All told, I wrote five stories for Yuletide in 2018. Besides the two Renault fic I wrote, there were "Joust on Vellum" (medieval manuscripts), "Flight at Christmas" (Mrs Pollifax), and "The Dapple Flows into the Dawl" (Lud-in-the-Mist). From which one may correctly conclude that no one requested Forever Knight that year—besides me that is—for, if they had, I would certainly have contrived to come up with something, whatever they'd asked for.

"Joust on Vellum" was written for oneirad. Odd illustrations in medieval manuscripts were a nonce fandom that Yuletide; and several writers essayed their own takes on the subject. The "old parchment" background represents the source material; and the border around the story is dominated by a broad band of oak, representing the tables and desks in the scriptorium of the monastery. This is light oak because it darkens with age, and the furnishings back then would have been newly made. For further decoration, I snipped out a number of details from pictures of actual illuminated manuscripts—being sure, of course, to include a jousting snail.

"Flight at Christmas" was written for philomytha. With no idea how to "Pollifax" the webpage design, I decided to go for a Christmas theme. For the main background I used a tile of snowy branches, laying over it my usual animated snow graphic. The border panel is red, green, gold, and tartan, with touches of ice and snow.

The Dapple Flows into the Dawl" was written for moon_custafer. It's a brief postscript to Hope Mirrlees' fantasy, Lud-in-the-Mist, which is a great favourite of mine. I don't think I've ever seen it requested in an exchange before: it is one of the rarest of fandoms. I was utterly delighted to write a treat based on it. To illustrate the story, I modified a layout that I'd created some time before, but never used. The main background is a variant of brown128.jpg in shades of beige and aqua blue. The dominant panel in the border is a muted aqua green tile from BoogieJack.com, which I've used before. Here, it is combined with a glistening pale blue variant of Heather's Animations' gold-refraction.jpg, and a light variant of marb032.jpg from GRSites.com. To glitz all this up a bit, I added a couple of narrow ripply cream tones. All in all, quite a variety of shades were used. Nevertheless, they produce an overall pale, cool pastel impression. Very dainty, I think. Perhaps too much so. As an accent, therefore, I outlined the panel with a dark brown texture.

For this year's fkficfest, my original intention was to write the story I had failed to complete the last year—the more so since one of the three prompts was "déjà vu"; and I could clearly see a way to work it in. So I got out the newspaper clippings again, sorted them even more finely, and began to read. Sadly, just as last year, I found it extremely difficult to come to grips with my memories. In the end, therefore, I decided to write on a very different topic, i.e. Nick's relationship with his master, LaCroix; and I slanted my story to reflect instead the prompt "do over".

"Knight of the Rose" draws particularly on the flashbacks to the first-season episode "Dance by the Light of the Moon", in which LaCroix brings Nick across in 1228, and the second-season episode "Be My Valentine", in which LaCroix falls in love with Nick's sister, Fleur. In the latter, LaCroix agrees to give up the idea of bringing Fleur across, but only for a price: some day, Nick will give his own lover up as recompense. This ties in very nicely with events in the present day story. However, when one thinks about the actual terms of the bargain, they make very little sense. Why would LaCroix give up the love of his life for Nick's sake—the more so since, in "Dance by the Light of the Moon", he only brought him across because Janette asked him to?

From my first viewing of "Be My Valentine", I felt highly suspcious about the motives of TPTB. I'm sure other fans felt the same. If you got outside the secondary world to look at the primary-world motives of producers and writers, it does seem very much as though Fleur was created to be a "safe" (i.e., heterosexual) romantic substitute for Nick himself. And that was before I knew that, while Season One was in production, Nigel Bennett apparently thought LaCroix's obsession with Nick was sexually based. So do a lot of fans. In fact, there's a whole factionsworth who think that Nick reciprocates, if only in an on-again off-again manner.

With no disrespect to Fleur, who is a charming character in her own right, there is just something awfully convenient in having LaCroix fall in love with Nick's sister!

So "Knight of the Rose" was written to throw some light on all of this.

The association of Fleur with white roses in "Be My Valentine" not only gave me the title of the story, but also the theme for the webpage. The rose background comes from Silvia Hartmann Nature. Granted, the flowers are actually blush and ivory; but the hint of colour adds depth. It also meant that I slightly retinted the roses I used to decorate the page. These come from Flamin's Florals; but are old graphics that can be found elsewhere as well.

