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  1. Rec 26

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    Summary

    “Jasmine, I’ve been—” The boy stops short when he sees it’s not the princess herself come to greet him, but the princess’s tiger. “Oh. Um. Hi. I was just…”
    Rajah plants himself in the middle of the doorway. He is a solid barrier, but he is also ready to move, should the boy decide to try any of his idiot cleverness. He knows the boy can tell.
    Rajah is very good at his job.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    2,091
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    80
    Kudos:
    210
    Bookmarks:
    26
    Hits:
    1,220

    26 Dec 2020

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    It's (relatively) easy to write fic that matches the tone of its source canon - swash for a swashbuckler, slapstick for slapstick, scary for horror. What's distinctive and often difficult is creating fic that flips its source's tone inside out, yet retains the essential flavor of the original. That's what we have here: a moment straight from the throne room of the animated Aladdin that pauses, goes deeply quiet and thoughtful and fierce, and gets very convincingly inside the mind of a tiger who is absolutely no one's pussycat.

    This one's a keeper.

  2. Rec 7

    Tags
    Summary

    Castles have always found themselves in bookstores, and Alexis is no different.

    Or: Alexis Castle finds a book, or maybe the book finds her.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,415
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    3
    Kudos:
    32
    Bookmarks:
    7
    Hits:
    204

    30 Aug 2020

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    A charming sidewise view of early errantry, with Alexis Castle as centerpiece. Just enough (and the right) detail to set matters in motion; sometimes simply laying the proper groundwork is exactly the right thing to do, and that's what this does, and does well.

  3. Rec 6

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    Summary

    Rushlight has enjoyed his travels, but he misses his world and his people. He's been away from home for too long.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,370
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    12
    Kudos:
    26
    Bookmarks:
    6
    Hits:
    216

    25 Dec 2018

    Bookmarker's Notes

    An insightful and sensitive character piece, thoughtfully and wisely integrating Rushlight's journeys and the source novel into the context of the larger Starfleet universe. Very well done indeed.

  4. Rec 7

    Tags
    Summary

    When Polly gets lost in the US, she seeks out her only mortal (actually, only in general) friend.

    AKA How Button-Bright ended up in that popcorn snowdrift.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    4,944
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    7
    Kudos:
    31
    Bookmarks:
    7
    Hits:
    291

    25 Dec 2016

    Bookmarker's Notes

    A perfectly delightful and thoughtful extrapolation from what Baum gives us of Button-Bright's history, well-reasoned in detail and well-rendered in tone and style. I think the angle it takes on Button-Bright is exactly on target, Polychrome's difficulties in non-magical America are all too plausible, and the narrative deftly acknowledges some of the more problematic issues without becoming overly risqué. Also, the story fits itself ingeniously into the overall Ozian timeline -- clearly, its author is well and wisely versed in the larger canon.

  5. Rec 1

    Tags
    Summary

    A podfic of "Facing the Music" by Gray Cardinal.

    "No, worlds music, with an S."

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    46
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    2
    Comments:
    2
    Kudos:
    13
    Bookmarks:
    1
    Hits:
    399

    16 Mar 2016

    Bookmarker's Notes

    I honestly didn't realize till I'd heard this just how well it works as an audio piece, most especially with the songs included. I am delighted and honored to have been so well podficced here.

  6. Rec 61

    Tags
    Summary

    When Germany invades Arendelle, Loki wants to keep the promise he made to Elsa to protect their people. But these mortals are far more dangerous than those he knew, especially the Red Skull, and Loki can't avenge Arendelle alone-- he needs Captain America and the Howling Commandos.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    59,925
    Chapters:
    19/19
    Collections:
    2
    Comments:
    184
    Kudos:
    801
    Bookmarks:
    61
    Hits:
    14,387

    06 Mar 2015

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Both a worthy successor to the earlier stories in this series and a beautifully executed tale in itself. I think it hangs together reasonably well even if one has yet to read the prior tales -- which is to say, I think MCU fans can easily come in here and then go back and pick up the Frozen arc (though having said that, reading the series in order is probably the best overall experience). What's been built here is a remarkably seamless fusion of the two universes, and that has utterly fascinating implications for the modern-era Avengers continuity when we get there.

