marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
So I wrote a very short story for [personal profile] mumblemumble for fandomtrees, about Chu Shuzhi at a slave auction, being put on display by his Lord Envoy for Reasons.

And then [personal profile] mumblemumble wrote a sequel that goes into more detail about the things Chu Shuzhi would do for his Lord and what his Lord Envoy would ask of him, and it is glorious and you should all read it:

Aftermath (2360 words) by A
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei
Characters: Chu Shuzhi, Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Slaves, Submission, Loyalty Kink, And About Fifteen Other Kinks, Aftercare
Summary:

"Quiet," his Lordship commands, and the room falls silent. His finger settles under Chu Shuzhi's chin to tilt his head up, his gaze heavy on Chu Shuzhi, his eyes dark as a storm underneath the mask. "This one isn't mine to discipline anymore," he says coldly, causing a victorious murmur among the crowd.

Chu Shuzhi doesn't flinch. He doesn't move at all. He has to remind himself to breathe.

marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
[personal profile] lunarriviera posted: second grace: a mo sanmei/bai sanwan fic

This is such a good story, and provides Mo Sanmei (Zhu Yilong's character in his movie Lighting up the Stars) with the best boyfriend, somehow - even though he is doing okay by himself, mostly, and he doesn't know how to be close with anyone, and anyway, it's more important that his kid gets the noodles she deserves...?

Also, it made me cry.

new shoes

Nov. 17th, 2022 11:27 am
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
A while ago, I wrote two stories that featured Shen Wei's very opinionated skilled tailor, the man responsible for all those tightly tailored suits (yum). And then [personal profile] mumblemumble came in and wrote a sequel! It was such a cool surprise, I've never had an original character appear in someone else's work before, and it's a fantastic story.

clean shirt, new shoes (1395 words) by A
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei (Guardian), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Fluff, Suit Kink, Lollipops, Academia
Series: Part 6 of Higher Education
Summary:

"You like it?" Yunlan grins, taking the lollipop out of his mouth to do a little twirl. "You have to like it, I'm not getting changed."

marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
I've been in a weird headspace re: fandom where I've mostly stopped reading Guardian fanfic because I love it so much, and it has such good writers, that reading anything awesome will do my head in as far as writing goes. (And I'm inching closer on finishing the AU I started, whoops, two years ago? Still a way from the finish, and then there's beta, but things are looking up.) I want to get this story out and catch up to everything I missed, damn it.

But here's a story from a while ago that lit my imagination on fire:

Follow You Everywhere (5091 words) by achray
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan, SID team
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Kuroshitsuji Fusion, Canon-Typical dark content for Black Butler canon, Canon-typical violence for Black Butler canon, black humour, Constant Innuendo, Demonic Contracts (Kuroshitsuji), Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan as themselves
Summary:
Never had Shen Wei known such enjoyment, in fulfilling the duties a demonic contract required.


It's a crossover with a manga/anime series I had never heard of, and it doesn't matter because I found the story entirely comprehensible and deeply delicious. And then I fell into a hole and read a whole bunch of the manga, and watched the anime as well. Good times.

And now Guardian has been removed from Youtube, again, which sucks, since it's just so handy to rewatch a scene or an episode through Youtube for a quick fix. And to attract new fans.

But fandom has access to all the beautiful HD files with fan-curated subs. (That link goes straight to a Mega download site that I share with permission!)
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
Thanks to lovely anon who gave me a DW subscription! 💖
I have been keeping my head down, trying to avoid checking the news more than five times a day. The one fannish thing I've been doing is work on the Guardian AU I started pre-pandemic. I really want to get it done so I can have some time off writing and read all the fic in my Marked for Later box.

Some links for cheer:
- a Zhu Yilong burger ad that shows no product whatsoever, just a classy art installation (ie: his face, especially at 0:07) telling us to imagine something "THICK and JUICY". 😹

- I've been watching people's video content for the new Star Wars hotel in Disney World, the one that's really more of a 48 hour roleplay experience with a bonkers pricetag, and the guy playing First Order Lt. Croy is killing it. Love him.

- this week I learned about the artist who made a shark crash into the roof of his house as an anti-war message. "Without the approval of local officials, because he didn’t think they should have the right to decide what art people see." 36 years later, the shark is still there, and the message still matters.

Zonnewende

Sep. 23rd, 2021 09:12 pm
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
Slightly more brain today means that I realize yesterday wasn't the solstice but the equinox. Neither of those words have ever held any real meaning to me though, I must admit. The Dutch word for solstice is pretty, but we don't seem to have an equinox equivalent, just like English doesn't.

