Patron Saint of Falling Over Things

I haven't posted fic here for about 6 months. I'm supposed to be using Dreamwidth as my fic archive back up for if AO3 ever goes down. That's not good archiving behaviour.

Also, hi! I am fine and lilacsigil is fine! We're almost to the end of all the current medical shenanigans. It's very tiring.

Anyway, here's Wonderwall my fics:


Multifandom Drabblefest July 2019
La Fille Mal Gardée
also at the Archive
(The Exorcist, Rated General, Kat/Verity)

Unguarded Moment
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated General, Harold/John)

Rando things
All the Better to Eat You With
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Explicit, Root/Shaw)

Shipoween
Five Things They Don't Tell You When You're Dating a Werewolf
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Teen, Lionel/John)

Transfer of Tenancy
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Mature, John/Harold)

Spicy Advent
Half Past Nude
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Explicit, Root/Shaw)

Yuletide
The Witch and the Water
also at the Archive
(A Discovery of Witches, Rated General, Sophie and Diana)

Past Imperfect, Future Unknown
Blueshift
also at the Archive
(Star Trek: Discovery/Doctor Who, Rated Teen, Thirteenth Doctor & prime!Philippa Georgiou)

The Man in the (Summer Weight) Suit
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Teen, Harold/John)

Chocolate Box
Know Your Rights (All Three of Them)
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Mature, Carl Elias and Anthony Marconi and Bruce Moran)

Best Suited
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Teen, Zoe/John)

Hunting Strategy
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Explicit, Control/Schiffman)

Stepping Out
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Mature, Harold/Grace/John)

For a Minute There, I Lost Myself
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Teen, John Reese/Lionel Fusco)

Days Like This
also at the Archive
(Person of Interest, Rated Teen, John Reese/Lionel Fusco)

I passed the New Year by drinking half a bottle of champagne left over from Christmas and falling asleep. I am all class.

Re the horrifying bushfire situation, lilacsigil and I are currently
- not on fire
- very worried about people in fire areas
- may be on fire later in the summer
- having conversations on evacuation procedures and hating that this is our life now

It's rough, and I'm surprisingly upset by all the climate change deniers flushing out of the woodwork as the country burns. (This is a surprise because I know they're out there, I know what their agenda is, and there are better things to blow my mental cope on than their bullshit. And yet it still upsets me.)

I am seeking solace in Yuletide - so many good fics. (And also so many fandoms I've never heard of, which is great. Fandom is a big, sprawling land of people who love things, and it heartens me.) I have nowhere near read everything I want to, and have barely dipped into the Madness collection, but I want to get some recs out before reveals later today.

My gifts
I was so lucky this year!! Two in the main collection and a tiny gem of a treat from Madness:

Moonbase Theta, Out (Podcast)
An Evening in the Garden (Rated General, Roger Bragado-Fischer/Alexandre Bragado-Fischer)
A lovely gem of a moment, set before Roger goes into space to live on Moonbase Theta. Just so sweet and gentle and romantic.

A Discovery of Witches (TV)
In a Witch's Blood (Rated Explicit, Diana Bishop/Matthew Clairmont)
A whirlwind party at Sept-Tours, with Diana and Matthew negotiating vampire society. Sweet and romantic and hot.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (book)
Interweave (Rated Explicit, Keita Mori/Thaniel Stephenson)
I am so glad to have gotten fic for my favourite read of 2019 and this is wonderful: perfectly in character, perfectly hot. Synaesthesia, ropes and clockwork. So good.


Recs:
Imperial Radch: (Shut up, I'm reccing all three fics because they're that good.)
High Above the Trees (Rated G, Breq and Awn Elming)
One of the best Awn Lives AUs I've come across, and an excellent, excellent picture of life with the Rrrrrr.

Worthy of Attention (Rated G, Gem of Sphene and Translator Zeiat)
Gem of Sphene and Translator Zeiat, tremendously weird in all the right ways, and also a surprisingly dark look at what it's like to be a Presger-grown translator. (Are they Significant? Zeiat doesn't actually know.)

Still Left in Want of Mercy (Rated Teen, Mercy of Kalr)
Mercy of Kalr POV, and it's so good! Seivarden is a mess, but a very Seivarden mess, and Mercy of Kalr helps her figure out some things. Also, I got a great Seivarden song out of this fic, too, which I greatly appreciate.

The Exorcist:
Little Church Mouse (Rated G, Mouse)
Some lovely backstory for Mouse, filling in the space between where we see her in flashbacks, to where we see her in the series.

The Middleman:
The Rock Star Reunion Irrelevancy
A really fun, punchy hair rock case, with lots of clever one liners. (Sweet child o' mine, Dubbie!)

