaera. It's told entirely via emails, instant messages, posted flyers, and the like, and epistolary fic is one of my absolute favorite things, so I was pretty inevitably going to like it, especially since it's done so well here! The author's summary for the first fic really says it all: "Takes place in a world where Eli Vanto became a Supply Officer and shot right to the top of operations for Imperial Star Destroyer supply in and around Coruscant, and Grand Admiral Thrawn became the same scheming bastard we all know and love. Emails are exchanged. Funds are embezzled. More emails are exchanged. There's very measured flirting. Jobs are offered and taken. Thrilling stuff."

And finally, That Anakin Skywalker? by SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor is a lovely little Luke & Han friendship fic set between ANH and ESB, in which Han finds out that "Luke Skywalker's father Anakin" was the same person as "galaxy-famous hero Anakin Skywalker" and not just someone who coincidentally shared the same name. Mostly fluff, but liberally seasoned with references to Han Solo's Terrible Childhood (TM).

Enjoy!