First up a couple of fairly recent Les Mis things, before I forget. Quietly is that rarest of things, a good fan poem. Soujin Prouvaire (alias Kang Xiu) evokes Jean Valjean at the time of his death in an understated, touching way. The super-short lines are a tad distracting, but that's my only gripe.

I don't quite know why I like Leeches. It's all kinds of things that don't especially appeal to me: it's rambling and convoluted, very very dark, and it features blood, crawly things, and a Combeferre more warped than even my cynical brain could come up with. And yet, with all this, it's remarkably compelling, like a freaky dream that fascinates you until you wake up in a panic.

Yvi's fiction often deals with sibling antagonism, a subject she handles sensitively and realistically. Till now, I've only seen it in her Les Miz fic, but now she's written Until Then about the infamous Electra, and her less famous sister, Chrysothemis, and I am impressed. (Also to check out is Family Issues, which turns Les Miz fanon on its head.)

I bitch a lot about humor fics. This is because the vast, vast majority of them are so unfunny it makes my teeth hurt. But, just when I'm about to write off the entire genre, along comes A Valjean Family Reunion by Jacqueline French and sends me into stitches. It's silly. It's implausible. It is also witty and delightfully cute. Go thou and read; it will do you good.

And speaking of humor done well: Just a Thought, by afrai. It's LotR, and evilly brilliant, and I really need to read some LotRfic that isn't Elrond, don't I? In this one we discover just how he keeps a room full of unruly beings in order...

If you'd told me six months ago that I'd read Narnia femslash and like it, I'd have backed away slowly without making eye contact, but... these things happen. Oh, those decadent Calormenes! The only name I can discern for kay_taylor's story is Aravis in Tashbaan, but who cares about titles? It's beautifully written, with the attention to descriptive detail that makes good children's lit so engaging, and utterly believable. Go read it; I promise it won't burn your eyes.

And finally, two more Hornblower drabbles -- I can only take this stuff in small doses, you know, so far. petronelle wrote Bestias Ingleses, which is rather weird and rather sexy, and then she made me read Speculation, by one Calypso, which is -- madly cute.