Bake-off RPF/Untitled Goose Game:
To Do In Tent (Rated G)
Just the best definition of 'soggy bottom' ever. Clever and funny and full of terrible (excellent) puns. Puns and buns.

Sandman Comics:
An Explorer of Delirium (Teen, Delirium of the Endless)
From Yuletide Madness, appropriately. Joyful and a bit terrifying, as a Delirium story should be.

Russian Doll:
Commence! (Rated Teen, Nadia and Alan)
A lovely 'what happens next' story, as Nadia and Alan visit their friends, and try to piece together what actually happened to them.

Batwoman (TV):
Stir and Cook Slowly (Rated General, Mary Hamilton and Kate Kane)
This has a Jewish Kate Kane approaching Beth's yarzheit, and Mary trying to find a place as Kate's sister.

Anne of Green Gables:
Altogether Too Queenly (Rated Teen, Katherine Brooke/Anne Shirley)
I love Katherine, and this gives us some relationship history that really suits her character, and an excellent inner voice that really suits Katherine's character.

221b Baker Towers:
Full House, (Not rated)
221b Baker Towers is a shared Sherlock universe that reimagines the original characters as POCs living on a council estate in London. (You can read more about it at this tumblr: 221b Baker Towers: About.) This fic is fantastic, imagines Watson as part of a three generation family speaking Pashto round the dinner table, imagines Sherlock as trans, and puts together an excellent casefic of marginalised people. It's really well developed, and I would watch this series if it were in my TV.

Ugh, such a good Yuletide. I'm still reading.

Title: Every Chambered Cell
Fandom: Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie
Rating: Teen
Words: 6334
Characters/Pairings: Seivarden, Breq, Gem of Sphene, Tisarwat, Ekalu
Warnings/Content: Addiction, Angst, Architecture
Notes: Title from "The Chambered Nautilus" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Thank you to lilacsigil for the beta. Set after Ancillary Mercy.
Summary: Breq and Seivarden are asked to meet with Fleet Captain Uemi's daughter regarding a personal matter.

Also at the Archive

( The message came for Breq directly )

Yuletide Lucky Thirteen! Who'da thunk? Hey, author! Hi! We have fandoms in common and that's great.

Don't be startled by the length of this thing. I write long letters – that's my way of flailing earnestly about the things I love. If there are things in my request that don't work for you, I am good with optional details being optional. I am going to be okay with what you write. We love the same thing. Please don't stress out about this assignment. I want you to have fun.

I've got my general likes and dislikes pinned down by now, so I'm cutting and pasting them here.

( Likes and Dislikes )

Onto the specific fandoms. I've written more about some than others – please don't take this as an indication that I have a favourite. Some of them are big canons! Sometimes I have lots of ideas! I definitely do not have a preference for one over the other. I would genuinely love work about any of these fandoms.

( The Thing in the Walls Wants Your Small Change, Good Luck Roomba Witch, 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds, The Haunting of Hill House (TV 2018), Imperial Radch series, The Strange Case of Starship Iris )

If the canon we've matched on doesn't work for you, there are a couple of small canons that could be easy to take in.
The Strange Case of Starship Iris is a short podcast – just eight episodes.
The Strange Case of Starship Iris. (Audio)
Starship Iris transcripts

16 Ways to Kill a Vampire in McDonalds is a text-based interactive fiction story that doesn't take long to play through.
It's here: 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds

Good Luck, Roomba Witch is an artwork by ofsparrows, here: good luck, roomba witch

The Thing That Lives in Your Walls Wants Your Small Change is a short story, found here: The Thing in the Walls Wants Your Small Change – Virginia M Mohlere

You can find me most places under st_aurafina: I'm st_aurafina and st-aurafina.

All my previous Dear Author letters are here: Dear Author. If you have any questions, you're welcome to go through the mods or message my partner, lilacsigil. She won't tell. She's good that way.

Thanks for coming along this Yuletide! I hope you enjoy writing, and I hope you have a great fest.

I have tried to make this entry so many times since the Yuletide archive opened. Working retail at Christmas is a big old bummer. Be nice to your retail workers; they are stressed and tired from dealing with assholes. (Don't be an asshole in shops. It's a good life lesson and nobody will spit in your coffee.)

For Yuletide I got five lovely stories: two in the main collection and three in Madness. They were all for two of my micro-fandoms, which is always fun, because there are so many ways to interpret tiny fandoms, and people went in really interesting directions with both. It was a great Yuletide!!

For the music video for Dua Lipa's song New Rules (Here: New Rules // Dua Lipa) I got so many magic flamingo women living empowered lives. (This is an excellent thing.)

