cjmarlowe

And so we come to this once again. I wrote five stories for Yuletide this year, all in fandoms that I've never written in before. And a couple in fandoms I'd never really thought about writing in before. I was so very happy this year, both with the story I received and what I managed to produce.

Assignments

So Hard Done By [Sirens, Ashley/Rachid, explicit]
It wasn't supposed to be this way. In fact, it wasn't supposed to be any way all. Ashley blames the liquor. And the handcuffs. And Stuart. 7010 words.

My assignment this year, and I was so excite because I've been meaning to write some kinky Ashley/Rachid for ages. Despite the handcuffs, this is less kinky and more about what happens when the proverbial unstoppable force meets immovable object, and how it all works out. I'm kind of itching to write some more of them now.

Left Turn on Red [A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Tony/Control]
It wouldn't do at all for enemy agents to get wind of Control's weakness. They're going to have to do something about that. 1499 words.

My first pinch hit, and a request I'd already flagged from the Dear Yuletide Writer letters as something I might try treating if I had enough time. It hadn't really occurred to me to try writing them until I saw the request, and I had no idea even where to start, but it was so much fun once I got into it.

The Disappearing Cane Trick [Fresh Meat, Oregon/Vod, explicit]
Where Vod goes, Oregon is never far behind, but this time Oregon might've been the one to get there first. 2657 words.

My second pinch hit, which I had also flagged earlier as a request I might try treating, so I already had some idea what I would do with it. While I really enjoyed Fresh Meat I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to capture the voices, but I love Oregon and Vod and I think I just needed the tiniest excuse to give them a try. (Also, if you don't know the canon it's probably not obvious from the character names that this is femslash about two awesome, awesome girls.)

Treats

Airs from heaven or blasts from hell [The War Boys, David/George]
George doesn't think he's ever going to feel forgiven, and doesn't really believe he should. 1089 words.

When Ruth and I were talking about what Yuletide canons we'd requested and offered this year, she said to me, "If you're assigned to me for War Boys, write me a journey." Obviously I wasn't assigned to her, but I still figured, if I had enough time, I would. Originally intended to be longer, but I figure it still says what I wanted it to. :)

Peter for Jude [Barrett's Privateers / The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Anderson]
There's a kinship between people whose fates are determined by the sea. 1192 words.

After my tale of how this fandom came to be nominated, I figured that, if I wasn't going to request it, I could at least try to write it. I've never written any kind of crossover for Yuletide before, but the idea was sparked by something I saw in the recipient's journal and it stayed with me until it was written.

And now I begin planning for next year!

This entry was originally posted at http://cj.dreamwidth.org/7805.html.

Fewer recs this time, because we ended up having company for a while that I couldn't just ignore. And also because I've been sick this week and have spent a ridiculous amount of time sleeping, meaning I have vast swaths of the Yuletide archive still to get through. Somehow I have to leave the house today to get a stone chip in my windshield fixed. I do not yet know how that is going to happen.

( 4 recs in Queer as Folk (UK), Sons of Anarchy, Luther and Grimm )

This entry was originally posted at http://cj.dreamwidth.org/6952.html.

Happy Yuletide!

There is, tragically, only one Husbands story in the Yuletide archive this year...but it is MINE ALL MINE and it is WONDERFUL. It's Brady and Cheeks 20 years on, reflecting back on everything they've been and how far things have come. My description does not do the story justice so you really should just go read it yourselves: [ Role Models ]


Also, a case study in the awesome power of Yuletide:

With nominations limited to three this year, there were several fandoms I could have nominated but didn't. One of these was "Barrett's Privateers", and when I mentioned this, a kind yuletider just passing by said that they had an empty spot and would happily nominate that for me. Hurrah! Then I decided this year to request only canonically queer characters, so I didn't end up requesting the fandom, but now that it existed as an option, someone else jumped on that boat and requested it. Hurrah! And then other people offered to write it and then end result of this chain of events is that there now exists a 17,000 word Barrett's Privateers story in the world. HURRAH! (I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet, but I surely will before the day is out.)