I got three wonderful story gifts for [community profile] guardian_wishlist !

I didn't even think to put this in my prompts, but I love "5 things" fics. There's just something about the structure that makes interesting things happen, and both of these use it beautifully in different ways:

Domesticity (2414 words) by buriedbybooks
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Da Qing (Guardian), Zhu Hong (Guardian), Lin Jing (Guardian), Jiajia (Guardian), Guo Changcheng, Chu Shuzhi
Additional Tags: 5+1 Things, Domesticity, soft moments, Fluff, SID escapades
Summary:

Five times Wēilán was caught acting married and one time it was just them.

in the smallest of ways (1837 words) by china_shop
Chapters: 5/5
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan & Da Qing
Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Shěn Wēi, The SID Team
Additional Tags: Caretaking in the smallest of ways, Missing Scenes, episode 14, Episode 19, Family, Lowkey get-together, Five Times
Summary:

Five times Zhao Yunlan looked out for Shen Wei.

And [personal profile] elenothar  took on the prompt of "Shen Wei's students Find Out" and boy, do they. I adore Shen Wei's student Jiajia, and to get her PoV of events as well as Zhao Yunlan's and Shen Wei's is so satisfying:

One for the conspiracy theorists (4638 words) by Elenothar
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Jiajia & Shen Wei (Guardian)
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan, Jiajia (Guardian), Li Qian (Guardian), Da Qing (Guardian), Lin Jing (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Identity Reveal, Post-Canon, dragon city university students, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Protective Shen Wei (Guardian), hei pao shi in professor shen's clothing
Summary:

Shen Wei's identity is revealed to his students in the most dramatic way possible.

(No grad students were harmed during the writing of this fic.)

marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
I had a day today, nothing terrible just busy, and it ended with a family Zoom across timezones and continents where everyone talked over each other. The best moment was getting our cats to wave at each other.

Today is also the solstice and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, which means that all the gifts for [community profile] guardian_wishlist just went live.

I want to comment on the fabulous fics I received, but I'm completely out of brain, so I will leave anything requiring...thought...? to tomorrow. Today, let me draw your attention to the pics and gifs, which all feel like they were chosen specifically for my tired synapses to appreciate:

- [personal profile] mumblemumble's Zhu Yilong murder barber gifs with bonus! picspam of Zhu Yilong with cute animals
- ober-affen-geil's gifspam of Shen Wei protecting and caring for Zhao Yunlan
- [personal profile] sakana17's curated collection of Zhu Yilong 🍑, that is to say, butt shots. Mmmmmm.

Please have a wonderful solstice/festival/full moon, and thanks so much to everyone. <3
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
I picked up a pinch hit for [personal profile] frith_in_thorns for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, so needless to say, I wrote her some Shen Wei hurt/comfort. XD

[personal profile] dorinda, [personal profile] naye and [personal profile] xparrot provided exceptional help in the way of handholding and cheering-on as well as beta, and I'm very grateful.

Under a Cloudless Sky (19202 words) by marycrawford
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shěn Wēi/Zhào Yúnlán
Additional Tags: Altered Mental States, Fever, Magical Exhaustion, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon
Summary:

They were having lunch in the garden, it was a lovely day, and Shen Wei was certainly not going mad.

marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
So @glymr declared @Pornday, which I hadn't heard of before, but it's basically a fantastic way to give yourself a very, very tight deadline to write something rated Explicit.

I had about 600 words lying around based on this prompt, that I wanted to get back to, and then thanks to the deadline, I did - I wrote 3000 words in a day and it was a long day but I have to admit I really enjoyed it. Plus @torch cheered me on and helped me get over the hurdle of the ending. (Why are endings always so difficult?)

Long Distance Call (3612 words) by marycrawford
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shěn Wēi/Zhào Yúnlán
Additional Tags: Phone Sex, Porn Video, Porn with Feelings
Summary:

Zhao Yunlan discovers Shen Wei’s other research. Shen Wei discovers phone sex.


marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
So I got very lucky for this first Sundial Exchange - [personal profile] frith_in_thorns wrote me a Guardian story! And she obviously read the heavily encoded secret signal of my heart, because she wrote me a "WHAT IF SNOW?" story, AGAIN. She is amazing like that. And as I may have mentioned before, that slogan just covers everything I want out of fanfic, because it's hurt/comfort stripped down to its bare bones. What if snow? What if hurt? What if frozen? What IF?

