Earthsea is on this list for two reasons. The first one is Ged/Jasper. Because every boy hero in a school story needs a rival, a boy who's slightly more experienced, higher class, a little bit more popular, leans in doorways looking louche and arrogant, who is the only one who can goad Our Hero into acting rashly enough to trip onto the path to greatness. Every Tom Brown needs his Flashman, and Jasper was Ged's.

But there is also Tenar. And Tenar is much more than Jasper ever was, as much the hero of the series as Ged. When she is young, Ged is introduced as her enemy - the sinister wizard come to destroy what she protects - but instead he is gentle and calm and humble and slowly, with care, teaches her what it means to be a real person in the world. He gives her her soul back, and she turns aside from everything she's been to go with him.

And then she finds her own path, and twenty-five years later, as Ged came to her when she was young, he comes to her again when he's old, and she is gentle and calm and confident and slowly, with care, teaches him what it means to be a real person, the part of the lesson that the Archmage could never have taught her, and gives his soul back to him. And he turns aside from everything he's been to stay with her.

• Sparkweed (2633 words) by Minerva McTabby
  Fandom: Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
  Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Relationships: Ged/Jasper
  Additional Tags: Yuletide 2004, Foe Yay, Missing Scene
  Summary:

  "Well, well," Jasper drawled. He leaned against the wall with easy grace, his arm a barrier trapping Ged against the pillar. "Following me about, Sparrowhawk? Spying? Oh, for shame!"




• The Tale of the White Lady of Iffish (8178 words) by raspberryhunter
  Fandom: Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
  Rating: General Audiences
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Characters: Vetch (Earthsea), Yarrow (Earthsea), Tenar (Earthsea), Ged (Earthsea)
  Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Misses Clause Challenge, Pre-Relationship
  Summary:

  It is not told in the Deed of Seren how Tenar of the Ring became the White Lady of Iffish. This is that story.




• On Oak Farm (1632 words) by betweentheheavesofstorm
  Fandom: Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
  Rating: General Audiences
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Characters: Tenar (Earthsea), Ged (Earthsea), Flint (Earthsea)
  Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mutual Pining, Unresolved, One Shot
  Summary:

  ‘Ogion told me where to find you,’ he says, stiffly.

  She knew she’d see him again. He was bound to turn up sooner or later. She’d just expected it to be later.

That part where Therem rescues Genly, and Therem has lost everything, all honor, all allies, and Genly still thinks of them as a betrayer and doesn't know where to trust? But he has no choice but to go trekking across the ice with them on a hopeless hope, relying on them for everyhing? And they huddle for warmth in a tiny tent every night? While Therem goes into heat, and then goes into heat again? And they learn how to mindspeak with each other, miraculously, impossibly, but Genly mindspeaks to Therem inexplicably in the voice of their long-dead lover/brother? That's the good stuff right there.

(The tale-within-a-tale about Arek of Estre and Therem of Stok? Absolutely pure good stuff, give it to me direct. There's no fanfic for that yet though.)

• Once More, as Aliens (5707 words) by Emma Kowal
  Fandom: The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
  Rating: General Audiences
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Relationships: Genly Ai/Therem Harth
  Characters: Genly Ai, Therem Harth rem ir Estraven
  
  Genly and Therem on the ice.



• like hands joined together (1980 words) by fallingintodivinity
  Chapters: 1/1
  Fandom: The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
  Rating: General Audiences
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Relationships: Genly Ai/Therem Harth
  Characters: Genly Ai, Therem Harth rem ir Estraven
  Additional Tags: Romance, Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies
  
  Genly and Therem, after (in an AU where Therem doesn't die, because, yes.)



• Something New in the Same Face (4503 words) by arpent
  Chapters: 1/1
  Fandom: The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
  Rating: Mature
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Relationships: Genly Ai/Therem Harth
  Characters: Genly Ai, Therem Harth rem ir Estraven, Lang Heo Hew
  Additional Tags: Estravan lives, ambisexual character, Storytelling, Depression, Past non-consensual drug use, referenced Voluntary Farm trauma, kemmer is complicated, past Therem/Arek, lots of feelings, figuring out interspecies sex
  Therem and Genly, after (in another AU where Therem doesn't die. There's a pattern ok.)



• Other Kinds of Men (2937 words) by karanguni
  Fandom: Ursula K Le Guin - the Hainish Cycle, The Left Hand of Darkness
  Rating: Not Rated
  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
  Relationships: Therem/Arek
  Characters: Therem Harth rem ir Estraven, Arek Harth rem ir Estraven, Genly Ai, Sorve Harth rem ir Estraven
  Additional Tags: Yuletide, recipient:mauvecloud, challenge:Yuletide 2008
  
  Therem before, and Genly after.

This has been an utterly gorgeous summer so far. Sometimes I really love Maryland, herself. The weather's had just enough hot days to make me feel welcome without making me pass out from heat exhaustion, and - the best part - I have zero mosquito bites so far!

Tonight, on the drive home, it had rained, and mist was rising up from the roads and the creek. I put my brights on as I went through the twisty lane that follows the creek bottom just so the ghosty swirls would have more substance. Now, outside, it's raining again in the dark; and bright orange lightning against the sky. Plus, there were bagpipers playing on my walk to the car.

...no, actually I don't know what the bagpipes had to do with anything, either. Except that I seem to really like bagpipe music now. It makes my subconscious say "you're at the Renfest! Yay!" (Much the same way rainy summer evenings signal camping trips to me, actually.)

Speaking of Renfest, my conversation with melsmarsh about garb inspired me to pull out a sewing project last night. I need some sort of low-key handwork to keep my mind occupied during my long summer classes, and I remembered that I had bought some Folkwear peasant blouse patterns on the cheap last summer. The one that I really want to make is the Ukranian shirt, and that one suggests a large, heavily embroidered placket down the front. Embroidery is a *good* handwork project for me: takes just enough attention that my mind doesn't wander, without taking *too* much attention. But the suggested embroidery pattern is big huge roses, and I *hate* designs of big huge roses. Irrationally. Possibly partly because my mother loves them, but also, they're ugly. SO! A chance to design an ethnic-looking embroidery pattern!

I want to do Earth's Stargate address. (Actually, I want to do two of these shirts; the first one, with the Stargate address, in plain muslin, to see if I like it, because I can never have to many cream muslin peasant shirts. If I do, I have this wonderful, soft, slate gray wool that I could sew another, more formal one in; that one, I would just do minimal embroidery: just plain black, the runes Sifl, Simn, Pirr, and Ges at the collar and cuffs; but that would be for later; I really don't want to mess up that fabric.)

So. ( Earth's stargate address )