Warhead On Legs

Okay, we'll do this by no order whatsoever. With my stories last because I already posted about them.

Whistler's Coda, Sneakers, ~1500 words. Whistler and Liz are awesome the end.

The Butterfly Also Casts A Shadow, The Shadow, ~7500 words. A mini-casefic, or a casefic in a bottle if you prefer. From Margo's point of view, and excellently done.

An imprint set in wax, The Lion in Winter, ~2000 words. Richard/Philip. A scene post-production so close to the play itself you'd think it had actually been written into it. All the glorious banter you can shake a scepter at.

we hit the ground running on empty stories we've been told, The Dark Tower, ~2500 words, Roland/Cuthbert quasi-explicit, for those of you who aren't interested in that sort of thing, or for those of you who are. Their last night before the final battle. Beautiful.

The Flinders Street Gang, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, ~4500 words, Phryne/Jack UST. Enjoyable Miss Fisher fic is enjoyable, I've missed these two having UST all over my screen.

And at this point I'm getting tired so it's just going to be my two fics to rec nest: Sol Invictus, the Christmas Eve And Other Stories/Caprica crossover that was really, really amazingly well done. And The Eleventh Hour Light based on Christmas Eve and Other Stories, which means you don't actually need to be familiar with canon to understand it. Just read and enjoy. ;)

(And, you know, check out Trans-Siberian Orchestra if you have Spotify or other things.)

Dear Yuletide Writer,

This is a placeholder letter! If you've come here and I didn't update it I am deeply sorry. The main rule is gen is better, explicit is less preferred, slash is much much less preferred (at least the non-canon or less probable), and I'm a big fan of character study and worldbuilding.

Prefer not:
I'd prefer no drastic AUs; AUs where characters live instead of die (or die instead of live) and then the consequences of that are explored are interesting to me, High School or In Space or Cavemen vs Astronaut AUs, not so much. I'd also prefer no unspecified/non-canon slash, for the simple reason that I somehow never end up a big fan of the big slash pairings or even the small ones. I like the canon pairings, for the most part, if I have a preference for any pairing at all. And then some of these fandoms don't lend themselves well to romance/erotica at all.

Prefer:
Worldbuilding! Character exploration! I love to explore the world and the characters of any canon more thoroughly; I love what-ifs. Mood, I love the moods of most of my fandoms and certainly every one I requested. As far as requests or preferences go, I'm actually pretty easy. Something thoughtful and exploratory, elaborate, another flight of fancy in a world I love.

Shrug:
Length (apart from requirements of course) is a handwave, however long the story wants to be. Grimdark or fluffy is equally 'eh whatever.'


Specifics!
Christmas Eve and Other Stories - Trans Siberian Orchestra
I'll be honest; if you were picked because of this fandom or picked it to write about I'll be shocked. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of my big holiday favorites, I go see every concert of theirs I can (seriously, I've seen their Christmas show ten years running) and I'm looking forward to this year because they have a new show up. But this album in particular was my first, my first concert of theirs, and it still makes me cry happy happy tears. The story, the music, all of it. If you're not familiar but you'd like to explore writing something for it, Spotify has the album on their radio thing, and it's pretty easy to get ahold of. The story is on the TSO website; in brief, it's a story within a story within a story of a Christmas eve in a bar. A man listens to another man tell a story about a child who came into the bar on Christmas and told a story (you see how recursive this gets?) about a girl standing outside in the snow who wished on the neon sign of the bar, lacking stars in New York City, that she could be home for Christmas. The crusty old bartender (tm) comes out and gives her the cash from the register, packs her in a cab to the airport, and lo, a happy Christmas family reunion. It's both much better and much more schmaltzy than I just made it sound. Seriously, I don't much like schmaltz, but this album! The most famous track off of it is Sarajevo 12/24, (or as my friends and I call it, Hells Bells/Music to Conduct Mage Battles By), an orchestral rock rendition of Carol of the Bells.

(And if you're familiar with the works of TSO, by all means, feel free to pull from other albums!)

