Yuletide Reveal!
This year I wrote 4 stories in 4 fandoms for Yuletide. Two femme-slash, one gen, and one het.
The Essential Function of the Outsider (1522 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Golden Witchbreed - Mary Gentle
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: amari Ruric Orhlandis/ Lynne de Lisle Christie
Characters: amari Ruric Orhlandis, Lynne de Lisle Christie
Summary:
She was alone, and never more so than among those who should have been her own people.
I participated in the TRUE spirit of Yuletide this year by writing a completely inaccessible fic (Every 10th word is in Gentle's own made-up alien language) in a fandom so obscure (first fic in the AO3 for this out of print xeno-anthropological sci-fi romance novel from the 80's) that it was a gift purely from me to the requester, noctaval. And she liked it, so mission accomplished!
It was a tricky story to write, because the canonical narrator, Christie, didn't appeal to me at all. But Ruric, who is her alien Shadow in the text, did. I kept trying to find an entry point in, to tell my own story, and eventually found it in a very distant POV of a human back on Earth, writing about why envoys are necessary. Originally this had an A-B structure, with alternating sections from Ruric and the distant human's POV. But I eventually ended up trimming most of the distant bits, and using just two brief sections from his POV to emphasize that Christie is just as much of an alien to the humans as Ruric is to the Ortheans. Also, it was gen up until, oh, the 22nd, when I managed to slip in some UST for nocatval. I posted this story just an hour before the deadline, and was still fiddling with it up until the 24th.
One very strange thing about this story is that Ruric's narrative voice is very different from her dialog in the text. She presents, at least at first, as a simple, straight-forward, somewhat foul-mouthed soldier. But I found that I couldn't write her internal thoughts that way. It might be a failing on my part, but I think Ruric's presentation of herself is quite different from who she truly IS. And, yes, that made this a far more challenging assignment. I considered trying to make it more accessible, with a glossary and added contextual clued as to the meaning of the alien terms, but decided that it would undermine my point about the gap between alien cultures. I am astonished and delighted that this story received kudos from people other than the intended recipient. It wouldn't have made sense to me without re-reading the book!
I was far too busy to claim any pinch hits, but did manage to write three treats after looking over the prompt list.
The Hard Sell (1095 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: World of Warcraft
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Blax Bottlerocket
Summary:
No goblin ever got rich selling stuff that people actually needed.
Voleuse was a pinch-hitter. I always try to write something for those unsung heroes who write for other people without any guaranteed gift in return. She prompted that she's only been playing World of Warcraft for a few months, but loved the backstory, and would like to see any character or factions response to the new pandaren race.
I play WoW on a role-play server, and even though there's not ALL that much role-play going on, I tend to stay in character. I've been playing both a goblin and a pandaren lately, so it was very easy for me to slip into those mind-sets and write a treat. Blax Bottlerocket isn't some hero or tragic figure in lore. He's a goblin merchant who wanders around Orgrimmar with a cart, selling toys. I had fun with this one, and was surprised that it ended up in the main collection with over 1000 words. I even saw it on someone's rec list, which quite delights me!
A Sister's Test (243 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Honor Harrington Series - David Weber
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary:
The letter was found sewn into the binding of a Bible in the archives of the Barbara Bancroft Society.
Luthe was looking for a story that investigated the experience of homosexuals on Grayson, before or after they become part of the Alliance. And so I ended up writing what is essentially a Victorian lesbian epistolary romance for a treat. With polygamy and decontamination drills. *blinks* I decided to leave off any names, because this type of communication would be dangerous at the time. But yes, I used the summary to try and imply that Barbara Bancroft is a dyke. Just cause.
Shower Scene (390 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Life (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese
Summary:
The fact it's inappropriate doesn't stop Charlie from reacting to his partner half-naked in a shower.
I've vidded Life, but never written any fic for it, so I read through all the prompts this Yuletide for inspiration. 7iris commented on how damaged both Crews and Reese are, at first, and how those broken bits fit together to make them partners. I flashed immediately on the shower scene from the pilot, but wasn't sure what to do with it. I actually ended up writing this ficlet on the 25th. 'Shower Scene' was meant to be a working title, but I fell in love with it. Because the media keeps showing us women crying in showers as if it's erotic, and I don't know about you, but I fall for it every time. I'm still not sure if this one is gen or het. Opinions?
