Cerulean Blue

A quick round-up of exchange stories I received over the summer.  I do recommend all of these stories and hope you'll click through to give these deserving authors the hit and a kudos.  :-)

Not Prime Time
Like a Rock by klutzy_girl - An alternate universe story about Grant Ward fitting into the team on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  It's set in the early seasons, prior to the reveal that Ward was HYDRA, and deals with him questioning his own loyalties.  I enjoyed this, because it's a sweet version of events that would have changed some major things in the series.

fic_corner 
Sweetening the Loaves by Missy - I hoped very much for a book-verse Little House on the Prairie story, and this more than delivered.  A sweet, introspective look at Caroline Ingalls, just as the family has begun to settle in De Smet.  I really loved the author's take on Caroline and Charles' marriage, and her voices are all spot on.  Highly recommend, especially as there is so little in this fandom.

rarepairfest 
Time and Again by DesertScribe - A crossover between The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings.  Young Boromir ends up in Narnia and meets the Pevensies, and over time he and Susan fall in love - but they are never together for very long, and there's a lot of angst and adventure in their path.  It's a really lovely story and I just love the idea of Susan and Boromir together, especially the way this author makes it happen.

genex 
Room to Grow by StarSpray - Harry Potter is a fandom where the gen possibilities are endless; this one knocks it out of the park.  Neville, Ginny, and Luna, learning to deal with what happened to them at Hogwarts while Harry was off hunting horcruxes.  It's set post-series, but pre-epilogue.  I can't convey in words how much I love the way this author wrote Neville, in particular.  He's perfect.  This story is definitely worth a read.

crossovering 
And Bide the Danger by Anonymous - A Narnia/Harry Potter crossover, answering the idea of Susan Pevensie existing in the wizarding world, and having an encounter with Amelia Bones.  The author set this during Amelia's Magical Law Enforcement training, and there is a wonderfully on-target guest appearance, and some incredible world-building to root the reader in the Harry Potter 'verse.  I loved all my stories this summer, but this one made me feel spoiled.  It's very sophisticated writing and I applaud the author for working to fully bring to life both universes so seamlessly.  

Super excited about this exchange (as I am about them all, really). It isn't very often that there are opportunities for gen fic in this manner.

So, dear author, here are some things you should know generally, and then under the cut are some fandom-specific thoughts.

I like world-building, stories that take place in unexpected places or that include some detail about surroundings. I like character-driven stories, ones that include backstory or off-screen speculation and events. I'm fond of secondary and minor characters, their perspectives on the bigger events. I like main characters, too, and getting different viewpoints from them. Angst is my cup of tea, though not sexual violence of any kind.   Non-canonical character death is okay if it furthers your story.  Seeing as how this is a gen exchange, and some of my requests are more traditionally shippy, I need to clarify that I really enjoy friendship stories or stories that deal with non-romantic aspects of a relationship that may BE romantic later. Team-building is awesome, partnerships between people who aren't very connected in canon or have very little screentime otherwise.

Okay, on to the fandoms.

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