Mira Mira off the wall...

Dear Scribbler,

I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet: partly because I've been writing a lot of these letters recently, partly because I'm hoping the prompts provide enough detail on their own, and partly because I don't want to impose too many limits on how you approach characters and fandoms you probably have your own strong thoughts and feelings about.

That said, some themes you might have noticed that I like include taking a look at the characters post-canon, creative worldbuilding and systems of magic, and friends working together (and maybe even becoming more than friends along the way). I also appreciate humor, characters having to make choices that aren't always clear-cut, and stories that at least end with some ray of hope even if they don't end happily.

I think I've addressed all the ships I care about for these fandoms in the prompts, but I will never, ever be disappointed with a gen story. If you do write something on the more mature end of the spectrum, I'd far rather have an awkward first time than sexy perfection, and my kinks don't extend much past light bondage (though I do have a thing for magic users getting creative with their abilities during the proceedings).

Anyway, prompts are provided below for reference. If you need more to go on, please feel free to look at some of my other letters or my AO3 account. Good luck, and have fun; I'm looking forward to reading!

( Matilda )

( Calvin and Hobbes )

( Young Wizards )

( Chronicles of Chrestomanci )

It's fest reveal time for Remix and Beholder! (And boy, am I depressed this is the last time I'll get to say that about the latter.) First, the stories written for me:

Remix:
Like a Bull in a Joke Shop, by iulia_linnea  (remixed from Cost-Benefit Analysis).  The original is a silly dialogue-only gen ficlet about Alastor Moody's failed attempt to become a shop clerk.  (I was originally going to do a "five things" story where Moody would go through several misguided career choices before finally winding up at MLE, but ran out of energy after the first installment.)  The remix keeps the humor and the style, but adds a great deal of enjoyable backstory - much of it involving a character I only included as an afterthought, and may now need to adjust my headcanon to incorporate.

Beholder:
Could Not Love You Any Better, by katmarajade, a terribly sweet (but never cloying) Charity Burbage/Amelia Bones romance.  I'm always a sucker for a good Amelia pairing, and as it turns out, Charity is an inspired choice.  The fic captures the insecurities that beset even the most established of couples from time to time in a way that rings true to life, with a delightful resolution and too many clever details that help flesh out the characters and the relationship to list.


( And now for my work... )

Next up, Not Prime Time and...well, I guess we'll have to see, won't we?

For today's recommendations by other people, I'm going to confine myself to non-Harry Potter stories not written for me or by friends.  One below, two under the cut for spoilers.  All gen (or with background pairings), and content shouldn't be problematic unless you're really just in the mood for fluff.

Chasing Normal by dotfic - "There was this one time I saved the world..." (Justice League/Justice League Unlimited)

I don't remember how I stumbled across this one at all, but I love it.  It's probably the most accessible of these recommendations if you're not familiar with the canon, and you don't need to have read the other stories in the series to follow along.  The plot is simple - ordinary guy gets superpowers through freak lab accident - but the "ordinary guy" is simultaneously relatable and more special than even he realizes in the way he handles the situation, and the powers are really clever, and it's just a ton of fun.

( Homeward Bounders and Neverwhere recs )

Um, so, first of all, hi. Depression + overwork = really bad combination. I've been around; just too exhausted and uninspired to say anything, let alone do any writing. But I did manage to pull myself together for Yuletide, so here's hoping 2014 will be better.

Before I post my stuff, all due praise for my gift fic, A Night Out by Syksy, which is the sweet and funny Cats of Grand Central story I have been craving lo these many Yuletides.  No real familiarity with canon required (though you might need a glossary for some of the terms), so if you've ever wanted a cat's take on Madam Butterfly or opera in general, check it out.

My main assignment was All the Mirrored Ways, a Justice League/Justice League Unlimited story starring Shayera Hol for yhlee/etothey (who also wrote some awesome Cyteen stories that deserve a look).  It relies very heavily on a lot of moments of canon divergence, so not the most newbie-friendly story, but I loved having an excuse to write in the fandom and the conceit seems to have gone over well.