Last post of today, I promise!

I wrote 6 stories for Yuletide this year, 2 of which were assignments and 4 of which were treats. I was so excited when I got my assignment, you guys. Seriously, I jumped up and bounced into the other room so that I could tell andrealyn what the fandom was. I bounced. One might even have called it skipping. I also grabbed a pinch hit early on in a fandom I really wanted to write. There may have been bouncing then, too. None of these stories I wrote this year are sexually explicit; in fact, all of them are pretty much gen.

Assignments

Champions of Freedom, Purveyors of Hope, Defenders of Happy Meals [League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: America 1988]
When Max Zorin unleashes a deadly bioweapon known as the mogwai in an effort to sabotage his competition in the microchip industry, the results get out of hand more quickly than he could imagine. Dr. Emmett Brown and the reformed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are on the job, but this might be their most dangerous challenge yet. 5500 words. [Canon.]

Oh, I had such grand plans for this story. I had pages of notes of things I wanted to slip in there, and a four-book structure that broke down the whole adventure like a limited series would have. It was way too ambitious for a Yuletide timeframe. So I kept my original story, scaled back, rearranged the narrative so that it started at what was originally the ending, and somehow (I think) made it work. Instead of fifty references to 80s books/tv shows/movies there are now about a dozen, not counting the members of the league themselves and the three-canon mashup that is the main plot, and I think all things considered I'm pretty happy with that. So thank you, calliopes_pen for a great prompt, and I'm glad you liked your story! (And now that I'm revealed, I'll come back and answer your question shortly. XD)


Moil and the Man: Sixty-Three Ways to be Heard Over the High King of Hoovers [Un Lun Dun - China Mieville]
Revolution seemed pretty easy sometimes, compared to all the work that came after. 3190 words.

I really, really wanted to write a story about Deeba Resham this year, because she is awesome, and if this pinch hit hadn't shown up I probably would have written a treat for the fandom in those mad five days between when assignments are due and when the archive opens. It's always a real treat when the request is exactly what you want to write: Deeba and Hemi, and what happens after the book. fairest1, you rock, and I'm glad you enjoyed!


Treats

I don't really do anything for Yule or Christmas or even New Year's, so I'm not joking when I say that Yuletide itself is what I look forward to most every year as a holiday season in and of itself, and the frenzy of writing treats in the days before the archive opens is a part of that. For the past couple of years I've had specific goals going into the treating frenzy: to write at least one story featuring a chromatic character, at least one story featuring a canon queer character, at least one story that features a female character, and one story for a Canadian canon source, individually or in combination. I met them this year, and finished four of the seven treats I started. (I hope to finish the other three as New Year's Resolution stories, or at least the two that are in tiny-even-for-Yuletide canons.)


Promises like roses in the sunshine [Terriers]
Promises are a lot easier to make than to keep, but Britt's not taking the easy way out anymore. 1000 words. Whyyyy was this show cancelled? D: This is Britt following the end of the last episode, so there are very explicit spoilers if you haven't seen it.

Triton's Cove [The Little Mermaid]
Eric had always known that Ariel could make the choice to return to the sea, that all she had to do was ask. He was as in love with her as he had been from the moment they met, but once the first delirious days of their relationship passed, he couldn't help but wonder if he would wake up one morning and find her gone. 1600 words. Wow, everyone and their brother wrote treats for this one this year! :D I was really, really inspired by the request, and knew I wanted to feel out Eric's POV on the hard realities of marrying a mermaid (not only his, but everyone's).

Lessons in Letting Go [Breakfast with Scot]
When Scot's date shows up on their doorstep, dressed in pea coat and scarf with a halo of dark curls, Sam isn't sure whether Bryce is a boy or a girl. 1000 words. I wasn't even planning to write this at all until I rewatched the movie on Christmas morning, and the archive was still unexpectedly open for treats. I wanted to do a lot of things with it, really. Sexuality is far more complex than just gay or straight, and I wanted to follow the film's lead in not pinning Scot down in those terms. I also wanted to get inside Sam's head for a little while, and at least nod at Eric's continuing coming-out process which is one of the central themes of the film.