I decided that the border around the central panel should be contrastive; and, since flowers go with leaves, green tones seemed appropriate. The broad shimmery band is a variant of gold-refraction.jpg, a graphic that I got from Heather's Animations. The twists are one of many variants of 321Clipart's bg64.jpg. I usually use them with a mere one-pixel cellpadding as a substitute for the border feature on the nested tables; and, if you look closely, you can see that a light green variant has been used in this way to edge the shimmery green band. However, a dark green variant (reduced to half-size and used with thicker cellpadding) creates the appearance of a rope edging on both the inside and outside of the border.

Although originally a gift exchange, in 2019, FK Fic Fest wa run as a prompt challenge. In honour of its tenth anniversary, the prompt was "ten years".

My original intention was to use the freedom of not having a specific recipient to write a story that I have had in mind since 2010. While it did not directly involve "ten years", I was sure I could work the words in somewhere. So I spent quite a bit of time hunting out and sorting a large number of newspaper clippings that I had kept. However, as in the previous year, I had trouble getting down to actual writing. This time, it was because the events I wished to work into the story had been hard to live through, for I had been contiguous to them, even though they had not impacted me personally. In the end, I simply ran out of time to complete a story of the length I envisaged. Instead, at the last minute, I brainstormed a different plot while walking home from my weekly singing lesson, whipped straight into writing it, and posted just before the deadline.

"Know Why I Cry" is a postscript to the Season One episode, "Only the Lonely", very popular with fans since its flashback describes how Nick and Natalie first meet. The main plot involves a serial killer who finally targets Natalie; and, as so often happens in TV shows, the climax is her rescue. In real life, of course, things could never simply end at that point. Natalie would be a witness—indeed, the key witness—in the subsequent prosecution. However, the show was old-fashioned even for its day: there was little continuity; so each episode was independent, meaning there was no follow-up. "Know Why I Cry" picks up, therefore, some months later on the eve of the trial, and deals with the lingering effect on Natalie, who is obviously suffering some measure of PTSD,

To reflect her depression, I decided to use dark neutral tones in the webpage. The main background tile is one of the many variants that I have made from GRSites' brown128.jpg, this time in shades of charcoal/brown/tan feathered with a dull cool grey. The border arround the central panel picks up these shades, with bands of warm brown marble and dark teal, edged with lines of copper. One of the teal graphics comes from Absolute Cross; and there is a decorative button from Ambographics Art.

Over the past eighteen months, I've participated in fkficfest three times. I wrote "Gone Where the Goblins Go" in 2018, "Know Why I Cry" in 2019, and "Knight of the Rose" in 2020.

FK Fic Fest was originally created as a gift exchange; and "Gone Where the Goblins Go" was written for purselover2 to the prompt, "Gen Request, Natalie and Nick, celebrating something". I decided to write about Natalie's relationship with her grandmother, Nana Tash, whose ghost appeared to her in the third season episode, "Dead of Night", in which we learn that Natalie refused to visit her in hospital. Although by the time of the episode, Natalie has had time to regret this, it takes quite a lot of rancour to refuse to visit someone who is dying. So I thought that, however perverse it might seem to an outsider, she might actually have felt that her Nana's death was worth celebrating.

This proved to be a difficult story to write: hard enough, in fact, that I had to ask for a brief extension. I framed "Gone Where the Goblins Go" around Natalie's visiting Nana Tash's lawyer and the reading of the will; and used her inheritance to explain her change of apartments between Season One and Season Two. However, my own mother died in late 2015; and, as the family member still living in the same city, I perforce was the one who had to deal with much of the wind-up of the estate—sorting personal and household things, in particular. As I wrote, some scenes (such as the one in the lawyer's office) brought this all back too keenly; and I kept having to stop for a bit.

I had no particular theme in mind for the webpage, save that the colour scheme should be fairly neutral. For the main background, I therefore chose a tile from Ambographics Art that is in light beige and grey shades with a complex geometric pattern; and used a compatible square button from the same source for decoration. The border around the story panel picks up similar tones, with a slight added glitz from a narrow band featuring an abalone shell tile from Heather's Animations.

