Hieroglyfics Recs

Sharpe/The Prophecy crossover, Lucifer/Sharpe. In India, Sharpe (and this is bookverse Sharpe, pre-movie-series) encounters a stranger. I have not seen The Prophecy, in which Lucifer is played by (as you might guess) Viggo Mortensen, but the Devil is recognizably enough the Devil that I didn’t need to. And I am entirely in love with this story, from the younger, more venial Sharpe (I recall reading somewhere a quote about Bean playing great villains, and that Sharpe is a villain that happens to be one of the heroes) to the casual and tiny reveals of the Devil’s identity that speak to the reader but that Sharpe doesn’t recognize. (I adore the unreliable narrator aspect of this, the complicity of the reader in the underlying truths of the story that are hidden from the narrator!) Fabulous.

Stephen has arranged for a source to stay at a gentleman’s club that caters to a particular sort of gentleman, with particular tastes; Jack, unknowing, follows him there. Possibly this is the Age of Sail version of the “undercover in a gay bar” trope, but it is handled so deftly and sensitively here that it seems completely in keeping with canon. Jack’s utter obliviousness is just wonderful.

A lovely, slow and stately portrait of Jack and Stephen growing old together. The language is beautiful, subtly weaving together the threads of their interactions with their families, old friends, and each other until the picture emerges.

This story feels exactly like canon, except for the zombies, and I can’t believe I actually wrote that sentence in a rec. No, seriously. It was originally written as a series of comments to the anonymous Aubreyad Kink Meme, and with the author’s permission, I collated it into a single file, which is linked above. And it rocks utterly. It is the story of a plague that comes to London, and of sailing ships, and of politics, and how Jack and Stephen’s friendship is sorely tested by difficult times; it is magnificent, and you should read it. There are clever references to canon and to other sources (I detected a Shackleton homage, and I am sure there are others.) And there are zombies.

Aubrey and Maturin gen, crossover-fusion with Temeraire, short story. Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin meet Captain Laurence and Temeraire. I love the way this is written, which seems very true to both sources, although I suppose that in a true crossed-over world, Jack and Stephen would already be somewhat familiar with dragons and their riders.

Aubrey/Maturin: The aftermath of Stephen’s escape from prison and torture in H.M.S. Surprise. The one that started it all, for me! Gorgeous writing, hot and sweet.

Aubrey/Maturin, G to PG, can be read as slash or gen. Alas, my very favorite writer in this fandom vanished a few years ago. Her stories all begin with a short quote from canon, but were I left on my own I wouldn’t be able to tell where O’Brian’s words end and hers begin, so perfect is her voice. I adore her writing to tiny little bits. I especially love Sealegs, Unkindest Cut, At Dawn, and Blue Devils, but really, all these are wonderful.

Sharpe’s a hero. The music would be a little jarring were it not for the sad truth that the battle scenes in the series are all set to really inappropriate music, la la la. The clips are nicely chosen and it’s actually cut to the beat, unlike 99% of the junk I watched on YouTube while searching for Sharpe vids.

Sharpe/Diego Alatriste, crossover-ish, NC17, short story. A wounded Sharpe takes refuge in a castle haunted by Viggo Mortensen a 17th-century Spanish captain. It’s a clever crossover idea, and hey, a little ghost rimming never goes amiss.

Sharpe/Aragorn, with a tiny bit of Aragorn/Boromir: Sharpe and Aragorn get lost in their respective forests and bump into each other. This is my favorite type of crossover, in which the actor-identity connects the characters, and it is beautifully written.

Sharpe/OMC. Sharpe brings some keepsakes from India to a jewelry buyer who is clearly modeled after Viggo Mortensen. Ahem. Okay, PWP-ish, but nicely written and hot. There is also a sequel.

Sharpe/Teresa. Okay, this is my true OTP in this fandom. I adore Teresa, the commander of the Spanish guerillas; she is tough and smart and strong and not beautiful in a conventional sense. This vid spoils her arc, but it’s not exactly a surprise in the movies.