Tiger Heart [Double Happiness]
Jade's been living on her own for almost a month before she sees her brother. 700 words. The request was for Jade, and it was so tough deciding which of her relationships to explore (knowing I only had time for something quite short), because there are so many directions it could have gone in. My gut told me Winston, because he's the one present in the movie by his absence, something both very relevant to the story and also something that leaves a lot of room for exploration.

You may notice that there was no "day the fourth". You may not. That would be because I instead watched tv and read a book and worked on a project that I've had on my plate for almost a year. Ahhh, there's nothing like procrastination. It's an essay about the year I spent abroad and I just didn't realize how emotional it was going to make me to write it. I should have gotten to this point six months ago, given myself some time to get over it and gone back and edited, but instead I'm trying to push through the entire process in a couple of days. Let this be a lesson to me. /o\

In looking at what I've recced, and what other people have recced, I really feel like 2010 is the year of the crossover for Yuletide.

( 5 recs in Castle, The Golden Girls/Deadwood, Fantastic Mr Fox, Gunless, and No Reservations/Chronicles of Narnia )

So I went over to andrealyn's parents' place yesterday and we marathoned all of Doctor Who Series Five in her parents' home theatre and it was amaaaaazing. A few of the episodes I hadn't even rewatched since they first aired. It's hard to go from a screen the size of a wall back to watching tv on my netbook, man.

Then I got home and I was dead tired, and I couldn't figure out why until I remembered that I'd been up sick all morning before we went out. Somehow the miracle of ten straight hours of Doctor Who completely wiped it from my memory for a little while. And in conclusion, that's why my Yuletide recs list from yesterday is so short.

( 3 recs in Kitchen Confidential, Echo Bazaar/Hotel California, and Disney Princess Superheroes )

I wasn't going to do my yuletide sign-up as soon as the form opened, but I was still up and it was the wee hours of the morning across North America and odds were that a lot of people had gone to bed rather than waiting so I figured, since I was ready, I would just get it in there. And now for the traditional letter to my yuletide writer, to be opened on the occasion of our matching.

( Dear Yuletide Writer: )

Okay, so! Reveals foraiholidaybash are going up in a few short hours! Which means if you want to make any guesses as to what I wrote, you need to do it now.

I'm actually pretty sure that one of my stories is a dead giveaway, but...I wrote two. So, if anyone guesses both of my stories, I'll totally write a ficlet as a prize. Is that too hard? I hope not. :D (Okay, if you just get one I might pony up too. Depending on if/how many people get both.)

Comments are screened. Go to!

(If you want to try to guess my yuletide stories too, have at, but I think that's probably a much, much harder task. I wrote five - three 1000+ words and two treats of less than 1000 words - and none of them were AI. If anyone guesses any one of them*, I'll totally write a prize ficlet of your choice, but given the size of the archive, I feel that odds are against it, my friends.)

*Offer void if I told you already.

So it's December 23, which means it's 21 years since our house burnt down. (Which makes me feel old as the hills let me tell you.) It's sort of weird to think about now, because it just doesn't have any impact on my life anymore, but I always remember the date, and sometimes I look back and wonder just how my life would be different now if it hadn't happened.

Anyway.

I've spent more holidays alone than with my family these last few years so I don't generally think of it as that big a deal. After all, for four years I had to work every Christmas Eve/Day/Boxing Day, so I'd just go visit my family in January or April or whatever and it wasn't a big deal. I actually really liked just having a couple of days off work all to myself to stuff my face and go to the movies and read the vast amounts of fic that arrive when the Yuletide archive opens. But this year a couple of days off aren't special because I've had nothing but for months now, and I'm not going home to see my family because I can't afford to, not because I'm working. And it kind of sucks, actually.