Given that my last discussion of Renault-based fan fiction was back at the beginning of 2018 for my newly posted Yulefic, one might be forgiven for thinking I'd have a plethora of new pages to describe. However, the demise of maryrenaultfics, with its frequent little challenges, means that I've only written Charioteer fic for Yuletide. Specifically, two stories in 2018 ("Deckle-Edged" and "Quandary") and one in 2019 ("Let Me Fend for Myself").

Sadly, it's not a fandom often requested in other gift exchanges; and, in the last few years, I've had a lot of trouble getting myself stuck into stories unless I've a recipient to feel guilty about.

( Read more... )

Was it really February when I last posted? I know I've been doing so less and less (and never as often as some), but still! I've certainly done quite a bit of writing since then. Just not here.

That post was a round up of last year's fic. I said then:

I honestly feel that in some ways my biggest accomplishment has been finally putting Filezilla on the old laptop I've been using. I have thus been able to upload to my website. As I suspect pretty well everyone who reads my fic does so on AO3, this probably seems trivial. However, I do like designing pages for the stories I write; and it has been frustrating having them waiting around on the computer with no way to put them up.

Now, I used to regularly write here about the new pages I'd made for my website. It's well over eighteen months since my old PC broke and I started using my mother's laptop; and—despite the delay in getting Filezilla on it—it has, at this point, been quite a few months since I started to upload new pages again. Looking back, I see that my 2017 Yuletide stories were the last fic whose webpages I wrote about here. It's long past high time that I got caught up!

When I take a look at my 2018 year-in-review, the list is headed by my first Legends of Tomorrow ficlet. Given that I watched and loved most of the CW Arrowverse shows from the first episode of Arrow, it's surprising that it took me so long to get the urge to write fic for them. The commonality of themes and textures I've used in their webpages makes it sensible to deal with them all together.

Anyway, that's as good a place as any to start.

( Read more... )

Running a little late, but I've been doing this annually so....

Most of last year's fic was, once again, written for gift exchanges. As I was a bit "written out" after Yuletide, I felt it better to take a short break at the beginning of 2019. Then I signed up for the Worldbuilding Exchange, followed by the new Wayback Exchange (for which I wrote a pinch hit), Not Prime Time, FK Fic Fest (of course!), Remix Revival, the Exchange at Fic Corner, Trick or Treat, and Yuletide. For the last of these, I wrote six stories—though one of these was both short and late, and went into the Madness collection.

Having said all this, I honestly feel that in some ways my biggest accomplishment has been finally putting Filezilla on the old laptop I've been using. I have thus been able to upload to my website. As I suspect pretty well everyone who reads my fic does so on AO3, this probably seems trivial. However, I do like designing pages for the stories I write; and it has been frustrating having them waiting around on the computer with no way to put them up. So those links are included below along with the AO3 ones.

( The list: )

Let me thank you right up front for whatever you are going to write. Although you've seen the tags on my sign-up, I know that most people like more than that to go on, so I hope this letter will prove helpful. I like all these fandoms equally; so I've just put them in alphabetical order.

( Read more... )

greerwatson on AO3.

First, let me thank you for writing me a story in one of the fandoms we share. I'm excited about all of them. They're listed in alphabetical order, so as not to play favourites.


GENERAL POINTS:

• I love worldbuilding and character pieces—stories that explore more deeply—through backstory, or by elaborating the setting/history/culture or exploring people's motivations and personal interactions.


• I prefer gen; but I'm not asking you to ignore canon relationships. However, I don't care for anything more than PG-13: explicit sexual detail is definitely a DNW for me. For pairings, my tastes are pretty vanilla.


• I love casefic; and, more generally, I like stories that are canon-compliant. The general exception to this is ignoring canonical character death if you want. (There may be other specific exceptions.)


• I'm okay with violence if necessary to the story; but not gore for the sake of gore. On the whole, I prefer not to have characters die in the story; but references to canonical deaths are okay. (I'm fine with having original characters murdered in casefic, and that sort of thing.)


• I enjoy comedy—being able to recognize the ridiculous when it pops up; also wit and wordplay. Having said that, I totally leave it up to you whether you write a serious or comic story—or a serious story with comic interludes.


• No second-person fic, please. My feelings on first person vary. As a rule, I don't care for it with TV fandoms; but it is definitely okay for book canons that were written that way by the author.
  