But I should clarify that this is not any kind of remake - this is a new and original story, with a clever take on Shen Wei's powers that I just love, and with a gorgeous, intense setting that I would love to see on film. And Shen Wei is hurt, and Zhao Yunlan is there for him, and oh, happy sigh...

Ice and Shard (5367 words) by frith_in_thorns
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shěn Wēi/Zhào Yúnlán
Characters: Shěn Wēi, Zhào Yúnlán
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Snow and Ice, Dixing powers do what I want them to, Fever, Delirium, handwavy post-canon
Summary:
Zhao Yunlan didn't know what made him realise that something was wrong. But something definitely was.


marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
I have read
all the stories
that pop up in
your comments

and which
you were probably
saving
for later

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

@xparrot started a Guardian hurt/comfort comment thread that is still ongoing, and it is delightful, full of good reading that just goes straight to the id (which is what Guardian was made for, to begin with; it is possibly the most idtastic show I've ever seen.) @xparrot wrote a story for @glymr and me that is so full of emotional resonance and foreshadowing that it gave me goosebumps. <3

If this is your fandom and you're into h/c, give it a try! You can drop a comment with a prompt, and different authors are coming by to magic it into a story. (I really want to try my hand at commentfic too, but man it's hard; I even think just coming up with prompts is hard, and I admire all of the writers and prompters.)

ETA: and then it was three hours later and I wrote a thing? O_O

marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
cold hill side AO3
Hooray, my Gimli/Legolas Big Bang story is live, with wonderful art from cybersuzy!


On the Cold Hill Side (24938 words) by marycrawford
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gimli/Legolas Greenleaf
Characters: Gimli, Legolas Greenleaf, Aragorn, Arod
Additional Tags: Dwarves, Elves, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Dwarf Courting, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Pining, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Tourism, fangorn, orthanc - Freeform, aglarond, Hurt/Comfort, Snark, Banter, Competence Kink, gimli is a BAMF, so is Legolas, Gimli/Legolas Big Bang, Big Bang Challenge, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Secrets, Canon - Book, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Ents, Talking Trees, Tree Climbing, Walks In The Woods, Caves, Dwarf/Elf Relationship(s), Missing Scene, First Time, Canon Related, gigolas bang 2014
Summary:

In the end, Gimli thinks, Legolas will steal his heart and sail away with it, and even the wonders of the Glittering Caves are not enough consolation for that loss. But when Aragorn calls for Gimli’s help in dismantling the hidden traps of Orthanc, everything changes.

marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (woot!)
I've been a bit absent from LJ lately, but that's because I was working on a Neat Fannish Project, and now I'm ready to open it officially, yay!

Delphi, the Hercules: the Legendary Journeys Fan Fiction Archive

What is it?
Delphi is an archive for stories about characters from Hercules: the Legendary Journeys and its spinoff series Young Hercules. And I do mean all characters: Hercules, Iolaus, Jason, Discord, Strife, Salmoneus, Nebula, the Sovereign, Ares...whoever you want to write about.

Gen, het, and slash are equally welcome. The archive does not accept anything involving underage sex or real people. Beyond that, everything else is fair game.

Why a new archive?
This archive isn't meant to replace any other archive, Zeus forbid; it's intended to be a base archive for the entire Hercules fandom, where all people's favorite stories can be found in one place, and a way for authors who don't have their own space on the web to reach more readers. And it's an automated archive, which means authors can upload their stories themselves.

Please upload your stories!
I'm hoping, requesting, and flat out begging everybody in the fandom to upload their stories. All you need is your stories, saved as plain text files; the upload form and the FAQ have the details, but it should be a pretty easy process, and you can preview your story to see if everything looks okay. You don't need to register or join or anything like that.

If you have any questions, please send email to delphi at squidge dot org, or comment below.

I'm crossposting this to [livejournal.com profile] herc_iolaus and [livejournal.com profile] hxyh_announce, and I'm going to look around for more communities which might be interested in this - I don't want to spam anybody, but I do want to let fans of various HtLJ characters and pairings know that the archive exists. Feel free to post this announcement elsewhere, or suggest lists/communities!

Huge galumphing great thanks to [livejournal.com profile] astolat for writing the Automated Archive software, to [livejournal.com profile] aka_arduinna for letting me steal all her own archive's nifty features and about 90% of her FAQ, and to Walter for his generosity in hosting the archive on Squidge. ♥
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (woot!)
...it tells me that [livejournal.com profile] flambeau has posted something wonderful.

Georgette Heyer fans should run (toward the story, not away). So should Star Wars fans. So should anyone who's ever read a Regency romance, because, oh man. I cannot tell you how insanely gleeful this story makes me.