And then, because I was so freaking excited to be engaging in creative activity again, I started on the treats.  (Recipients whose other stories I haven't commented on, please don't think I don't love you; I'm just not familiar with your fandoms).

Won't Be Long Now for littledust, which by happy coincidence functions both as a post-canon stand-alone and as a sequel for my other In the Heights Yuletide fic.  I loved the prompt (Vanessa helps Nina in her foray into politics), and I love these characters, and I really wish I'd had more time for this one.  Maybe I'll finish the trilogy as a New Year's Resolution.

What We May Be for ironed_orchid, a.k.a. the other other other other Galaxy Quest fic.  Not that I'm really complaining, since it's more about character dynamics than the fandom meta-commentary that makes the source material so great, and I think it got a boost from all the other recs.  And writing dialogue for Alan Rickman characters is just fun.

This Be the Verse for hollimichele (who wrote the Galaxy Quest fic that got recced all over the place - and deservedly so - along with a Young Wizards story I really enjoyed).  Another one I wish I'd had more time to play with, since I loved the idea of Matilda meeting her brother again and then never actually got around to the meeting, but I figured I could at least give her the next best person to talk to.  And of course, since it's the story I scrambled to finish up just as Madness was closing, it's now the most popular thing I've ever written in terms of kudos and comments.  (Again, not that I'm complaining.)

So, how has everyone been?

Dear rarewomen Author,

Thank you for writing for me! Hopefully you've gotten some sense of my preferences from my signup, but just in case: I like history, backstory, and little details that enhance canon, as well as minor characters and bits of humor. I'm okay with sad endings and character deaths, but I don't like torture or unrelenting darkfic that doesn't allow for any hope. My romantic preferences are pretty vanilla (no rape, incest, unexpected bodily fluids, etc.), and if you don't want to write sex or any pairings whatsoever, I won't mind.

( More specific notes on my requested fandoms and characters )

Good luck, and thank you again!

Okay, so official Yuletide prompt? General plot is in place (though some very critical details remain to be hammered out) and I have some key anchoring lines of dialogue, but that's as far as I've gotten. Crazy crossover treat inspired by other fandoms the recipient's mentioned in his/her journal? Rapidly spiraling into an intricate multi-fic AU involving characters s/he hasn't even mentioned. I'm beginning to think the reason I've never felt the need to "expand my creativity" through recreational substances is that my muse drops enough acid for the both of us.

Anyway, meme entries!

( Day 13 )

( Day 14 )

( Day 15 )

Welp, so much for getting things done in their allotted time frame. (Don't even ask about NaNoWriMo. I've decided that if I do the writing prep that would have allowed me to get further than a one-paragraph concept pitch had I done it in advance, I'll count that as a win.)

The good news is, I do have some reason for distraction: I start work on Monday! And I have been writing little bits of fic in the meantime, including a couple of pieces on my favorite Harry Potter family, the Boneses. Very depressing pieces, granted, but I had to balance the 2001: A Space Odyssey crossover somehow.

Anyway, I promised myself I'd finish this meme, and I will. Just not on any guaranteed schedule. Let's see how far I can get today before I get bored or devolve into rambling.

( Day 10 )

( Day 11 )

( Day 12 )

Sorry for skipping yesterday; got a little distracted by Lev Grossman's The Magician King. (Also finally bought Dance with Dragons, but that's going to take longer to get through, and I promised I'd hold off on really delving in until the job search was going better.) I'll probably post a proper review in a bit, but I think I need to digest it a little first. Initial reaction: much like the first book, while I love several of the parts, they don't add up to a satisfying whole. Only this time, I have much more concrete reasons for finding the whole dissatisfying, and I really wish someone had warned me about one of them in particular.

In the meantime, onward with the meme!

( Day 7 )

( Day 8 )

*glances over last question* Wow, that came out more confrontational than I intended. Maybe I'm angrier about the book than I thought.

Whoops, fallen a bit off-schedule. Let's fix that.

( Day 4 )

( Day 5 )