( Read more... )

First, let me thank you for writing me a story in one of the fandoms we share. I'm excited about all of them. (They're listed in alphabetical order, so as not to play favourites.) I should also say up front that I'm easy on getting either a trick or a treat.


GENERAL POINTS:

• I love worldbuilding and character pieces—stories that explore more deeply—through backstory, or by elaborating the setting/history/culture or exploring people's motivations and personal interactions.


• I prefer gen; but I'm not asking you to ignore canon relationships. However, I don't care for anything more than PG-13: explicit sexual detail is definitely a DNW for me. For pairings, my tastes are pretty vanilla.


• I love casefic; and, more generally, I like stories that are canon-compliant. The general exception to this is ignoring canonical character death if you want. (There may be other specific exceptions.)


• I'm okay with violence if necessary to the story; but not gore for the sake of gore. On the whole, I prefer not to have characters die in the story; but references to canonical deaths are okay. (I'm fine with having original characters murdered in casefic, and that sort of thing.)


• I enjoy comedy: being able to recognize the ridiculous when it pops up; also wit and wordplay. Having said that, I totally leave it up to you whether you write a serious or comic story—or a serious story with comic interludes.


• No second person fic, please. First person is okay, especially for book canons that were written that way by the author.
  

( Read more... )

Also borrowed from toujours_nigel (here). This time, the idea is to put up the last line of each of the last ten stories I have posted.

So here goes:( Read more... )

Borrowed once again from toujours_nigel, whose own is here. We did this last year, didn't we? What goes around....

The idea is to put up the first line of each of the last ten stories I have posted, and see if there are any commonalities or patterns. Going back ten takes me right where I left off last year. How tidy.

So here goes:( Read more... )

Let me thank you right up front for whatever you are going to write. Although you've seen the tags on my sign-up, I know that most people like more than that to go on, so I hope this letter will prove helpful.

( Read more... )

Copped off toujours_nigel, who got it from lilliburlero.

Rules: Go to your AO3 works page, expand all the filters, and answer the following questions!

( Read more... )

When I did this last year, I wrote, "All in all, an adequate but not very exciting showing. I'm reasonably pleased with what I wrote; but I had a hard time getting fingertips to keyboard."

This year I wrote the same number of stories as last year, i.e. fourteen. A number of these were fairly short, including all five of my Yuletide fic. On the other hand, I did quite a long story for the Worldbuilding Exchange; and I think that my FK Fic Fest story, which touched on things that recalled the months after my mother died, turned out well—though some passages took a fair bit out of me.

Sadly, only two stories were Forever Knight, largely because I was the only person requesting it in most exchanges—even Yuletide this year, for which it's always been a hardy perennial. Similarly, I only wrote two stories based on Mary Renault's The Charioteer: the Renault Exchange didn't run again this year; and it's another fandom not much requested, except for Yuletide. On the other hand, this year I wrote several stories for the CW Arrowverse series, particularly The Flash. I've watched those shows since they started, but really only got into them—especially Flash and Legends—a little over a year ago. In addition, I wrote the usual miscellany of odds and ends, some of which are in fandoms that I've never written in before and likely never will again. Yuletide, in particular, always generates a few intriguing rarelit prompts, not to mention weird nonce fandoms. (I mean, battle snails?!!!.) I had fun with those little Yulefic.

Unfortunately, I have to admit the last part of what I wrote last year remains unchanged. Actually getting down to write was sometimes quite difficult. All of the stories were written for gift exchanges: the deadline was very helpful in, eventually, getting my fingertips dancing over the keyboard. Having someone else depending on me to write for them drives me to duty. Fortunately, once I do actually get down to writing, things generally come more easily. It's the getting started....

So doing gift exchanges gets me writing. On the other hand, there's a negative side: one's energy is taken up with writing to other people's prompts. I have a backlog of plot bunnies; and some of them would need fairly long stories to do them justice. Yes: I have a touch of writer's block. Some of that—though only some of that—comes from prompts that I find it hard to come up with an idea for, which in turn leads me to find RL reasons to do anything else but start writing. That I have finally had bookshelves installed in my mother's old bedroom and been shifting boxes round and unpacking means that there's always something else I can justify doing.