The Essential Function of the Outsider (1522 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Golden Witchbreed - Mary Gentle
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: amari Ruric Orhlandis/ Lynne de Lisle Christie
Characters: amari Ruric Orhlandis, Lynne de Lisle Christie
Summary:
She was alone, and never more so than among those who should have been her own people.
I participated in the TRUE spirit of Yuletide this year by writing a completely inaccessible fic (Every 10th word is in Gentle's own made-up alien language) in a fandom so obscure (first fic in the AO3 for this out of print xeno-anthropological sci-fi romance novel from the 80's) that it was a gift purely from me to the requester, noctaval. And she liked it, so mission accomplished!
It was a tricky story to write, because the canonical narrator, Christie, didn't appeal to me at all. But Ruric, who is her alien Shadow in the text, did. I kept trying to find an entry point in, to tell my own story, and eventually found it in a very distant POV of a human back on Earth, writing about why envoys are necessary. Originally this had an A-B structure, with alternating sections from Ruric and the distant human's POV. But I eventually ended up trimming most of the distant bits, and using just two brief sections from his POV to emphasize that Christie is just as much of an alien to the humans as Ruric is to the Ortheans. Also, it was gen up until, oh, the 22nd, when I managed to slip in some UST for nocatval. I posted this story just an hour before the deadline, and was still fiddling with it up until the 24th.
One very strange thing about this story is that Ruric's narrative voice is very different from her dialog in the text. She presents, at least at first, as a simple, straight-forward, somewhat foul-mouthed soldier. But I found that I couldn't write her internal thoughts that way. It might be a failing on my part, but I think Ruric's presentation of herself is quite different from who she truly IS. And, yes, that made this a far more challenging assignment. I considered trying to make it more accessible, with a glossary and added contextual clued as to the meaning of the alien terms, but decided that it would undermine my point about the gap between alien cultures. I am astonished and delighted that this story received kudos from people other than the intended recipient. It wouldn't have made sense to me without re-reading the book!
I was far too busy to claim any pinch hits, but did manage to write three treats after looking over the prompt list.
The Hard Sell (1095 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: World of Warcraft
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Blax Bottlerocket
Summary:
No goblin ever got rich selling stuff that people actually needed.
Voleuse was a pinch-hitter. I always try to write something for those unsung heroes who write for other people without any guaranteed gift in return. She prompted that she's only been playing World of Warcraft for a few months, but loved the backstory, and would like to see any character or factions response to the new pandaren race.
I play WoW on a role-play server, and even though there's not ALL that much role-play going on, I tend to stay in character. I've been playing both a goblin and a pandaren lately, so it was very easy for me to slip into those mind-sets and write a treat. Blax Bottlerocket isn't some hero or tragic figure in lore. He's a goblin merchant who wanders around Orgrimmar with a cart, selling toys. I had fun with this one, and was surprised that it ended up in the main collection with over 1000 words. I even saw it on someone's rec list, which quite delights me!
A Sister's Test (243 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Honor Harrington Series - David Weber
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary:
The letter was found sewn into the binding of a Bible in the archives of the Barbara Bancroft Society.
Luthe was looking for a story that investigated the experience of homosexuals on Grayson, before or after they become part of the Alliance. And so I ended up writing what is essentially a Victorian lesbian epistolary romance for a treat. With polygamy and decontamination drills. *blinks* I decided to leave off any names, because this type of communication would be dangerous at the time. But yes, I used the summary to try and imply that Barbara Bancroft is a dyke. Just cause.
Shower Scene (390 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Life (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese
Summary:
The fact it's inappropriate doesn't stop Charlie from reacting to his partner half-naked in a shower.
I've vidded Life, but never written any fic for it, so I read through all the prompts this Yuletide for inspiration. 7iris commented on how damaged both Crews and Reese are, at first, and how those broken bits fit together to make them partners. I flashed immediately on the shower scene from the pilot, but wasn't sure what to do with it. I actually ended up writing this ficlet on the 25th. 'Shower Scene' was meant to be a working title, but I fell in love with it. Because the media keeps showing us women crying in showers as if it's erotic, and I don't know about you, but I fall for it every time. I'm still not sure if this one is gen or het. Opinions?