Haven
DWIGHT. Dwight Dwight Dwight. All the Dwight, all the time. I added Audrey, Duke, and Nathan because honestly I would not mind fic about any of the main three, but there is not enough Dwight fic on AO3, dammit! And, honestly, I know I said I prefer no non-canon slash, but Duke and Nathan are the one pair I've found lately where I side with the massive quantity of fan slashers. They need to kiss and make up. Yesterday. No explicit/pornography please, but anything outside of that is fine. Audrey/Duke, Audrey/Nathan, Audrey/Nathan/Duke, Duke/Nathan. (But no Dwight slash... >.>)

Johnny Dixon - John Bellairs
Johnny Dixon is another one I put in there not entirely expecting anyone to pick it up. Though that's what Yuletide is for, right? Johnny Dixon is comfort reading from my childhood, it spooked me out when I was little, but it was also fun and exciting adventures. I really wanted to have adventures like that. Alas, I didn't get any haunted clocks or houses or figurines or anything. But I still love the books. No specific requests here, something in the mood or something dealing with the characters, even something dealing with Johnny or Fergie or any of them grown up.

Caprica
SAM ADAMA. ALL THE ADAMAS. Adamas kick ass. And yes, I had to put the no slash thing up there out of reflex because my tastes are generally not fandom tastes but SAM AND LARRY. There is also not enough Sam and Larry fic on AO3. I am all about the Sam and Larry, Sam and Larry having hijinks, having domestic bliss, even having domestic arguments and making up afterwards. Yes, go on, laugh at the ridiculousness of me being all "no slash pls" and then picking two fandoms where I love the slash pairings. Or is it still slash if it's a canon marriage? I have no idea. Okay, Sam and Larry aside, I love the Adamas. All of them. I love Josef even as I want to smack the stupid out of him, I love Tamara's badassery even when I want to shake her and oh honey no, I love Sam. Sam Sam Sam. I love the spouses/partners and their taking care of their Adamas, Larry and Shannon and Evelyn. I think because so much of the Adamas family dynamic pings off of my own (much loved!) family dynamic, it makes the whole of them a really happy place for me.

( Deutsch )

I sat down to eat lunch and started to fuck around on the internet, and a little voice inside my head said "Isn't there something you should be doing?" No. Go away. "Isn't there something else you're supposed to be doing?" FINE. And then I dragged out my German book. That little voice sounded suspiciously like Eric Renard. Fucking smarmy bastard. Can I trade him in for his brother?

There, Eric. I did my German. Now shut up.

It's Monday. It's Monday and I'm still tired from housework over the weekend. It's Monday, I'm still tired from housework over the weekend, and I have the usual weekend backlog of shipping to do. This is the whiny paragraph of DO NOT WANT.

Yuletide Nominations are open! and will be open until October 3rd, for those of you who, like me, had too many to pare down and wanted to see if someone else would be kind enough to nominate some of yours. Everyone remembers what happens to me during Yuletide yes? Yes. That will happen again. And since I've discovered ways of being MOREBETTER efficient with things like cooking and such, and by the time crunch time comes I should be all moved in, FEAR MY PINCH-HITTING CAPABILITIES. FEAR THEM. Or just point and laugh at me because I'm a masochist.

Today, god, there will be early bedtime please let me manage it. Or there may be a 20 minute nap after UPS goes. After work there will be going home, collecting the boy, and then going over to the house to pull nails out and do a few other things before coming back home and heating up dinner. Yay batch cooking. Without which I would not survive this, I think. I'm going to be batch cooking on the weekends until at least January. Which means I need more recipes that batch and freeze well. Gimme, folks! (Although, heh, once we get moved in I can dig up a George Foreman from somewhere and do hamburgers some nights.) I will say, all this running around and doing crap... well, come to think of it, will probably hit a pause when the contractors start really fucking around on the house, because there will be only so much we can do with their stuff in the way. And then, once we're living in one place instead of two it should tone down some more. And everything that's making me run the Red Queen's race is stuff I like and want to be doing, rather than oh god do I have to call another bank please no. I can live with this.