At any rate, last year I did Chocolate Box, the Worldbuilding Exchange, Exchange at Fic Corner, Everywoman, Trick or Treat, and Yuletide, as well as picking up a pinch hit for the new Multifandom Trope Fest. Plus, of course, FK Fic Fest: it's now my only fandom-specific exchange. This suggests that I should maybe sign up for fewer gift exchanges, and instead look for treats and pinch hits. Inspiration + deadline may result in less procrastination. For example, the long story I did for the Worldbuilding Exchange was actually an idea that I'd been working out for several months before I signed up. Obviously, I was fortunate in its matching my recipient's wishes. However, if I pick and choose prompts related to stories I already want to write, perhaps I'll be able to get more plot bunnies winkled out of the warren.

Mind you, I do still have an absurd amount sorting and unpacking yet to do around here. Moving in with my mother started five years ago; and she died three years ago. This seems a never-ending process. Then again, I've had two households' worth of goods to reduce to one. It's maybe not so surprising that it takes time.

The last few months have been complicated by the demise of my PC. As a result, I'm using my mother's old laptop. Eventually, of course, I need to buy a new computer; but, as I have other calls on my resources, I'm putting it off for now. As I still haven't put Filezilla on the laptop, I haven't made webpages for the stories written recently. So those stories have only one link.

( The list: )

Borrowed from toujours_nigel, whose own is here. The idea is to put up the first line of each of the last ten stories I have posted, and see if there are any commonalities or patterns. Going back ten covers everything I've done this year as well as the stories I wrote for Yuletide last year. Rather neatly, too: none of the Yulefic has had to be omitted.

So here goes:

• "All good things must come to an end."
  
  "Hot Buttered Crumpets", 5K, written for artemis1000 in the Everywoman gift exchange.
  
  Crossover between The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland. Back in England after the children's first visit to Narnia, Lucy meets the real Alice.



• "This is the Last Will and Testament of me, Natalya Maria Balandin née Sukhareva…."
  
  "Gone Where the Goblins Go", 5K, written for nycmacysgirl in FK Fic Fest.
  
  Forever Knight. Fill between Seasons One and Two, elaborating on the backstory for Natalie that was introduced in the Season Three episode, "Dead of Night". She is reluctant to go to see her grandmother's lawyer when the old lady dies.



• "The heist was, of course, planned to the second."
  
  "Stopped Cold", 17K, written for rivulet027 in the Worldbuilding Exchange.
  
  The Flash (TV series). Some months after Captain Cold returns to Central City after being rescued from the Oculus explosion, the newly formed Rogues pull their first heist. There are unexpected consequences....



• "‘What the hell just happened?’"
  
  "Truth and Lies", 431 words, written for sperrywink in Chocolate Box.
  
  The Flash (TV series). After the episode "Rogue Air", Cisco and Caitlin talk about the attempt to transfer the prisoners from the Pipeline.



• "He kissed her, caressed her—and sank his teeth into her neck."
  
  "To Perfect Her for the Taking", 572 words, written for monicawoe in Chocolate Box.
  
  Forever Knight. LaCroix's perspective on the events in the flashback to the Season Three episode "Trophy Girl", in which Nick drains Liselle, whom his master had intended as his own prey.



• "‘We should’ve kept the emerald,’ said Mick out of the blue."
  
  "Price above Emeralds", 386 words, written for sperrywink in Chocolate Box.
  
  DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Mick talks to Len after the events of the Season One episode "Blood Ties".



• "After becoming a vampire, Javier did not return to Pizarro’s army for long."
  
  "A Tale of Cain and Abel", 2K, written for androcksandthings in Yuletide.
  
  Forever Knight. In 1531, Vachon slowly flies north from Lake Titicaca, eventually arriving in Mexico City. The Inca is ever in pursuit.



• "Let ol’ Screed tell yer, the advan’age o’ rats is ’ow simple they are as prey."
  
  "A Rat's Eye View of the World", 1K, written for ladygray99 in Yuletide.
  
  Forever Knight. Screed's perspective on food and friendship, and his life as a carouche. Written in his own idiosyncratic idiolectal blend of Nadsat and Cockney.



• "‘He never caned me at school.’"
  
  "Don't Insult My Intelligence", 2K, written for moetushie in Yuletide.
  
  The Charioteer. As Bunny drives back to Bridstow after dropping Laurie at the hospital, he considers the implications of their conversation.



• "She was alone."
  