Sharpe/Leroy, Harper/Sharpe. Sharpe is in Leroy’s tent, and Harper is jealous. This writer has a whole series of Sharpe/Harper, but oddly I like this one best, and choose to interpret the Harper/Sharpe as unrequited rather than as present but over; I think that although I love the idea of Sharpe/Harper I have a hard time making a requited, active relationship fit into the series.

Sharpe/Harper. Sharpe’s ill, and Harper tends to him; and if in a fever dream Sharpe happens to think the warm body against him is a woman’s, well, Harper will take what he can get.

Jack/Stephen. This is my favorite type of story in this fandom: a missing scene which expands on the innuendo of the text (in this case, a discussion about the Sultan and his “Ganymede” in The Thirteen Gun Salute) but never takes it too far. Excellent character voices.

Sharpe/Harper, on watch at Christmastime; and you know, there were two similar stories in last year’s Yuletide, and I didn’t like either of them half as much as this gentle and understated story. The character voices are perfect and the language is so very evocative.

Pirates of the Caribbean, Tia Dalma. It’s a sonnet. It’s gorgeous and evocative.

Temeraire, Laurence/Temeraire. During the voyage to China in Throne of Jade, Laurence and Temeraire discuss a Chinese story, about a man who swallowed a magical pearl and became a dragon - and a dragon that swallowed one and became a man. And that night, they dream…. It’s an utterly fantastic (in all senses of the word!) story; Temeraire’s voice throughout Laurence’s dream was perfect, a wonderful combination of naivete and charm. Then comes Temeraire’s dream, and it’s got to be read to be believed. Funny and sweet and adorable, and hot like, um, fire-breathing. Yay!

RPF - American Frontier, Lewis/Clark, Lewis/Mahlon Dickerson. This well-researched and well-written story reminded me very strongly of Gore Vidal’s American history novels - if Vidal had included explicit sex. The sex does not feel jarringly modern in the least, but is written with the same careful language as the rest of the story; it’s not gratuitous, but is an important part of Lewis’s character and part of the seeds of his discontent and discomfort that eventually lead to his suicide. (Um, is that a spoiler? This is history, folks.)

Sophie/Clarissa, PG. Clarissa comes calling on Sophie. The story is gorgeous, understated and gentle. The language is perfect, and the echoes of Jack off at sea in Sophie’s solitude are so nice. Maybe my favorite parts are the hints of Diana, and how the others see her. You don’t need to have read the whole series or even to have gotten to the books with Clarissa to enjoy this delicate femslash.

Aubrey/Maturin (readable as gen). While recovering from the torture he endured at Port Mahon, Stephen agrees to a swim with Jack. This is magnificent! The style is so beautifully O’Brian that I’m not convinced this isn’t a missing scene that I just missed on my first reading of canon.

Hornblower, Horatio/Archie, hankie warning, spoilery for the series. This is beautiful and sad. Waah.

Hornblower, completely gen and absolutely hilarious. To the Mortal Kombat theme song, and, hee! It goes on a little long - I would have cut a few repetitions - but the timing with the marching and cannonfire and especially the shouting is very clever.

Hornblower, Bush/Kennedy. I like this vid partly because I love the song, and partly because, GUH. Gorgeous men making eyes at each other.

Aubrey/Maturin, NC17, AU. If this is a fusion with something I don’t recognize, it’s brilliant, and if it’s an original fusion I’m floored. It takes O’Brian’s world into a different direction in the same way the Temeraire series does (but with its own completely realized execution: swords and sorcery, and a complicated feudal/sexual structure), and as such it would be fabulous as original fic. The dialogue and characterizations are fabulous, the minor characters from the series welcome grounding in canon, and the plot nicely done with a punchy ending.

Aubrey/Maturin. A sea battle, and a swarm from Stephen’s hives. The language is perfectly O’Brian, and the dialogue and actions sweetly in character..