  7. Rec 4

    Tags
    Summary

    While playing host to the Narbons, Mell gets tracked down by a relative... of sorts. But hers isn't the only unexpected family reunion in store, and soon the whole crew is on a cross-country Narbon-vs.-Narbon chase. Blood may be thicker than water, but are nanites thicker than blood?

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    7,388
    Chapters:
    4/4
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    8
    Kudos:
    35
    Bookmarks:
    4
    Hits:
    816

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Notes

    For some reason, I didn't move on to Skin Horse after encountering and falling in love with Narbonic two-thirds or so of the way in. Now I may have to change that, because this is at once a totally spectacular post-canon Narbonic adventure and a dropped-in-at-the-deep-end Skin Horse caper, and while I haven't read the latter strip at all, the story is hyperactively madcap enough that it holds up regardless. Also, if I didn't know better, I'd seriously think I'd written this myself, because its style and structure remind me of my own Kim Possible/Narbonic crossover from some years back. (I emphasize that this is a reminds-me-in-a-good-way note, not a criticism or complaint.) Mad science has never been more fun than these characters make it, whether in Shaenon Garrity's hands or those of the present fanwriter.

  8. Rec 23

    Tags
    Summary

    Sayvil experiences Choosing from a new perspective.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,151
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    14
    Kudos:
    183
    Bookmarks:
    23
    Hits:
    1,802

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Noteworthy both for the direct look at Companion life from backstage and for the neatly executed reverse spin on Kerowyn's moment of Choice from By the Sword.

  9. Rec 3

    Tags
    Summary

    Guarding the border has its moments. And sometimes it doesn't.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    100
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    16
    Kudos:
    45
    Bookmarks:
    3
    Hits:
    669

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    A brief, amusing look at afterlife in the Forest of Sorrows. And possibly an argument for either Vanyel or Stefan being a distant ancestor of Calvin's -- and, as the obvious corollary, Hobbes being a Firecat. (This story is not that fusion, but it might well lay the groundwork for such....)

  10. Rec 14

    Tags
    Summary

    “The heart has its reasons whereof reason knows nothing.”
    --Blaise Pascal

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    5,332
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    9
    Kudos:
    39
    Bookmarks:
    14
    Hits:
    647

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Notes

    A lovely, leisurely depiction of the evolution of a found family, perceptive and sensitive but not at all saccharine, invoking just the right touch of tension without devolving into angst. Very canon-aware, and yet I think it holds up independent of canon; this is first-class writing whether or not you know the series.

  11. Rec 3

    Tags
    Summary

    Marius Alexander Ysvorod, crown prince of Dobrenica, the day after his wedding . . .

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,502
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    12
    Kudos:
    23
    Bookmarks:
    3
    Hits:
    270

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Thoughtful and funny and sweet and wondrous (in the old-fashioned sense-of-wonder sense) in all the right places. For me, the voice here catches precisely the echo I've noted in canon between this series and Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss novels; the relationship between Alec and Kim has much the same texture as that between John and Vicky, though with something of a reversal of roles.

  12. Rec 4

    Tags
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    465
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    4
    Kudos:
    34
    Bookmarks:
    4
    Hits:
    366

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Not too grim at all in my book, though it's not perhaps a tale for the squeamish -- a fascinating, unusual pre-canon snapshot of Merriman and Miss Greythorne (one of my favorite characters, too), and the consequences of the choices one makes as an Old One.

  13. Rec 50

    Tags
    Summary

    Marley's haunting was all that saved Scrooge from eternal damnation. Years have passed and it is time to repay the favor.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,550
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    36
    Kudos:
    250
    Bookmarks:
    50
    Hits:
    1,909

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    A very interesting take on Scrooge's arrival in the hereafter. On the one hand, this plays very straight with its Dickens; on another, though, there's a faint and fascinating resonance here between this piece and The Muppet Christmas Carol's choice to cast Statler and Waldorf as "Marley and Marley".

