Gifts: Yuletide 2022

[graycardinal]

Whoof. I do believe that this completes the catching-up, more or less.

So: we backtrack again; I received two excellent stories this past Yuletide, and here they are. First up, a delightful and mischievous adventure set in the world of Emily Pollifax,sometime CIA courier - but here starring her world-traveling neighbor, Miss Grace Hartshorne, who has no idea that the roguish gentleman whom she's unexpectedly encountered in Rome is in fact a friend and colleague of her neighbor back in New Jersey.

Photo Finish
Fandom: Mrs. Pollifax (Dorothy Gilman)
Author: sholio
Rating: Teen & Up
Category: Gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~5600
Characters: Grace Hartshorne, John Farrell
Additional Tags: casefic, caper fic

Grace is in Rome with a tour group when she finds herself caught up in a most unexpected series of events.

As it happens, my other gift also features a vacation - but Dairine's is much quieter and far less stressful, which is something of a novelty for someone who's getting used to having interstellar adventures fall into her lap. For the reader as well as for its central character, this is a deeply effective exercise in relaxation (yes, I know, that sounds weird, but trust me here).

Be My Place to Land
Fandom: Young Wizards • Diane Duane
Author: Gray Shadows (tris_chandler)
Rating: Teen
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~3300
Characters: Dairine Callahan
Additional Tags: minor appearance by Carmela Rodriguez, futurefic, travel

But here, on this unnamed little dustball, she was alone, save for Spot, and Spot was as much a part of her as he was his own entity; even the Mobiles, rasping along at the edge of her consciousness, were distant, separate, away in a way that mattered. On this planet, enjoying the acid bite of her favourite cola, breathing clean, crisp air, a beautiful, untouched vista before, she didn't have to be anything, not for anyone. And, sure, maybe there was some errantry hanging over her, some task for her to deal with once she found it, but...

But even that, she decided, seemed worth it. Worth this.

And now, suitably relaxed, I need a nap....