Time-slippy and weird, slightly too creepy to be comfortable but very welcoming, the Confidante is a hotel where women look after other women while effortlessly standing on one leg. It's amazing.
---
Welcome to the Confidante (1653 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: New Rules - Dua Lipa (Music Video)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: Post-Break Up, Time Slide
Summary:

Leila knows she needs to end things with her boyfriend, but she doesn't have any success until she wanders in to the Confidante

Where do you go, when you're Dracula's wives and you want to feel safe? You go where the flamingos are.
---
Bat Wings (117 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: New Rules - Dua Lipa (Music Video)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Women (New Rules)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Sisterhood, Protectiveness, Routine, Yuletide Madness 2017, Yuletide Treat, Drabble, Rebellion
Summary:

They know he can't follow.

Magical girls, crisply defined roles within the group, and a glazier on call. SO EXCELLENT. The tags are very fitting and correct.
---
Your Life Now (391 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: New Rules - Dua Lipa (Music Video)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Characters
Additional Tags: Flamingos, OMG flamingos!, Magical Girls, I might have been watching too much Sailor Moon, Henshin yo!, Abusive Relationships, did I mention flamingos?
Summary:

Saved by the magical girls.

And in a 180 degree mood swing, I got two fics for Beautiful Losers II, the painting by Vettriano (which you can see here: Beautiful Losers II) It's a dark, fraught kind of image that lends itself to all kinds of kinks, and I love where these two fics went.

The amount of political menace that seeped into this fic is astonishing. I was amazed at the world building and the tension between the three characters.
---
The Minister and the Minister's Wife (1160 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Beautiful Losers II - Jack Vettriano
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Characters: Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: Complicated Relationships, Manipulation, Threesome - F/M/M
Summary:

It suited Lin well, to spend his days and his nights with the Minister and the Minister’s wife.

A tiny little jewel of a thing that has the kind of desperate feeling of someone who knows they're slipping into a ravine but somehow can't make themselves reach for help.
---
a sip of wine, a cigarette (1042 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Beautiful Losers II - Jack Vettriano, Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Inspired by Art
Summary:

Maybe it's love, maybe it's something else. Almost certainly I should have made up my mind which a long time ago.

I loved my Yuletide gifts this year - thank you so much, Yule-people, if you happen to come across this entry. It was a great exchange, and I feel very lucky.

Title: A Child's Path to Clarity
Fandom: The Black Tapes podcast
Rating: Teen
Words: 4672
Characters/Pairings: Richard Strand, Alex Reagan, Nic Silver
Warnings/Content: None
Notes: Written for Yuletide 2016. Thank you to lilacsigil for the beta

Summary: "Almost certainly," said Alex. "Is most definitely not certain."

Also at the Archive

( The apocalypse didn't start right away. )

I got two fics for the Demi Lovato music video, Confident, and omg, yay!

This is the source material, for anyone who wants to check it out: Demi Lovato - Confident.

Actually, I got three fics, because of issues with fandom tagging - someone kindly wrote me a pre-Yuletide drabble last week, which I totally meant to link but everything fell aside in the mess of MY CAT GOT BITTEN BY A SNAKE drama:

This is a whip-smart weaving of mythologies into a needling little story that kicks the video into gear and sets up some good consequences for the actions of the male character involved. And fistbump for someone else who believes that a drabble is one hundred words, also.
They punish whosoever has sworn a false oath (100 words) by keerawa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Confident - Demi Lovato (Music Video)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Woman (Demi Lovato), Woman (Michelle Rodriguez)
Additional Tags: Unwrangled Fandom Drabble Challenge, Drabble, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Pre-Yuletide
Summary:

We had a deal.

Short and bitter and bone-dry, this one is filled with clever, cyber-punkish world building, and bitterness for the things that they've lost to the system that caught them. This has a kind of Wolverine-esque vibe to it, with lost memories and military undercurrents that fits really well. (I've always liked Michelle Rodriguez for a female Wolverine, myself, so it chimes extra right for me on that point.)
A Perfect Disguise Above (1181 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Confident - Demi Lovato (Music Video)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Woman (Demi Lovato), Woman (Michelle Rodriguez)
Additional Tags: Amnesia, Road Trips
Summary:

If names were so important, she'd have remembered hers.

OMFG SOMEONE WROTE WEREWOLF FIC FOR THIS VIDEO. IF YOU LIKE LADIES AND YOU LIKE WEREWOLVES READ THIS FIC NOW. NOW.

Just shut and go read this incredibly hot, incredibly intense femslash werewolf fic about two amazing women who got fucked over by the system, where one looks after the other and there is snuggling and wolves and loyalty and they're going to make it all right.

Just go read it.
Oh, That Curse I Cannot Lift (5168 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Confident - Demi Lovato (Music Video)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Woman (Demi Lovato)/Woman (Michelle Rodriguez)
Characters: Woman (Michelle Rodriguez), Woman (Demi Lovato)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, First Time Shifting, Pack Building, Outdoor Sex, Oral Sex, Yuletide Treat
Summary:

There’s silver bullets in Demi’s belt, a silver core to the metal band around her throat. Michelle wonders if she knows, if she can smell the similarities between them.