[livejournal.com profile] flambeau says "This is probably not what it would have been like if Georgette Heyer had written TPM fanfic."

She is of course completely wrong. This is exactly what it would have been like if Georgette Heyer had written TPM fanfic.

Here, a quote:
A few students, however, refused to adopt the languishing airs their fellows affected, and instead attempted to regard Qui-Gon Jinn with the same indifferent disdain he afforded them. In this latter group was a young man who watched the entrance of Master Jinn under long red-gold lashes, careful not to let the others perceive how intently he studied the man. It would not do to give the impression that he cared one whit for the presence, or absence, of the Jedi order's greatest champion, a man who, so rumor had it, only need smile faintly, or give a gracious nod, for more impressionable young students to scratch a tentative Q-G on the handle of their lightsaber; the bolder ones had even been known to tie love-knots in their hair, at the spot most commonly chosen for a padawan braid.
Go read Episode One: The Quiet Padawan, by [livejournal.com profile] flambeau. Rated G or thereabouts. This is Heyer, after all. *g*
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (herc pensive)
This was going to be a WIP Amnesty post, because this story has been on my harddrive for two years while I poked at it and pestered other people with it. (Clearly, this is why I shouldn't write short PWPs; they just take too long.) But it has an ending and everything, and I like this version well enough to post it without amnesty. *g*

Thanks to everyone who looked at it and said helpful things, and especially to [livejournal.com profile] elynross for the final beta and for convincing me to post it.

Title: Those Who Favor Fire
Fandom: Hercules: the Legendary Journeys.
Rating: NC-17, slash, Hercules/Iolaus.
Summary: Some rescues come a little too close to the bone.

Those Who Favor Fire )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (momo woes)
The Cold From Hell has me wrapped up on the couch in my favorite striped fleece blanket, sniffling and coughing and drinking tea by the liter.

The story I wanted to post for [livejournal.com profile] 14valentines today is still unfinished; instead, here are some recs for stories that are warm and comforting and good to read when you're under the weather.

An Earthly Knight, by [livejournal.com profile] ltlj. SGA, NC-17. Everyone on my friendslist who even vaguely likes Stargate: Atlantis is already reading [livejournal.com profile] ltlj, right? If not, get thee over to the Retrograde universe and dive in; you probably won't come out for days.

"An Earthly Knight" is her latest, it's a stand-alone story, and it's fantastic in all senses of the word. Makes me want to curl up in a tree with a bunch of feral, yet very friendly elves. Mmm.

The Buried Treasure Racket, by Dorinda. The Sting, NC-17, slash. Yes, I already recced this after [livejournal.com profile] yuletide, but this is a pippin and a peach of a story. Perfect for rereading when you're sick and want something that's beautifully written, warm, and deliciously right. Actually, that description pretty much goes for all of Dorinda's stories.

Teal'c's five favorite board games, by Komos. SG-1, G. Who'd think board games could produce a story this rich, this funny, this acute? All that and a fantastic Teal'c portrait. I just adore this from start to finish.

Some Enchanted Evening and extra scene, by Randi DuMois. Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, NC-17, slash. Set during one of my very favorite episodes, Hero's Heart (canon amnesia! badass gang enforcer Iolaus! pining Hercules!), full of wonderful characterization, snark and hotness.

Going Home, by [livejournal.com profile] daegaer. Good Omens, G. I have this bookmarked as "Aziraphale is recalled to Heaven. Crowley is strangely upset. Hijinks ensue! Lovely, warm, gen, note-perfect" and I'm not sure what I can add to that. [livejournal.com profile] daegaer's narratorial voice is devastatingly accurate, and this story is just everything I would ever want from Good Omens fic.

Matters of the Heart, by Valentin. Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, PG. A fun, lighthearted story about Hercules, Iolaus, Iolaus' girlfriend and a devious plot by Ares, with a lovely wallowy scene that I always reread and sigh over.

14 Valentines: Reproductive Rights
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (herc iolaus bedtime)
So, [livejournal.com profile] aka_arduinna gave out a deadline. "Post something every month!" she said.  "Deadlines help!" she said. "Get typing!" she said.

*glares*

Luckily [livejournal.com profile] falzalot gave me a great idea for something short while I was panicking, and so I wrote a tag to her wonderful Yuletide story Hercules Ex Machina, which you should definitely go read before reading this, if you haven't already.

Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] therienne, [livejournal.com profile] elynross and [livejournal.com profile] aka_arduinna for beta.