I'm not really all that emo about it, I think I've just been feeling kind of invisible lately and could use some love and affection. And hugs. And my family's always been good for that stuff. :) I did win $10 on a scratch ticket from one of my brothers, though, so at least that's something! It's not a hug, but ten dollars is ten dollars.

If anyone wanted to give some drive-by affection, though, I definitely wouldn't say no. I don't usually (well, ever) do love memes and things like that, but you know. There comes a time when you've gotta swallow your pride and admit that you could really use some.

And you know, if anyone in the GTA wants to go see Sherlock Holmes with me on Friday afternoon, I'd be down with that. :)

I was going to write the story of my adventure in getting my hands on my source canon for Yuletide this year, once I discovered that my own copy of the book had gone missing, but I've lost my motivation somewhat over the past month and a half so let it suffice to say that I live in Toronto and yet had to order a Gordon Korman book, used, from Florida. Insanity.


So, without further digression, my Yuletide story for this year:

Formerly Known As
Don't Care High, PG-13, Paul/f, Sheldon/Paul, 19,000 words
A new year, a new scheme, a new relationship and a whole new Don Carey High.
Written for starfishchick for Yuletide 2008

I was so excited to get this request, you have no idea. XD I wrote Son of Interflux last year at the last minute for a double default, and had so much fun that I offered both it and Don't Care High this year, two of my favourite Gordon Korman books ever (the third is I Want to Go Home, the first Korman I ever read, but I knew I didn't own that one). I ended up not even being able to start the story till December thanks to the above dilemma (Florida, seriously), and then somehow the original idea kept growing and growing till I had a story of almost 20,000 words. I ended up being one of those people who uploaded at the last minute (I literally uploaded, said bye, and ten minutes later I was out the door on the way to the airport), but I swear it wasn't due to procrastination. XD


And then in addition to my main story, I ended up with most of Christmas Eve free, and wrote three treats:

You Mixed Up Siciliano
Mambo Italiano, PG, 1500 words
Nino gets tired of the lies, especially the ones to himself.
Written for cherryice

This wasn't exactly a pinch hit, but the requests were some of the ones that were lingering right up till the last minute and so I absolutely promised I would write something just in case the pinch hit didn't come through. The funny part is that I bought this movie for my mother for Christmas, because she enjoyed it so much when she watched it at my place, so the entire time I was writing this it was sitting there in the bedroom with me, wrapped, and I absolutely could not pull it out and open it and review the canon. True story! XD

Ingenue
Slings & Arrows, PG-13, 1200 words, Geoffrey/Kate
It's like being back in the New Burbage of seven years ago, and all that's changed are the parts people play.
Written for ninamazing

I can't remember how I first stumbled across this request, but my first reaction was "Oh, that is so wrong!" This was followed almost immediately by, "Oh, I have to write that!" so I'm glad I managed to find the time. This is absolutely a story I just never would have written on my own, and am so glad I got the chance to write!

The Art of Stealing Souls
Sons of Anarchy, PG-13, 1200 words
A life told in photographs.
Written for vickyocean

I wasn't even watching Sons of Anarchy when Yuletide sign-ups went up. Hell, I wasn't even watching it when the deadline passed. It was what I had copied onto my netbook to watch on the plane and when I was at my mother's house, and I finished watching the whole first series in the three days before I wrote this. The whole thing was just great timing; I was excited about the fandom and the request showed up to be filled. This was uploaded literally six seconds before the counter ran down, so I wish I had a little more time to flesh it out, but I'm still really happy with how it turned out.


Yuletide was, as it has been ever since the challenge started, one of the highlights of my fannish year. I absolutely have to thank uschickens for writing a wonderful Ten Inch Hero story for me - which I recced here - and also the organizers for another wonderful Yuletide. Oh, and also every single other person who participated, because without everyone it would've been just... less awesome. XD