Right. Back to the grind, there's a shitpile of orders and they need to get gone. Shipping kitty to the rescue! Here I come to save the day!

( My Yuletide Assignment: Touching Evil )


( My first pinch hit: Warehouse 13 )


( And many many more pinch hits (and a couple treats): Sons of Anarchy, Alphas, Kushiel's Legacy, Once Upon A Time/Labyrinth, Merry Gentry, Swordspoint, Haven, more Warehouse 13, Peter Pan (2003), X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Jumper, Chronicles of Riddick, more Alphas, Raymond Chandler - Philip Marlowe )

Pinch Hits Part II || Behind the Scenes in General

Dear Yuletide Author,

First and always, thank you for writing! I hope you enjoy the writing process as much as I'm enjoying the anticipation!

I'm not as big a fan of slash as most fandom seems to be, though honestly if most of fandom didn't seem to be into slash I probably wouldn't even bring it up. I love good characterization, character driven fiction. I love introspection, pithy dialogue, snark, comedy, even black comedy (as you may be able to tell if you got matched for Sons of Anarchy). I'd prefer no PWP because there's surely a kinkmeme for that, although if that's what strikes your fancy I'm not going to hide behind the couch from sex or erotica. I also don't read mpreg and sweeping displacement AUs like [Fandom] in High School or [Fandom] in Space, it's just not my taste.

Individual fandoms! Sons of Anarchy, I jump from favorite character to favorite character like a frog on a hot plate. Juice has won a special place in my heart for being an utter woobie over season 4 (I'm mostly current, yes, so don't worry about spoilers). Bobby and Opie are probably the only ones I've never felt an especial attachment to, although I like them well enough. Tig is the crazy bastard I adore even if he's got a list of issues a mile long, Happy amuses me in that look at the funny sociopath kind of a way. Clay is played by Ron Perlman. I have had a crush on Ron Perlman since Beauty and the Beast. And given Clay's random isle of Lesbos comment indicating the biker has a brain and a library card, if you can get me to picture Ron Perlman's beautiful voice reciting poetry or theatre or something I will love you forever. Gemma is a kickass chick I aspire to be like. Sort of. ;)

It'd be really hard to go wrong with Warehouse 13, I think, although after the season finale (again, I'm current, don't worry about spoilers) I'm on the edge of my seat wondering about the consequences of what everyone's doing/intending to do, so if you find inspiration of consequence fic, go for it! Claudia is adorable, Pete... Pete is my huggable squishy bear. (Eddie McClintock gives good hug, if you ever have a chance to meet him.) I do ship Myka/Helena, if you were wondering from the no-slash if that was a hard and fast rule, it isn't. Jinks was loveable and wonderful, which I didn't expect from what sounded on paper like a random token character. Mrs. Fredericks is fascinating, I wrote a piece on her for last year's Yuletide if you want to check me out on AO3, Artie, MacPherson, Benedict Valda... You probably couldn't go wrong with Warehouse 13.

And finally, Falling Skies. It's something I actually just recently got into, but the show intrigues me and depresses me at the same time in the way that post-apocalyptic series' do. I get into the habit of picturing all the people lost and missing, all the places and things destroyed, and it's depressing. But in the way that I also go back to for entertainment, because sometimes you need a good cry or a good curl up and be sad show. The aliens intrigue me. If you're familiar with Fringe, Nina Sharp cross-over would be hilarious. Anti-villains are a thing for me, so Pope being a love-to-hate-him bastard would be good.

Again, these are all just ideas and starting points, don't feel bound by any of them. I write a lot of what I like to read, if that helps get a feel for things. And as always, HAVE FUN. That's what Yuletide is about, after all!

Thank you, and good luck!
-- Jag

Staggering out to feed the cats, and I may as well get this up before the rest of it.

