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Espresso Recommendations

Innovative and stylish fanfiction, showcasing the very best across multiple sf, fantasy & literature fandoms. Good writing in all its forms can be found here, including gen, het, slash, OCs, AUs, crossovers, future fics, humour & pastiche

Contents: 1010 recs in 235 fandoms; 65 links

Watership Down

Hyzenthlay

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Bright Moon, Who Goes Farther Still by Hossgal

'Little Moon had lost children to foxes and owls and the traps of men; to White Blindness, to weasels, and to suffocation in over-crowded warrens, to the claws of hawks and to her own bitter heart. And when Little Moon discovered that El-ahrairah had been addressed by Lord Frith, and turned away, her anger was deep.' Hossgal's ambitious story gives us the does' perspective not only on the events of Watership Down, but also on rabbit mythology. The novella's two strands weave together perfectly as the tale builds to its moving climax. A real treasure

[Added 10/11/2008; Drama; 6000-20,000; Watership Down; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Frith, El-ahrairah, Prince Rainbow, Black Rabbit of Inlé, Thethuthinnang, Blackavar, Bigwig, Hazel, Fiver, Woundwort, original characters]

El-ahrairah and the Litter of Kittens by Luzula

'Then Hyzenthlay, on a sly impulse, said: 'I was just about to tell the story of El-ahrairah and the litter of kittens.' / Thethuthinnang made a strangled little noise beside her. / 'I don't think I've heard that one,' Foxglove said.' Luzula's feminist slant is a welcome addition to Adams' world, and this tale-within-a-tale remains remarkably canonical in tone, despite the mpreg

[Added 09/08/2015; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Thethuthinnang, El-ahrairah, Frith, OCs]

Run Fast and Dig Deep by Qwerty

'You'd never had need to dig new tunnels before coming here, but when the earth yielded beneath your claws, you understood immediately which way to dig, how to clear away the loosened earth, the tricks for shoring up the sides so the run would not fall in.' Adapting to freedom isn't always easy. A gorgeous, poignant story melding visions and tales, future and past

[Added 03/01/2007; Character Piece; 1000-2500; Watership Down; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Clover]

The Story Of The Doe Who Hid Her Kittens by Edonohana

'The listening rabbits scuffled in annoyance. Kittens learned not to interrupt stories by the time they were weaned. And this was Efrafa, where only the powerful and the foolhardy spoke so loud.' A tale within a tale told by Hyzenthlay. The frame story gives a moving glimpse of life in Efrafa, and the ending is particularly powerful

[Added 29/10/2017; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Thethuthinnang, Blackavar, Nelthilta, Vervain, OCs]