And for myself, I've had a lovely comment from my recipient, so I'm very happy and relieved that it has all gone well. Happy Yuletide all around. Now to dive into the archive!

Yuletide! It seems like Yuletide comes around faster each year, which I don't mind at all because I FREAKING LOVE this exchange. This is my eleventh, and I've had a great time every year.

So, first up and foremost: I love Yuletide. I will love what you write. I've loved every Yuletide fic I've received. Please don't stress out! Please have fun writing.

Secondly, I write long letters with lots of suggestions, but they really are just suggestions. If you're one of those writers that does not enjoy being fenced in, then fly free, you beautiful wild thing. And if we don't gel on character choice, ODAO is a-okay with me. I like all the characters in these fandoms, I love all these fandoms for the stories and the worldbuilding. If you have to, ODAO like it's a rodeo.


Things that generally tickle my fancy:

People! Gen, slash, femslash, het. Friendship fic, relationship fic, frenemies, enemies, sexy enemies. People putting their differences aside to work with each other. Backstory, AUs (though not so much the mundane kind), crossovers (see st_aurafina for fandoms), teamwork.

Plot! Big sweeping plot, small canon-compliant plot, things for the characters to do while they're snarking at each other, things going on around them while they're getting it on. I like stuff to happen.

Competence! I have a huge competence kink. I love seeing people being really, really good at stuff. I love lateral thinkers and characters who follow their instincts and people putting their skills to use in unexpected ways.

Ladies! BAMF female characters who don't have to bring other female characters down to be BAMFs. Mothers and sisters and girlfriends and girlfriends and wives. Women with agency. Women treated with respect.

Representation! People of colour. People outside the gender binary. Queer identities and culture. Non-nuclear families, found families, poly families, family that is family because you get to define it.

Things that I don't like as much (but can handle if the story takes you there):
Sad endings, character death, angst, embarrassment.

Things I'd rather you didn't write:
Cross-gen relationships, incest, teacher/student, employee/employer, non-con.

( Requests: The Black Tapes, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Inhuman Condition, Confident - Demi Lovato (Music Video), Wynonna Earp, Stranger Things )

Miscellanea

I do not have a preferred fandom. I haven't put them up in any order except how they came to me tonight as I write my letter. I might have written more about one than another, but that doesn't mean I'm fixated on that fandoms over others. I love them all, and I would be equally delighted with fic for any of them.

If we've matched on a large canon, and it's not going to work for you, I've got a few small or easily accessed canons here:

- Inhuman Condition is a short webseries about a psychologist who treats patients with paranormal characteristics. The main character is Michelle, who is played by Torri Higginson from SGA.
- Picnic at Hanging Rock is an Australian movie set in the Victorian era, about the disappearance of three schoolgirls. It's spooky and atmospheric. It's also as old as me, which means you'll probably find it in a bargain bin. (I guess that means I belong in a bargain bin, too. Oh, dear.)
- Confident by Demi Lovato is a music video. It also stars Michelle Rodriguez, there's a lot of fighting, and women having each other's back. It's great. With explosions.
- The Black Tapes is a podcast about a journalist following the career of a paranormal investigator and known sceptic. It's just finished its second season.


For stalking purposes, I'm st_aurafina and st-aurafina. All my previous Dear Author letters are here: Dear Author. If you have any questions, you're welcome to message my partner, lilacsigil. If you're writing Hanging Rock, and need an Australian beta, she'll do that. I totally volunteer her for it. (No, seriously, she will do that.)

Thank you so much! I hope you have a great Yuletide.

Title: A Beautiful Lie
Fandom: Killjoys
Rating: PG
Words: 2243
Characters/Pairings: Johnny Jaqobis, Dutch, Lucy
Warnings/Content: No Archive warnings apply.
Notes: Written for the 2015 yuletide. Thanks to lilacsigil for the beta.

Summary: The first lie that Lucy ever told was to John. He engineered it for her.

Also at the Archive

( A Beautiful Lie )

Title: Very Special Guest Star
Fandom: Indiana Jones/The Muppet Show
Rating: G
Words: 4328
Characters/Pairings: Henry "Indiana" Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Marcus Brody, Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Gonzo the Great, Rowlf the Dog, Statler & Waldorf (Muppets), Rizzo the Rat, Camilla the Chicken, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, Pops, Hedy Lamarr
Warnings/Content: No Archive warnings apply. I guess this technically is also Hollywood RPF.
Notes: For the 2015 yuletide. Thank you to lilacsigil and marag for the beta.

Summary: "Muppets," said Indy. "I hate these guys."

Also at the Archive


( Very Special Guest Star )