  14. Rec 1

    Tags
    Summary

    The rules of relationship can get tangled after two hundred years.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    100
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    2
    Comments:
    2
    Kudos:
    22
    Bookmarks:
    1
    Hits:
    601

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Heh. Yes, they do, and here Lestrade is looking at Holmes from a doubly unique perspective. Very well done indeed, and a worthy gift.

  15. Rec 1

    Tags
    Summary

    We're told that 'he told a tale well', but how would the Vicar spin Ian's first meeting with the little folk to his master?

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,801
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    2
    Kudos:
    3
    Bookmarks:
    1
    Hits:
    189

    29 Dec 2014

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    I have been waiting for *years* for this story (and it was a pure and utter surprise when I found I'd gotten it). A clever and amusing spin on a key encounter between various principal characters. Best. Yuletide. Ever. (Also, now that I think of it, actually, fairly comprehensible -- and possibly funny -- even if you haven't read the novel.)

  16. Rec 3

    Tags
    Summary

    After everything, Carmela decides that what Ronan needs is some R&R at a nightclub at the Crossings. None of their friends can come, but everybody else is there.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,098
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    8
    Kudos:
    28
    Bookmarks:
    3
    Hits:
    305

    09 Jul 2014

    Bookmarker's Notes

    Heh. As usual, Carmela wins going away, although Ronan is perhaps ahead in the learning-something-from-the-evening department. A perceptive and well-played scene (and the cameos, especially the second duo, are especially entertaining).

  17. Rec 5

    Tags
    Summary

    Four Times Melinda Didn't Mean to Hurt Phil Coulson (and One Time She Sort of Did)

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    3,031
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    2
    Kudos:
    21
    Bookmarks:
    5
    Hits:
    464

    09 Jul 2014

    Bookmarker's Notes

    A well-imagined piece that definitely captures the texture of the Coulson/May relationship -- prickly and yet persistent on both sides, but especially so for Melinda. Secondary characters are well-drawn, too; it would have been easy to introduce Maria Hill as a mediating force, but here she's squarely on May's side...and in context, it's a convincing and well-executed choice.

  18. Rec 8

    Tags
    Summary

    Pete's dealt with this artifact before...if only he could remember how he escaped the first time.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    2,984
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    8
    Kudos:
    23
    Bookmarks:
    8
    Hits:
    705

    11 May 2014

    Bookmarker's Notes

    This piece neatly encapsulates both the Poohniverse's innate sense of wonder and the genre-bending aspects of the Warehouse 13 premise, and the blending with real-world developments at NYPL appeals to my sense of fannish mischief. Full marks for sharp execution and sensitive characterization; color me a very happy reader.

  19. Rec 2

    Tags
    Summary

    Some of the qualities of matter have changed now, sure, but a lot of investigating remains the same.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,510
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    4
    Kudos:
    14
    Bookmarks:
    2
    Hits:
    256

    28 Dec 2013

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Our Heroes are consulting crime-scene investigators in one of the next universes over from ours, who use technical sorcery the way CSIs in our world use traditional science. Also, Gelert is essentially a very large shaggy dog.

    This is a snapshot of a case that comes up after the events of the novel, but it's sufficiently self-contained that you don't strictly need the novel to understand the world. And reading this should not spoil you for any of the major twists and turns in the novel proper, which is a definite bonus. The author nails Duane's narrative voice and shows an excellent understanding of the magical system; I am very, very pleased indeed to have had this written for me, and if the scene you see here draws you in, I highly recommend the book, which is available in an author's preferred e-book edition direct from Diane Duane's Web site.

  20. Rec 5

    Tags
    Summary

    Diego is looking for a way for Zorro to help a local family, and Alejandro might just be able to provide him with the clue he needs.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    2,617
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    12
    Kudos:
    31
    Bookmarks:
    5
    Hits:
    660

    28 Dec 2013

    Bookmarker's Collections:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    I'm a longtime Zorro fan but a latecomer to the lure of the 1990 series starring Duncan Regehr. This story, though, very much fits the particular atmosphere of that incarnation of Zorro, in which sleight of hand and clever misdirection were as important as inspired swordplay. Another highlight is Don Alejandro's contribution to driving the plot forward. Alert readers may also spot a shoutout to yet another masked swashbuckler....

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