I wrote, um. 21 Yuletide fics this year. I think. Here they are, in the order from posted last to posted first as they appear on my dashboard. The last two are so much longer because they were either my original story or the pinch hit I received first. Liner notes, deleted scenes, and arguing interviews with "actors" characters to follow after I either go back to bed or wake up a bit more.



21. Prince of the Land of Stench - From Hell (blended comic and movie), wicked Jack, not as gory as you might think.

20. New Process - Soldier (movie), Todd and Sandra. Todd does not think like the colonists do. He doesn't register injury like they do, but he feels the ways he is somehow wrong nonetheless.

19. Living Fairy Tales - Beauty and the Beast (tv show), as not_from_stars has already discovered. :D Vincent and Catherine, because they are adorable. And if I ever meet Ron Perlman I'm going to beg him to recite something for me because dear lord that man has sexvoice and wickedly hot delivery.

18. Sunny Side - The Losers (movie), Aisha/Clay, semi-plotless porn. Because these two don't really need a reason, even within the movie.

17. Agnes of Gru - Despicable Me (movie), Agnes and Edith and Margo. The girls are growing up, and don't know entirely what to do with themselves, let alone expect Gru to know what to do with them.

16. Scrapyard Parkour - The Losers (movie), Jensen and Cougar. The gruesome twosome share a moment of camaraderie and bonding.

15. Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These - The Losers (movie), Jensen and Aisha, slightly porny at the beginning. Jensen and Aisha share a moment of companionship. Preceded by awkwardness.

14. Keeping Secrets - The Bourne Trilogy (movies), Nicky thinking of Bourne, slightly porny in the middle.

13. Walking Wounded - Covert Affairs, Annie and Auggie and Jai. Annie recovering from an injury that terrifies her while Auggie and Jai try to help, each in their own way.

12. Strain - Watchmen (comic and movie blend), Rorschach being Rorschach, a scene between Dreiberg's basement and Manhattan's government facility.

11. Consequence - Push (movie), Cassie and Pop Girl. The two Watchers share an interlude post-movie and an uneasy truce is struck.

10. Playground Justice - Human Target (tv), Guerrero and Chance. Taking on a small job for Ilsa as a personal favor, the boys get to indulge a little.

9. Keep Breathing - Blade Runner (movie), Zhora and Roy, with a side of Zhora/Roy. Very small slice of life fic in three scenes.

8. Storybook Love - RED (movie), Cooper and Victoria. Victoria wants a favor from Cooper. To his surprise, he finds himself inclined to grant it.

7. Dungeon Swag - The Losers (movie), Jensen. Jensen secures some of the team's supplies from a unique sort of arms dealer with an eclectic method of determining her clientele.

6. Fooled Hearts - Push (movie), Nick and Cassie. Could take place sometime within Rainbow Connection, Nick and Cassie cope with the loss of a dear friend.

5. Starstuff - The Darkangel Trilogy (books), Erin and Aeriel. Post series, Aeriel feels burdened by what she has agreed to.

4. We Regret To Inform You - Warehouse 13, Mrs Frederic. The Warehouse Caretaker carries out a duty she dislikes having to do, but knows she must.

3. Moonlight and Love Song - The Wolfman (2010 movie), Gwen Conliffe and Lawrence Talbot. Post-movie, Gwen has a late night visitor and, sort of, a happy ending. Or closure, at least.

2. The Rainbow Connection - Push (movie), Nick, Cassie, and Kira. The next ten years are life-changing for Nick and Cassie. Almost captured, almost escaping, finding the one weapon they could use to destroy Division and unable to decide how to use it. Finding themselves at the center of a revolution and leading a war to survive, somehow they manage to keep each other sane and whole long enough to reach their happy ending. LONG

1. Hammurabi - Human Target (tv series), Guerrero and Chance and Winston and Ames with a side of Ilsa. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. One of Guerrero's victims decides to exact vengeance on him, torturing and taking from him that which Guerrero took years ago. Now Chance has to get him out of this mess, learning a few new things about his old friend in the process. LONG

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you, first of all, for signing up to write for this! I can't speak for any of the other fifty bajillion people in Yuletide, but I've gotten to the point where all I want for Christmas is to be able to pay my bills and fic is always a wonderful surprise Christmas morning.