Title: Under the Sun
Fandom: Hercules: the Legendary Journeys.
Rating: PG, Hercules/Iolaus.
Summary: Dealing with demigods. Spoilers for Hercules ex Machina by [livejournal.com profile] falzalot.

Under the Sun )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (woot!)
Participating in the Yuletide challenge was so much fun this year. I beta'ed some fantastic stories, did my best to keep deep and dire secrets, and wrote two stories of my own: my assignment and a pinch hit.

Here they are! I've linked to the Yuletide archive, but the stories are also available on my website.

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my stories - you made my holiday so much brighter with your feedback. (And if you left an email address with your comment, you'll hear from me. *g*)

The Unexpected Affair of the Injured Detective. (Arthur Conan Doyle -- Sherlock Holmes).
PG, slash, Holmes/Watson. Written for Am-Chau.
Summary: Holmes comes home from work.

Imperial Audience. (Naomi Novik - Temeraire)
G. Written for Esteliel.
Summary: What if Laurence did not escape a meeting with Napoleon?
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (mo mo mo)
First set of Yuletide story recommendations is here, second set is here.

The Buried Treasure Racket (The Sting). PG-13. Slash.  Johnny and Henry find another mark to con, but there's more than money at stake. Pick a couple of empty hours, find yourself a good chair, and read this long, satisfying, utterly wonderful story. In the giant heap of amazing stories this year, this one stands out. WOW.

For me, it arrived at a perfect moment: I had just rewatched The Sting and I'd also just read The Big Con by David Maurer, which IIRC was the basis for the movie. This story takes up where the movie left off, but it's an entirely standalone story where Johnny and Henry pull off another brilliant 'long con'. The author did her research - on cons, on sleight-of-hand, on the right kind of slang - and folded it effortlessly into the story, and it's like the best kind of caper story AND the best kind of subtle, warm, delicious slash story all rolled into one, and seriously, what do I say to make you all read this RIGHT NOW?

The Mostly-Secret Diary of Rick (The Young Ones). PG. Adrian Mole's diary, as written by snotty Rick. Hee! I think the poetry was my favorite part. I love this aspect of Yuletide - I wouldn't go hunting for The Young Ones fanfic, because I was pretty much content with the show itself (ditto Blackadder, AbFab and other British comedies), but I came across this story on the archive and it's just hilarious.

Cleopatra's Needle (The Addams Family). PG. Morticia as a young woman, gardening in the suicides' graveyard and meeting Gomez for the first time. There was a bumper crop of excellent Addams Family fic this year, and this one is my favorite. I always loved Morticia and Gomez' relationship in the cartoons and the movie; this story could be from either, though it has some movie references, and it's beautifully written and just as twistedly romantic. I believe they met just like this.

Four Things Howl Never Told Sophie and One Thing He Did (Howl's Moving Castle). PG. Howl and Sophie are growing older. When [livejournal.com profile] therienne recs a Howl story I know it'll be good, and this was just adorable. Tender but not schmoopy, and Howl and Sophie's voices both felt very right.

Pimp and Pomposity (Blackadder). R. Blackadder procures some company for the Prince of Wales. Wow. Perfect Blackadder voice, lots of witty dialogue, references to other episodes and running gags, and even a dig at Austen. HEE.

Area 51 (Queer as Folk UK) NC-17, slash. Stuart and Vince make a road trip to Area 51 and have an alien encounter. People have been recommending this already, right? I just haven't seen it? I hope so, because it's a funny, sexy Vince/Stuart story, and then there's the bit near the ending where I died with glee. It turns into a crossover, and one that I have been wanting to read for the longest time. (Okay, a hint: Vince's last name is Tyler.)

Back Row Hecklers (Muppets). PG. Why do Statler and Waldorf keep coming back? Aw. Bittersweet and adorable. Small flaily frog!

Yes, Sir, Jeeves (PG Wodehouse -- Jeeves and Wooster). NC-17, slash. Wooster takes on the role of Jeeves' manservant. This is just wonderful - language and voice perfectly Wodehousean, which is a triumph in itself, and completely in character for both. Plus such a lovely plot that I wondered at Plum for not using it himself. I may have maiden-aunted my way through the explicit bit at the end, but that was very well written too, and I completely adored the whole thing. Just, YAY! I'll be rereading this, definitely.
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (yuletide iolaus)
My first set of Yuletide story recommendations is here.

Crumpled Pieces of Paper Found in the Wastebasket of Count Rugen. (Princess Bride). G. Short and hilarious, and a fantastic title, too. Hee.

