Whelp, I really fell off the Snowflake Challenge bandwagon, but there's still time to go running after it belatedly. I have practice at that! But for today, I just did my monthly check back through my recent bookmarks, and realized I'd forgotten to do that last month. So here are my favorites from two months in a row. I realized while compiling them that I was doing a bit of KonMari at it - I read and bookmarked several dozen stories, but the ones that make these posts are the ones that make me go "Yes, that one!" as I scrolled through.
In Time, Once Again by 擂文 , translation by katiirabbi (Nirvana in Fire, Lin Shu/Jingyan)
When Xiao Jingyan finds himself transported back to his nineteen-year-old self after living a long life as emperor, he is determined to stop the Chiyan conspiracy from happening. But in the attempt to change the wheels of fortune, what will he lose and what will he gain? This is a story of perseverance, love, and sacrifice.
If you watched NIF and went, ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be great to read a story where Jingyan suffered even more, at length, but also there’s a happy ending?’ then this is the story for you. I also had a nerdy good time reading the translator’s notes.
Turn, Archer, and Heed the Wild Hunt by Mhalachai (MCU/Narnia, gen)
In the summer of 1983, Clint Barton goes to live with his new foster mom in the middle of nowhere, Iowa. Now he just needs to figure out how negotiate this new life… and also what’s up with all the strange things happening in the night.
In which Susan Pevensie teaches Clint archery and gives him a home. Fantastic and heartachey.
Hermione Granger’s Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi (Harry Potter, Draco/Harry)
‘You’re a wizard, Harry’ is easier to hear from a half-giant when you’re eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you’re seventeen and late for work.
The initial premise - that Harry got lost from the magical world, and is tracked down in London circa Year 7 by a ragtag group led by Hermione - is a stretch, honestly, but once accepted this is an awesome read, full of humor and nineties period detail and a lot of orphaned teenagers finding a new family together.
Things I Should Have Remembered by SomewhereBeyondReality (Anastasia, Anya/Dimitri)
“You were born into this world of glittering jewels and fine titles. But I wonder if this is what you really want.“ The problem with being a long-lost princess, Anya discovers, is that it means you haven’t been a princess for a long time.
Gorgeous little character study dealing with Anya’s culture shock in a series of missing scenes at her grandmother’s house in Paris.
running wild with vengeance by smilebackwards (A Study in Emerald, gen)
For every monarchy, there is a revolution in waiting.
Sharply creepy for such a tiny piece.
Memories of Unreal Things by 7iris (Temeraire, Laurence/Tharkay)
There was a room, and a pallet inside it; a small torch burned low in a socket upon the wall. A man lay upon the cot, his face bruised and battered, his hands curled against his chest bloody, and Laurence did not know him.
Or, a little part of Blood of Tyrants goes differently.
A neatly written AU with a spot-on Tharkay voice. I love it when authors from old fandoms dovetail back into one of mine.
Handmaiden by Tequila_Mockingbird (The Curse of Chalion, gen)
First through the stone arches, with a self-supplied fanfare of unladylike but triumphant whoops, rode a pair of young women on blowing horses belly-splashed with mud.
Great portrait of Betriz, from the start of her friendship with Iselle through Dondo’s death.
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