...

四十 by trascendenza for yuletide, Chinese Mythology(/Firefly) AU Gen, Cháng'é, Novella (17,082 words), G ( notes ).

四十 is tremendously satisfying in so many ways. It's a space opera reworking of the story of Cháng'é set in Firefly universe. I love not only how it subverts Firefly and redresses many of the series' problems -- cultural and racially being but two -- but also the scope of 四十 and all it tries to achieve.

Ultimately though, 四十 is the story of Cháng'é and I love her backstory and development as the story progresses, her relationships with her family and the women in the story.

serving grace by hazard_us for imaginarybeasts' Book #21, Original Fiction, Gen, Short (3,681 words), Not Rated ( notes ).

serving grace was written for imaginarybeasts' wuxia edition and it's a story of Lanfen, a young woman who works at an inn, and her encounter with Winter Tiger, a woman with long hair streaked with pure white -- an encounter that is just only the beginning of Lanfen's journey. I sort of love the reveal near the middle of the story and the relationships between Lanfen, Winter Tiger and Madam Yun (the owner of the inn) made the story for me.

Persuasion to Joy by sevenses for yuletide, Huâ Mùlán (2009), Princess of Róurán/Prince Wen Tai+Huâ Mù Lán, Short (1,936 words), G ( notes ).

Persuasion to Joy is not quite the future I imagine, but it's still one I hope for Princess of Róurán, Mù Lán and Wen Tai -- where their alliance, partnership and friendship endure -- and I love that it's a story about Princess of Róurán and her finding a place after the war.

Flying Blossoms* by damkianna, Avatar: the Last Airbender, Gen/Various, Various (~19,800 words), PG ( notes ).

Flying Blossoms is a collection of 10 themed five things stories, ranging from ~600 to 4,000 words, about the missing mothers of Avatar: the Last Airbender, their possible pasts, futures and presents. I love the glimpses of all these women and their untold stories and I wish for what could have been -- that their stories be told.

I'm still not finished with compiling my list of nominations for the Most Awesome Asian Characters & Celebrities fest -- to which you all should go add your nominations! - but here is one character I've nominated and why I think she's awesome:

Huā Mùlán, Ballad of Mulan (poem)

I grew up knowing her as Hoa Mộc Lan and I've heard of her before ever seeing her story on the screen or read it in a book: the story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy and became one of the greatest warriors history has ever known. It wasn't until years later that I'll see her on the screen as Fa Mulan in Disney's Mulan or read of her in the Ballad of Mulan, the oldest story of her recorded, and fall more in love with her legend:

• Ballad of Mulan Calligraphy
• Ode of Mulan by Anonymous, translated by Han H. Frankel (The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry)
• Reflection (from Disney's Mulan) by Lea Salonga @ East West Players Awards
• Reflection (from Disney's Mulan) by CoCo Lee
• Reflection (from Disney's Mulan) by Kelly Chen
• Reflection (from Disney's Mulan) by Christina Aguilera
• Reflection (from Disney's Mulan) by Lena Park
• Reflection (from Disney's Mulan) by อัยย์
• Reflection (Multilanguage Mix Version) by Edyta Górniak, Lucero, Lena Park, CoCo Lee, Syria, Mélanie Cohl, Sandy and Christina Aguilera

Then there's Jingle Ma's film Mulan starring Vicki Zhao (about which I've talked a bit here):

• 木蘭情 (Mulan Qing) by Stefanie Sun Yanzi
• 木兰星 (Mulan Xing) by Jane Zhang

And if you're interested, there's a cải lương (opera) of Hoa Mộc Lan here (no English translations though, sorry).

The story of Hua Mulan also appears in Naomi Novik's Throne of Jade and norah wrote an awesome origin story here (Ballad of Mulan/Temeraire ftw!).

In celebration of wild unicorns.

The Helmsman* by imadra_blue, Star Trek XI Gen, Hikaru Sulu, Short (2,725 words), G.

I can't remember the last time I read a work that so resonates with me. The Helmsman feels so familiar, like I've read it a thousand time before, but never in that particular light. The author gave nuances and depth to Sulu in a way that, for me, left not only impressions of the character, but also echoes of the actors who play him (Takie, Cho), of what they must have felt as Asian-American, at once confident and made awkward in their own skin. (Plus, the section with Kirk and Sulu, right there, is why I ship Kirk/Sulu so hard.)

Wild Hope** by butterfly, Torchwood Gen/Various, Toshiko Sato, Vid (divx/wmv), Not Rated.

Oh, Toshiko Sato, a character that deserves so much better. Wild Hope is to Toshiko, for me, what Cells* is to Owen or Breath* is to the Torchwood team. The vid captures Toshiko in all her beauty, joy and awesomeness; it is also an expression of our grief, both of the vidder and us viewers.

Five Facts Ando Learned as Part of His Epic Quest to Help Save the World (and possibly a cheerleader or two) by sparky77, Heroes Gen, Ando Masahashi, Short (2,166 words), PG.

Five Facts Ando Learned as Part of His Epic Quest to Help Save the World... is spot on with its characterizations of Ando, with his practicality, sensibility and being the person that grounds and inspires Hiro. Pitch perfect voice, as they say. I can also imagine Ando keeps a running list of facts he learned in his and Hiro's epic quest to save the world.

My Hero* by bradcpu, Heroes, Ando+Hiro, Video (xvid/wmv), Not Rated.

My Hero is Hiro's point of view in this dynamic duo of Ando and Hiro and their epic quest to save the world...thing and a wonderful compliment to sparky77's Five Facts Ando Learned as Part of His Epic Quest to Help Save the World.... It's is, for me, a perfect visual presentation of why Hiro and Ando are so compelling.

Two, Side by Side* by norah, Ballad of Mulan/Temeraire Gen, Hua MuLan, Short (6,165 words), PG.

Two, Side by Side takes an already stunning myth and made it more awesome by fusing it with the universe of Temeraire. It retells the story of Mulan as if she has a dragon companion and they joined China's aerial force. To say Two, Side by Side is brilliant, beautiful and inspiring would be redundant.