An Unwilling Heart (Diane Duane -- Young Wizards series). PG-13. Tom and Carl's first meeting. Long, plotty, wonderfully rich in worldbuilding detail, I just adored this, and it manages to feel fresh and original and still very closely linked to the original books in style and theme.

The Taste of Honey (Sandman). G. Death and Delirium visit a city. This is gorgeous, very Gaimanesque, with a wealth of little, odd details. Not many stories written in second person present work for me, but this one does.

darkness and beauty of stars was on my mouth. (Sandman). PG. What does the New Corinthian dream of? Shivery and lush, and I love the ending.

reflection. (Sandman). G. Delight meets Delirium. Bittersweet and true-feeling, plus a perfect Delirium voice, wow. Love the socks and the tiny elephants.

A Maze of Twisty Passages, All Alike. (Lois McMaster Bujold -- Miles Vorkosigan series). PG. Ivan and Gregor are in trouble, and they'll do anything rather than wait for rescue, especially from Miles. Sheer delight from beginning (the title!) to end. I love Ivan and Gregor's competence in the face of danger - they're both so much more than they seem, and this story delivers that beautifully. The clever dialogue made me laugh out loud, and the resolution warms my heart. Oh, Ivan. Oh, Gregor.

The Long Con. (Lois McMaster Bujold -- Miles Vorkosigan series). R. Ivan and Byerly go out on the town. For spy reasons, obviously. Hee. This was just so much fun;  I adored Alys' and especially Miles' reaction, that was just perfect.
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (mo mo mo)
I feel like Scrooge McDuck swimming in his gold coin warehouse when I'm browsing through the Yuletide archive. So many good stories - I haven't even read all the ones in my very favorite fandoms yet, but here are some of my favorites of what I've read so far.

Hercules ex Machina (Hercules: the Legendary Journeys). PG. A lovely, funny Hercules and Iolaus adventure, full of great lines and true to the show and their characters - and I'm going to be a little vague about this, but they meet a character from another mythology in a way that just works beautifully. This story just fills me with glee.

No Fish No Go (Hercules: the Legendary Journeys). G. A drabble: Hercules and Iolaus go fishing. You know that's not going to end well. Hee. I loved this, it's perfectly them.

In the Dark (Dead Boy Detectives). PG. Rowland and Paine talk in the dark. Quietly warm, adorable and in character; this hit just the right note for me, and I loved the conversation about the comics.

In The Tracks Of The Bear (Elfquest). R. After a bear hunt goes wrong, Strongbow and Bearclaw find that they're more alike than they thought. Not a pairing I'd ever thought about (though as the creators said, the elves have all visited each others' dens at one time or another), but the author makes it work, and I really liked the imagery at the end.

True North (Elfquest). PG. Skywise and Shenshen talk at Sorrow's End. Skywise was always my favorite. I love Shenshen's sensuality here, but also her seriousness, and the way Skywise is both tied to the world and detached.

Days Gone By (Elfquest). PG-13. Cutter and Skywise slash, not explicit; set during their stay with Nonna and Adar. (There should be more Cutter/Skywise, people, OMG. Or Cutter/Skywise/Leetah. Why is there not a gigantic archive somewhere? And if there is, why has nobody told me?)

Death in the Tuileries (Dorothy Sayers -- Lord Peter Wimsey). G. Lord Peter Wimsey and Bunter meet in Paris during the War and deal with their first case. Love the setting, and the first glimpse of their working relationship.

At First Sight (Diane Duane -- Young Wizards). G. Awww. Tom and Carl acquire a pet. This is just the story equivalent of a Cute Overload post.

Day of rest and gladness (Avatar: the Last Airbender). G. Speaking of cute, this story just melts me into a puddle. Warm and happy and just so right. Oh, Momo. Oh, Appa. Myfavouritethingmyfavouritething!

A Thousand Miles (Avatar: the Last Airbender). G. Avatar isn't just about the cute, though, and I really have to do a post about this amazing show sometime soon. This story broke my heart into little pieces and then glued them together again, with the help of a certain conniving and altogether admirable uncle. This is Zuko at his lowest ebb, right after the Agni Kai, and this is Iroh at his finest, and this is just how it happened. I treasure this story.

Home for the Holidays (Terry Pratchett -- Discworld) G. Worth it for Vimes' reading of 'Twas the night before Hogswatch' alone, and an excellent Pratchett voice. Lady Sybil negotiates, and Angua meets the in-laws.

Please, if you read these and like them, comment to let the authors know!
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (yuletide iolaus)
I had just enough time this morning to get online, find my story (YAY!) and throw it into my ebook; then I got to read it on the train.