  "Entire of Herself", ~3K, written for swmbo in Yuletide.
  
  Swallows and Amazons series. While the others go sailing, Susan stays behind on Wild Cat Island to set up camp herself. Takes place shortly after The Picts and the Martyrs.

Ye-e-e-s. I can see one obvious thing most of these have in common. As first lines go, they tend to be short and snappy. They're designed to grab you fast and toss you on to the rest of the paragraph, wherein lies the real interest. In fact, seen in isolation, some of them are remarkably uninformative! One would really need the first paragraph, I think, to make much sense of "All good things must come to an end": it's just a saying, and could lead almost anywhere. And "He never caned me at school" is a direct quotation from the novel.

I wonder if, should I go back further, I'd find that this is true of my earlier stories as well? Is this a consistent aspect of my style or a relatively recent evolution?

I did this last year, so....

I only wrote one story more than I did in 2016, fourteen in all. Mostly, they were a fairly average sort of length, plus a couple of ficlets. Sadly, I was not inspired to write any longer fic. (I'm a bit disappointed in myself.)

Most of the stories were written for gift exchanges; and, not for the first time, I got matched with Flo a couple of times. This is fine if I've deliberately angled for it in order to write her a pet fandom-of-the-rarest. Otherwise, it's a nuisance: there's more of a challenge (and more fun) in writing for anyone else.

Sadly, two exchanges I've done in the past, Rarewomen and My Old Fandom, didn't run last year, and seem likely not to do so in the future either. However, I did the new Worldbuilding Exchange, Exchange at Fic Corner, Everywoman, Trick or Treat, and Yuletide. Plus, of course, FK Fic Fest (which has its own special place in my heart!) for the however-manyeth time. In addition, it occurred to me—not for the first time—that the very abrupt ending of Dick Francis's Flying Finish, which I was rereading, left quite a large number of dangling questions. As the Be the First Challenge was just shy of reveals, I had time to dash off a hasty postscript.

All in all, an adequate but not very exciting showing. I'm reasonably pleased with what I wrote; but I had a hard time getting fingertips to keyboard.

( The list: )

I've never done this before; but each year I see friends do it and think I should too, so....

• "Heat in the Kitchen" (website, AO3)
  
  • Forever Knight, 744 words, 25 March

  Not written as a gift for anyone, just a seasonal idea that occurred to me. Posted first to FKFIC-L, which needs more love from all FK fans.



• "A Letter from Abroad" (website, AO3)
  
  • The Charioteer, 1197 words, 14 May, written for fawatson in the Renault Exchange (renaultx)


• "Jean at the Witching Hour" (website, AO3)
  
  • Janet Sandison's Jean Robertson series, 13,886 words, 18 June, written for fawatson in myoldfandom


• "Festival of Festivals" (website, AO3)
  
  • Forever Knight, 2830 words, 25 September, written for brightknightie in fkficfest


• "To , or Not to ," (website, AO3)
  
  • Oxford Comma Example Sentences, 176 words, 7 October, written for baniszew as a New Year's Resolution, i.e. a belated gift to a prompt from the 2015 Yuletide exchange.


• "Star of the Waning Summer" (website, AO3)
  
  • Mary Renault's The Mask of Apollo, words, 724 words, 17 October, written for fawatson in the Trick or Treat Exchange (trickortreatex)


• "The Children of Closti the Clam" (website, AO3)
  
  • Diana Wynne Jones's Dalemark Quartet, 2446 words, 25 October, written for betony in Trick or Treat


• "Command the Signs" (website, AO3)
  
  • Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, 1528 words, 31 October, written for blueteak in Trick or Treat


• "Back in the Saddle" (website, AO3)
  
  • Dick Francis's 10^lb Penalty, 1865 words, 7 November, written for serenade in Trick or Treat


• "A Correspondence between Gentlemen" (website, AO3)
  
  • The Charioteer, 3072 words, 2 December, written for elsa in Yuletide


• "The Rape of the Book" (website, AO3)
  
  • Georgette Heyer's Venetia, 6350 words, 20 December, written for morganmuffle in Yuletide


• "Whisper" (website, AO3)
  
  • Forever, 3510 words, 23 December, written for argylepiratewd in Yuletide


• "The Father, the Son, and the Unholy Ghost" (website, AO3)
  
  • Forever Knight, 3561 words, 24 December, written for astolat in Yuletide

Thirteen stories. I've no idea what it all adds up to in terms of word count. What's clear is that, early in the year, I wrote relatively little compared to the fall/winter. Not surprising, I suppose. In both Trick or Treat and Yuletide I wrote treats in fandoms that are new to me (as far as writing is concerned, that is). Very enticing prompts!

