As the Cardinal Flies

Nine recs below, sorted alphabetically by fandom and including commentary. There's a considerable variety here, so I wish folks good hunting. (A quick shoutout to sanguinity, which I trust will be appreciated: there is marmalade in the last of these.)

Anastasia (1997)
you gave up all the golden factories
Rating: G
Category: M/F
Warnings: none
Words: ~3200
Relationship: Anya/Dmitri
Characters: Anya, Dmitri

Two Petersburg childhoods.

Notes: A brief piece that works for either the 1997 animated movie or the Broadway musical, blending pre-canonical memories and post-canon plans for both its leads. The tone is balanced nicely between the movie's lively banter and the stage version's slightly edgier quality, retaining the ultimately hopeful optimism that makes both iterations stand out.

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Batgirls (DC Comics 2021)
Deny thy father and refuse my name
Rating: G
Category: multi
Warnings: none
Words: ~2200
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain; Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson
Additional Tags: fluff, AU

It's going to be a day that will change the history of the Hill forever - if they can solve the mystery.

(Don't worry, they got this.)

Notes: Even if you're only glancingly familiar with DC comics canon, this is a devilishly hilarious West Side Story riff that wholly avoids tragic endings in favor of cleverly sly humor. (It's undoubtedly even funnier if you do know deeper Bat-canon, but this is deeply chuckle-worthy all by itself. I promise.)

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Enchanted (Disney Movies)
Let There Be Music
Rating: G
Category: M/F
Warnings: none
Words: ~2100
Relationship: Giselle/Robert, Giselle/Edward, Nancy/Edward

The night of the ball brings new music to the forefront for Edward and we all know how important music is to him.

Notes: The movie shows us Giselle's night at the ball. This story gives us Edward's, in deeply perceptive and surprisingly intimate fashion, yet retains an unmistakably Disney tone through it all. Beautifully done.

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Japanese History RPF / Pseudo-Edo Sci-Fi Art (Yamaguchi Akira)
Prime Time
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~1600
Additional Tags: AU: Fusion, AU: Alternate History, Edo period, Edo punk, stealth Buddhism, time loop, time travel

Everyone, please gather around – this will be the final briefing for the staff of the Kyuushuu Futuro-Historical Train Station prior to its official re-commissioning. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Notes: The subject matter here is completely outside my expertise...but the way it weaves itself through and around and back and forth in history, real and maybe-real, is exceptional. It's one of the strongest time-travel concepts I've seen in any venue, fannish or professional, executed with astonishing skill and a solid and thoughtful eye for its source material.

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The Parent Trap (1998)
more than just a game for two
Rating: teen
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~6600
Relationship: Annie James & Hallie Parker
Additional Tags: post-canon, Christmas, switching places, etc.

After their parents get back together, Annie and Hallie make a pact: no more switching places (except in total, real, actual emergencies).

A pact they keep...for twelve years.

And then, Parker Knoll ends up on the line.

Notes: I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this movie when it first appeared, but irrespective of anything she's done on- or off-screen since, Lindsay Lohan knocked her dual role here out of the park as far as I was concerned. This sequel does justice to its cinematic parent, allowing both twins to grow up, providing a perfect excuse to revisit the concept, and springing an ingeniously sneaky twist in the process.

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Remington Steele / Leverage
The Steele Dabbling Job
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~2200
Characters: Remington Steele, Laura Holt, Sophie Devereaux
Additional Tags: crossover, museums, old friends, pseudonyms

Mr. Steele leaned down to speak softly. "I don't mean to alarm you, Miss Holt, but if I'm not mistaken, I believe an old colleague of mine has just entered the gallery."

Ever proficient in discretion, Laura had no sooner processed these words than she made a point of fussing to retrieve something from her shoulder bag, sneaking a quick glance toward Charlotte in the midst of it.

"Not a blonde," she muttered, casting him a look. "Color me surprised."

Notes: This is exactly what happens when two old-school masters of the grift run into one another while out on theoretically innocent business. The character voices are dead accurate, and one can only hope there will be more shenanigans down the line.

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The Sherwood Ring
The Elusive Peaceable
Rating: G
Category: F/M
Warnings: none
Words: ~9600
Relationships: Barbara Grahame/Peaceable Drummond Sherwood, Percy Blakeney/Marguerite Blakeney
Additional Characters: Richard Grahame, Ludovic Lavenham, Mary Wollstonecraft, Gilbert Imlay
Additional Tags: adventure & romance, crossover, fandom fusions, French Revolution, etc.

Dick's face was white. “Good God – don't you know how the Revolutionary Government feels about Englishmen in disguise these days?”

I tried for a smile. “He speaks French very convincingly.”

Dick groaned and put his head in his hands.

Notes: Just as in the original novel, here we have women who outplan and out-intrigue their romantic partners on a regular basis - although the men are getting better at following their wives' leads. In this story, we've moved from the American Revolution to the French, so it's no surprise to find our colonial protagonists crossing paths with those of Orczy and Heyer, and the pace never lags on the way to a suitably successful climax.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks
The USS Cerritos, Sonnet 1
Rating: G
Category: F/F Warnings: none
Words: ~2100
Relationship: D'Vana Tendi/T'Lyn
Additional Characters: Brad Boimler, Beckett Mariner, Sam Rutherford
Additional Tags: crushes, poetry, puns & wordplay, easter eggs, etc.

T'Lyn is interested in poetry, and Tendi is desperate to impress her. Will this book of alien poems get T'Lyn's attention, or will it just turn life on the Cerritos upside-down?

Notes: The answer to the above is "Heck yes," since it involves the entire crew being unexpectedly afflicted with the inability to talk except in iambic pentameter - and mostly rhyming iambic pentameter at that. Fortunately, the author's ear for scansion is up to the challenge, so that the results are both highly amusing and technically sound. Moreover, the linguistic trickery that allows our heroes to resolve the problem is executed with proper poetic precision. (And the author demonstrates that one can, in fact, write funny sonnets, which is a rare treat for those of us who are poetically inclined.)

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Stealing the Elf-King's Roses (Diane Duane)
Marmalade, Xianese, and Fondue
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~3000
Characters: Lee Enfield, Gelert
Additional Tags: pre-canon

A glimpse at how Lee and Gelert might have become partners.

Notes: This was the story written for me this year, in the world of what I consider one of Duane's very best novels, where forensic sorcery is as scientifically rigorous as conventional CSI techniques are in our world. For myself, I'm delighted; the author's tone perfectly captures the nuanced, deeply philosophical quality of Duane's worldbuilding - both like and unlike her better-known "Young Wizards" books - and the pre-canon glimpse we're given of how the novel's protagonists might have met is thoughtfully developed. The story may be a little densely written to draw in newcomers, so it's as well that Duane's preferred edition is available from her online ebook storefront.

After a few years brother and sister have developed a closer relationship and Sherlock gets a glimpse into Enola's life unexpectedly.

I am wise enough, I hope, to resist simple logical trickery. But I must be secure in my own inner nature to move forward in the present game, and I fear the result of probing too deeply on my own. I require…assistance.

"I must say, Professor, you've come a long way since we first met. I daresay nowadays you sound more like Sherlock Holmes himself than you do an evil mastermind."

"As it happens," Moriarty said, "there's a reason for that, but it will probably confuse you."