It's an Invisible Man story, and I adore it. Thank you so much, dear Yuletide Santa! *dances*

It's got all the things I love about Iman plus some things they somehow forgot to add but that we all knew were happening anyway. In fact, this should so have been part of their Christmas episode. Did I mention this has an invisible Darien stalking Hobbes while he's doing his Christmas shopping? And that it's got a great snarky Darien voice, or that those bits near the end are making my glasses fog up? Yeah. Also, the connection between Hobbes and Fawkes is my absolute favorite thing about Invisible Man, and this story just nails that.

Don't know who he thinks he's kidding. Says Bobby Hobbes doesn't do Christmas. I remind him that I did Hanukah. Tells me he has some errands to run. I say why I don't go with you and we can catch the new Bond flick when you're done? And then he pulls some dumb excuse about getting the van winterized and dropping off the dry cleaning and picking up a fifth of Chivas for The Official and a box of ass-wipes for Ebert and he doesn't know how long it's all going to take and how `bout tomorrow? Yeah, right.
Read Coito Ergo Sum (PG-13, Darien/Bobby) - and please comment on the story if you liked it!

And if you happen not to be an Iman fan - there's a THOUSAND and FIFTY-TWO multifandom stories now live on the archive, people. Holy wow. *runs off to read*
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (twanky toujours gai)
I've updated my website with two recent Hercules snippets/short stories:

Long Day
Both of them had been up since yesterday morning.
6 Kb, rated G, written for the International Nap Day Challenge.

Legendary
Five things the legends got wrong about Hercules and Iolaus.
9 Kb, rated PG, Hercules/Iolaus, written for a Five Things challenge.

plus the twelve HtLJ Livejournal icons I posted earlier this week.
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (weekends are for communists hollenhoffer)
I can take a hint! I was going to work on my yuletide story *cough* but you guys made me write a snippet for Internation Nap Day about Hercules and Iolaus.

I feel soooooooo sleepy now. *yawn* Night!

(PS: thankyouagain for the LJ time and icons. Yay!)

Go read!

Nov. 29th, 2006 11:31 pm
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (woot!)
Very quickly, as I really really have to go sleep:

[livejournal.com profile] muccamukk has a great post about one of my all-time favorite Hercules stories: Home Is Where the Heart Is by [livejournal.com profile] ltlj and Kimberly Rector.

In my mind, this story supersedes most of the actual onscreen fifth season of Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, and I know I'm not the only one.
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (fingerpointing)
The last of the Five Things! Yes, I slowed down a little on these. *g*
Many thanks to [livejournal.com profile] aka_arduinna for beta'ing.

For [livejournal.com profile] swiss_kun:

Five things that make Hercules regret being a hero )

For [livejournal.com profile] elynross:

Five ways in which Sarah met Jareth again )

And [livejournal.com profile] therienne gave me "Five things the legends got wrong about Hercules and Iolaus", but it wouldn't stay in the numbered list format; instead it turned into a small story.

1200 words, PG, Hercules/Iolaus.

Legendary )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (woot!)
[livejournal.com profile] mickeymvt posted a slashy coda to the Hercules episodes Armageddon I and II:

Gratitude, Hercules/Iolaus, rated NC-17.

It wasn't all that long ago that she was saying "But I don't write fanfic." Heh. Yay, go encourage her!

(Disclaimer: I beta'ed this. :-)
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (rodney and ronon wildthings)
Okay, yeah. [livejournal.com profile] therienne and [livejournal.com profile] cesperanza have convinced me: [livejournal.com profile] sgastoryfinders is the best LJ community ever.

(The comm is for finding stories in the SGA fandom. All these stories exist, and someone somewhere is looking for them.)

rodeny can't sleep because his brian won't shut down )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)
I have the Vividcon DVDs, (WOoooOO!) so at some point this week there will be vid recs. Meanwhile, there is TOO MUCH LIGHT IN THIS BAR. Hee. Seriously, you should download this, especially if you are having a bad Monday. It's a Life on Mars vid, but you don't need to know even that much. Walks! No, wait...swaggers!

And there is a miniature Labyrinth vid in that same post, which you should also download and snicker at. And then kill [livejournal.com profile] absolut3destiny for claiming he made the latter in 'a few hours', because OMG. I know how hard it is to make those bloody muppets lip-synch, okay?

Right, Five Things now:

For [livejournal.com profile] roo2:

Five ways Iolaus didn't die )

For [livejournal.com profile] spikeface:

Five reasons Ares only wears black leather )

For [livejournal.com profile] cyloran:

Five (and a half) things Captain Jack can do better than the Doctor )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (woot!)
Today is a frabjumptious day, for it's [livejournal.com profile] ltlj's birthday, woohoo!