Considering how early the call for Yuletide nominations (and then sign-ups) came this year, it is dispiriting to think how little I've done so far. I have my assignment, of course. But not started it yet. I've copy-pasted a Word doc of potential treats, some of which I definitely want to do, others of which are maybes. Not started any of them.

Up till now, my excuse was Trick or Treat. However, author reveals were almost a week ago; and I've still not started anything for Yuletide.

On the other hand, I dusted the apartment several days ago, vacuumed on Friday, cleaned bathrooms today....

When it comes to traditional stalling tactics, I may be right on course.

Besides my assignment, I wrote three treats. (Well, given the distinction made in this particular gift exchange, they were a mix of "treats" and "tricks".)


"The Children of Closti the Clam" was written for betony, who wanted a story based on Diana Wynne Jones's Dalemark Quartet.

Betony asked for something about the "fascinating internal mythology" of the series; and, among the suggestions, were "whatever becomes of Robin" and "dealing with the consequences of immortality". It is canon that only some of Tanaqui's family turn out to be Undying like their mother; so I wrote futurefic about the next few decades after The Spell-Coats, seen from Tanaqui's perspective as she slowly realizes that some of her siblings are aging while she is not.

I had already written one Dalemark story, though it was not purely in that fandom, being a Time Team fusion. I decided, therefore, to use a variant of that webpage design for "The Children of Closti the Clam". The background is a rather complicated basket weave in a muted tone; and the same graphic was used to make a decorative button. The panel for the story has a border that layers multiple textures in various shades of brown and beige.


"Command the Signs" was written for blueteak, who wanted Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series.

I have always thought that Cooper could have done more with the incongruity of Will Stanton's position as an Old One who is eleven years old and the youngest of a large family, particularly when he is new come to his power. Blueteak's prompt began "I've always loved the way magic creeps into the ordinary in this series, or has lurked in it all along, i.e. the Christmas ornaments." It was, in fact, those Christmas ornaments that sparked the idea—what if Will's family got a good look at the Signs? They did see the first few, albeit only briefly; but, at that time, they were threaded on his belt. Later, though, they were linked together on a gold chain.

I spent quite a long time going through my collection of background tiles trying to find something that would pick up the main motif of the story, i.e. the Six Signs, which are shaped like crosses set in circles. I eventually found one among the graphics I collected from Ambographics Art: it is purple, picked out in gold, and twines these shapes together. The colour scheme is copied in the frame around the story; but, as the fancy background has a rather "flat" look, it was necessary to use graphics with a similar "flat" effect when putting it together.

I did not add any decorative buttons; but, as the story falls naturally into a main section and a coda, I needed some sort of divider. I therefore decided to make one with the Six Signs. Since they have to be capable of fitting on Will's belt, the crosses needed to be fairly slender, affording plenty of space for the leather to slide through. I have to say, the result isn't quite how I'd always envisaged them; but I don't see how else they'd look in practice, given the description in the story. Their order is more or less that described by Cooper in the scene where John Smith links them on the chain.


"Back in the Saddle" was written for serenade, who wanted a story based on Dick Francis's 10^lb Penalty. This was distinctly the last story written, since it was not only finished after the collection opened but was uploaded just before author reveals a week later.

Although the prompt mentioned both "tricks" and "treats", Serenade's suggestions were more along spooky lines; so I wrote a sort of ghost story. It picks up both on the fact that Ben's father, once leader of his party (and hence prime minister), would be expected to call a general election to confirm his position; and on the injury that Ben receives at the end of the book, severe enough to prevent him continuing as an amateur jockey. "Back in the Saddle" sees him out of hospital, once again helping with his father's election campaign.

For the webpage, I picked yet another variant of a graphic that I've used several times before, this time in brown tones. For the frame, I also used brown, with touches of grey. I wanted something suggestive of old stables and riding; so the textures in the frame are mostly leather and stone. Then, rather than use a decorative button, I went trolling the net for clip-art of horses to top and tail the story.