Forever Curious

Sometimes I really regret my personal policy of not reccing works-in-progress; waiting for each update for this one tried my resolve to the utmost. But! The wait is over. Ocotillo_dawn has finished her fantastic original novel-length slavefic The Violet and the Tom, tag index here.

In what might have been the middle ages, had neither Alexander the Great nor Jesus the prophet died, the Greek State is a powerful economic force in southern Europe, and slavery is a profitable and well-entrenched social institution. Nygell, a Lord of the Northern Isles, is given the gift of a Grecian slave by the King. Nygell wants no such responsibility.

93,000 words, institutionalized slavery, D/s, Bondage, pain. Specifics constitute spoilers, but not intensely violent, no extreme squicks (no necr./scat./best./depressing endings). References to minors, but no direct scenes.

From the author's note following the fic, it appears as though some editing may be done in the future, but the story has both an ending and an epilogue, and I can wait no longer to reccommend it.

In other news, in the absence of available raisins for ants-on-a-log (celery and peanut butter), jelly works just as well. Strawberry jelly anyway, haven't tried any others.

Did I ever mention my tendency to drop off the face of the earth? I've been around, reading some, feeding my new addiction to Sims 2, working six days a week at times, that sort of thing. My del.icio.us account is very much active, if you all ever wish to take a peek.

A caveat: Just because it's posted doesn't mean it's good. I post things I want to be able to find later. The "ReadLater" tag means I haven't read it, or I'm in the middle of reading it, and I can't vouch for it. WiPs are also tagged, with the ones not likely to be updated tagged "WSiP".

The best of what I've been reading:

(Sentinel) Moonhunt, by Dolimir_k (aka Rimilod), 16,966 words, AU, Jim/Blair, NC17.
A young shaman is caught out in the open during a moonhunt and his life is forever changed.
OMG, the flangst! So rich.

(X-men) Lesson Plans, by sionnain, 1,283 words, comicverse, gen with discussion of Scott/Emma.
It’s hard to enforce simple academic procedures when you have Scott’s staff of instructors, especially when one of them is Logan.
Logan is beautiful here, spot-on - the characterization is everything I love about him.

(X-men) Bobby and the Beast, by Shade, 3,443 words, gen.
Unable to sleep one night, Bobby wanders down to the kitchen and sees Dr. Grey escort a hulking stranger into the mansion...

(X-men) Fur, by Shade, 5,739 words, gen, sequel to Bobby and the Beast.
Hank is still a hidden secret at Xavier's, but Bobby hopes to change things in order to help a mysterious new student.

(X-men) 5 Things that Bobby and Hank are not allowed to do with the Danger Room, by penknife, 175 words, gen?
The geekiness that is Bobby and Hank = much giggling squee.

(HP) Top five things Regulus Black appreciated about his brother, by penknife, 97 words, gen.
This thing sucker-punches you. Ouch.

(HP) Found Wanting, by anise_anise, ~10,000 words, SB/HP, angst, h/c.
“The veil… did not release me without repercussions.”
The h/c in this is absolutely delicious.

(HP) The Wages of Sin by anise_anise, 2,800 words, SS/RL/SB, NC17.
Sirius follows Remus after weeks of dealing with his odd behavior. He finds something he didn't expect.
Teenage Sirius and Severus fighting over Remus, jealousy ahoy, and much hotness.