By way of a birthday present, here's "Clean", a tiny, somewhat slashy Hercules and Iolaus story, rated G. Happy birthday!

Clean )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (rodney and ronon wildthings)
[livejournal.com profile] flambeau is writing what she calls SGA snippets. I think of snippets as something incomplete, or incomplete-feeling, but these are finished stories, and they're gems. (Disclaimer: I beta'ed both of them, but it was more the sort of beta'ing where you tell the writer the bits you liked best. There were lots. *g*)

Over the hills and far away is disturbingly funny, and she has just posted another: Suburban consumption rituals, which is just hilarious. And, um. Horrific. And hilarious! Really, not many people could pull that off. It could also work as a straight SF story, with a little tinkering, since the worldbuilding is detailed and delicious. This just made me grin like a shark.
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (iolaus travels)
This is something that just won't happen in a massive fandom like SGA: someone friends you, you go to look and discover with disbelief and glee that they are writing in your fandom, OMG! About your favorite characters! Eeeee! You fall upon them, starving!

I'm talking about [livejournal.com profile] cyloran, who suddenly popped up on my fannish radar, and who is writing 100 Iolaus drabbles for [livejournal.com profile] drabbles100. Good drabbles, too - I particularly like The Sky Is Falling, and Just Hanging Around (scroll down a bit), with a deliciously defiant Iolaus, and Journey's End, which is one of the best descriptions of That Scene I've read.

Turns out [livejournal.com profile] cyloran is a HtLJ oldtimer - she has several challenge responses and two longer stories on the Iolausian Library. Brother's Keeper and The Peacock's Eye are classic Hercules & Iolaus stories, with that appealing mix of humor, banter and sword & sorcerous adventure that made the show so much fun.

The crowd cheered their delight. Equally pleased with himself, Iolaus offered his fans an elaborate bow and a wide grin that said, 'I meant to do that!'

"Eh-HEM," grumped a voice at his feet.

Iolaus looked down. Hercules, laying flat on his back on the ground, was covered from head to toe in flower petals.

"If you don't mind?"


(from Brother's Keeper)

"Have I ever mentioned you'd be a natural at horseshoes?" asked Iolaus as he critically observed the aftermath of his friend's throw.

"I tried it once," admitted Hercules as he dusted off his hands. "When I was six. It didn't go very well."

"What'd you do, throw the horseshoes too hard and break the pole?"

"Well, no. I sort of ... broke ... the horse."


(from Peacock's Eye)
I am hugely cheered that [livejournal.com profile] cyloran is here, and still writing, and working on more longer stories. Go encourage her! *eg*
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (nudeherc)
Sometimes I haunt the old Hercules sites, just to see if maybe someone has happened to write a fantastic new story, full of action and h/c and sexy bickering, and posted it there. Hey. It could happen!

And then, for my sins, I get this:

"Iolaus coated both hands with the slick stuff and began messaging the god's ass."

[livejournal.com profile] flambeau: BWA
[livejournal.com profile] flambeau: wouldn't he drop the phone?

*dies*
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (hercules sepia by dbw)
I've updated my website with the results of the drabble request meme: six Labyrinth drabbles, three Stargate: Atlantis drabbles (one of which is a crossover with Labyrinth, yes, I am insane), and one Hercules: the Legendary Journeys drabble.

I reorganized the drabble part of the site a bit, so all the HtLJ ones are now on one page. Found to my surprise that I've done 21 Hercules drabbles. I'm still pretty pleased with some of them, too. *g*
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (iolaus with wounded herc)
A Hercules: the Legendary Journeys story snippet to cheer up [livejournal.com profile] marinarusalka, who has the world's worst cold. Hope she's feeling better by now.

Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] elynross for beta'ing, and to one of my favorite movies for providing me with a last line. *g*

Rated G, gen.

In Sickness )
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (rodney and ronon wildthings)
My last three drabbles for the drabble meme. Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] aka_arduinna for beta and for letting me steal all her lines!

[livejournal.com profile] wickedwords asked for SGA, Rodney, and 'the stuff of legends'. I may have fudged a bit on that last one, but I did put a story element in that I know she likes...*cough*

In McKay's opinion, one of Sheppard's more annoying traits )

[livejournal.com profile] ltlj asked for SGA, John, and comforty.

Sheppard stared up at the medlab ceiling )

And then someone asked for SGA/Labyrinth.

drabble backstory, or, who to blame )

'Look, Major--' )

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