sunlit_stone

weird given LMB specifically and Cordelia and Ista (and, as you say, the acknowledgement with Kareen) I admit it makes me think of the situation with Ekaterin too--granted she didn't disappear quite as thoroughly as Nikys, but we really do see much less of her--we don't get her perspective again at all until I think, what was it, Flowers of Vashnoi? And even in Diplomatic Immunity, when she makes stuff happen after Miles goes under, we only hear about it second-hand and we don't really get any of the details, or how it felt from her perspective. It's odd!

Tanar and Bosha!! Yes, they're great :D I'm glad you got a good Yuletide fic! (And Penric ex machina is exactly the problem...)

As to Sharing Knife, I did once start the first one, I felt like the characters were well-realized but I was also going 'meh' at yet another age-gap romance... as you say, one of these I will probably actually give it a serious shot :P I know there are people who like them quite a lot, even if I think most of her previous fans were less interested.

Oh yeah Rivers of London does it really well--and I think it's no accident that it is so grounded in the real actual world of London... and The Broken Earth is AMAZING, I need to read the last one but I know it's going to knock the stuffing out of me...

I do have lower expectations for fanfic worldbuilding hah, yes, that's fair :P And you're right about JK Rowling too. Also looking back I just want to clarify--a Wizarding society composed entirely of Christians would also be weird and ahistorical (and worrying). But--in part I'm just annoyed by the ahistoricism because, like, I care about that kind of thing, and in part because...mmm, I feel like there's an unfortunate tendency to write the purebloods/the pureblood faction as, to some extent, an oppressed minority, and I feel like that writing out--what would have had to be a historical connection to the actual roots of power in British society, helps hide how bananas that is.

I think I've seen Jewish Hermione a few times--I think it's done here in away which fits very well into canon, and is basically canon-compliant, so for example she is not herself deeply religious, but has specifically failed to mention being Jewish because of concerns about wizarding antisemitism, because of the world's conservatism and indeed the general attitude about Jews historically and at the time of the Statute...

In terms of fics to recommend--for the modern generation, I really enjoyed of all my demon spirits, which features Ginny writing in a (non-possessed) diary after the events of her first year--I think it's done really well, it captures some of why Ginny actually liked Tom in a way that doesn't just make her seem foolish, as well of course as her hurt and betrayal, and it feels--I don't know, nicely a bit clumsy or twelve-years-old-ish. It's quite short, only 1.7K. If you want something a bit longer, there's a couple works featuring the previous generation: break your heart and give you mine, 11.2K, which features--well, I'll just give you the fic's summary: "In 1968, Andromeda's plans to elope with Ted Tonks are derailed when she gets caught leaving the Hogwarts Express and is forced to go home for Easter with her family. As a result, Bellatrix takes over their plans to subvert the family, and Andromeda sees an entirely new side of her sister." That one's an AU; if you want something more canon-compliant, there's all time is unredeemable, 5.2K, which features how Bellatrix becomes involved with Voldemort in the first place... "It's the summer of 1968, and Andromeda didn't come home from her seventh year at Hogwarts. The elder Blacks think Bellatrix knows where she is. Eight year old Sirius, afraid for his cousin's life, seeks intervention from a higher authority." (I should say that the author's takes on Bellatrix are also very different from fandom-standard, though I find them quite compelling, and appreciate the essay they wrote about it...) Anyway, I'll stop recommending stuff here before I get through their entire bibliography XP But I hope you find one you like!

Thank you for the links! Oooh, yes, I had read your knockoff Zukos one before, I remember it but I'd forgotten about the chart, which is excellent XD I am deeply entertained by the amount of AtLA, and by the plot split between AtLA, PotC, Hunger Games, YA Cliche, and Nonsense... (nobody ever talks about supplies... I wail). And RWaRB--I definitely take your point about the differing points of divergence (insert thinky-face emoji here). You're right, having a different background would help, and would definitely make it feel less like it was trying to be about the real world, as opposed to using it as set dressing lol. (And yeah, being the son of the president is a pretty ridiculously privileged position! It's a bit much to cast him as the commoner-trope, I agree.)