Overall, please, no non-canon slash. I am not a slash fan, with a few specific exceptions (most of which you can tell from what I write, follow the fanfic tag!), and it does not excite me. Canon slash is canon; if I didn't enjoy the story and characters the canon gave me I definitely wouldn't request it on Yuletide, so, for example, Silhouette is definitely outed as a lesbian and you want to write femmeslash, yay! For that matter, I'm less interested in a story where romantic relationships at all are the focus, at least partly because there are so so many of them out there.

Mostly what I do like reading is good characterisation, good story. Vivid detail, a well-told tale, characters that yank your heartstrings or make you want to slap them or both. I write and read a lot of character-based fiction, also a lot of sensual fiction. (Not erotica, just fiction that describes things in sensory detail.)

That's my preferences: as far as specifics for each fandom, go nuts. I have a terrible crush on Jackie Earle Haley (Guerrero) but I also just love the action fun of Human Target. Tin Man was a wonderful fantasy jaunt for me, and I'd love to read anything from that world. And Watchmen is much the same, only less with the wonderful fantasy jaunt and more with the ow, ow, that was my heart you just ripped out of my chest and stepped on, those were my idealistic dreams you just ground under your boot.

I hope that wasn't too confusing and/or demanding! I've left anonymous comments on so you can ask if you have a question, or you can go through my fanfic or my original fiction to see what I write, which is probably a good measure of what I read. Or at least a starting place. I hope you have fun with it!

Thank you,

Jag

All right, I suppose some sort of introduction is in order for the new friends I've made through Yuletide, or at least, a last chance to flee before the insanity consumes you.

Right.

My name is Jag -- and I actually do go by Jag in real life and have for a good fifteen years or so. Which is a little frightening in and of itself. My username is Kittydesade almost everywhere I've been, including on Deadjournal, Insanejournal, Vox, and Journalfen. Of all of those I think Insanejournal gets updated most. Oh, and Greatestjournal, not that anyone ever goes there anymore.

My userinfo is pretty self-explanatory; I haven't updated my interests lists in a dog's age but it's still fairly accurate. It's also a good place to go for the fandoms I've been interested in over the past many years. More recent fandoms, as in, in the past six months or so, have not been added. My actual interests haven't changed that much since I did last fuss with it. The best way to get to know me as I am at the moment is to go through the last page or so of entries in my journal. Yes, most of it is German, Russian, and Tarot, but interspersed with that are real actual entries about what I've been doing.

I'm attempting a little exercise in self-improvement called Courtesan School, and you will find the phrases 'baby courtesans don't do that' or 'baby courtesans do do that' popping up a fair bit these days. Mostly what it involves is energetic, positive thinking, exercise of mind and body, self-discipline, and doing the little self-care things consciously every day to make myself feel good about myself and in general. A few of my friends are doing it with me.

In general, I don't feel a need to be private about a lot of things, so feel free to ask.

Enjoy the ride.

Title: Drinking Buddies
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Chase, Caleb
Word Count: 1,110
Rating: PG-13 for language
Summary: Enemies make for strange friends, but not bad drinking buddies. Written for the 2007 Yuletide Challenge

"I. Will..."

"Don't."

Chase smiled, and it was toothy, and it was tired. He looked nearly twice as old as Caleb who, still in college, still knew better. Chase hadn't been about to threaten to kill him. Again.

Then again that might have been exactly what he'd meant to do. Caleb was already carrying a double dose, tripling -- no, quadrupling the load might be too much for him. Even him. Especially him, with addiction running hot in his blood.

No it isn't, Pogue said sometimes. Pogue wasn't here right now.

Caleb felt his lip curling in slight disgust and turned away before Chase could see the expression on his face. Their truce was fragile enough; he didn't want to break it.

"Sorry."

( Read more... )