ext_14417 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
soupytwist.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2006-07-12 07:53 pm
soupytwist.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-07-12 07:53 pm
Entry tags:
Butcher's Bill by Tiffany Rawlins (PG-13)
Fandom: MASTER AND COMMANDER
Pairing: Aubrey/Maturin
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wearemany
Author Website: The Collected Fiction of Tiffany Rawlins and SN Kastle
Why this must be read:
This is one of my very favourite Master and Commander stories. One of the great things about the books is that events have consequences; good and bad, the effects of the things Jack and Stephen experience linger. They act like people who still remember past events, even where they've recovered from them. This fic is a really gorgeous illustration of that. This is a Jack and a Stephen who've seen the world, but still aren't immune to its effects. They have coping mechanisms, know that they will get through this bad thing just as they have before... but that doesn't stop them feeling it. And that sense lends them a kind of emotional realism as characters that I really like. The books do well at showing the ongoing impact of the lives they live, but given the nature of the books, it's mostly through small glimpses as the years go by. Fics like this get to show us some of the times we miss.
I also like that this doesn't fall into the two traps of Master and Commander fanfic, trying too hard to be O'Brian and not trying hard enough. It's definitely a difficult fandom to write for, with such a very distinctive canon voice and a lot of history to get to grips with, but this manages to keep close to O'Brian's style while remaining both immensely readable and different, a piece in its own right.
Butcher's Bill
Pairing: Aubrey/Maturin
Author on LJ:
wearemanyAuthor Website: The Collected Fiction of Tiffany Rawlins and SN Kastle
Why this must be read:
This is one of my very favourite Master and Commander stories. One of the great things about the books is that events have consequences; good and bad, the effects of the things Jack and Stephen experience linger. They act like people who still remember past events, even where they've recovered from them. This fic is a really gorgeous illustration of that. This is a Jack and a Stephen who've seen the world, but still aren't immune to its effects. They have coping mechanisms, know that they will get through this bad thing just as they have before... but that doesn't stop them feeling it. And that sense lends them a kind of emotional realism as characters that I really like. The books do well at showing the ongoing impact of the lives they live, but given the nature of the books, it's mostly through small glimpses as the years go by. Fics like this get to show us some of the times we miss.
I also like that this doesn't fall into the two traps of Master and Commander fanfic, trying too hard to be O'Brian and not trying hard enough. It's definitely a difficult fandom to write for, with such a very distinctive canon voice and a lot of history to get to grips with, but this manages to keep close to O'Brian's style while remaining both immensely readable and different, a piece in its own right.
Butcher's Bill