Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Duckling by innocentsmith (G)

[magician113.livejournal.com]

I admit I have not thought about this fairy tale since hearing Danny Kaye sing about it in the movie "Hans Christian Andersen" when I was a kid. After reading this story, I haven't been able to stop.

Fandom: Fairy Tales: The Ugly Duckling
Pairing/Characters: original characters, characters of color
Length: 5K words
Author Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: This is the powerful tale of Jordan, a young woman of color, adopted by a white couple when she was a toddler. They may love Jordan but they are woefully inadequate parents, insensitively calling her "Duckling" after one of the earliest fairy tales she read. They later have a baby of their own, which only accentuates how different Jordan is in the family and in their social circles. Jordan lets us in on her life through vignettes interspersed with lines from the fairy tale.

Jordan is so beautifully realized here; all the more so because the people around her pale in comparison as they lead their self-important lives that turn out to be quite ordinary. I ached and cheered for Jordan in turns. Enjoy.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Duckling

If you like this, take a moment to tell the author. You will absolutely make her day!

Comments

[lightbird777.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thank you for reccing this incredible fic.

[magician113.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed it. It blew me away.

[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this beautifully structured story. I think Jordan could read as anyone who is deemed not to fulfil the norm. The understatement of the ending, just upbeat enough, is very satisfying. Thanks for the rec. I must go and explore some more fairy tales.

[magician113.livejournal.com]

I'm very happy that you enjoyed it. I like fairy tale fanfic in general because I already know the canon so it's easy to get into them. I've enjoyed them so much because of what the talented authors/artists do with them. I've loved this opportunity to showcase this eclectic fandom. There are tons I won't get to, but I hope you have fun exploring.

Thank you so much for commenting.