cinaed

I wrote two stories this year, both of which I had a blast writing.

Once a Goddess (4095 words) by Cinaed
Fandom: Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Millie | Millie Chant, Gabriel de Witt, Christopher Chant, Conrad Tesdinic, Janet Chant
Summary:

The dour-faced man who came to interview Millie the morning after was from the Government.

blueyeti had written a couple fics about Millie as a character of color, an idea which grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I ended up writing three scenes, both set after the books Millie was in-- first a discussion between Gabriel de Witt and Millie post-The Lives of Christopher Chant, then a going away party and a look at Millie and Conrad's friendship from Conrad's Fate, and finally Janet and Millie having a quiet moment post-Charmed Life. Diana Wynne Jones's style is tricky to emulate, but I think I pulled it off. And again, it was tons of fun to write!

Here Thy Hands Let Fall the Gather'd Flower (6883 words) by Cinaed
Fandom: Greek and Roman Mythology
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hades/Persephone
Characters: Dionysus (Greek and Roman Mythology), Hermes, Athena (Greek and Roman Mythology), Artemis (Greek and Roman Mythology), Charon
Summary:

Persephone wanted to be one of Artemis’s maidens. Hades wanted to help her avoid Zeus’s unwanted attentions. Needless to say, things didn’t go according to plan.

This was a Treat that tackled me and then grew. And grew. And grew some more! I was surfing the DYW letters, as you do, and stumbled upon this prompt, and Hades just stepped right into my head. I instantly had a basic premise. I even wrote the first scene immediately, just because it was so clear in my head. Then I made myself stop and told myself I could only work on it once I'd finished my actual recipient's prompt. Writing this story though was a total joy. I loved doing the research for it, I loved turning the myth inside out, and I loved writing every single character, from Hades to Athena to Persephone to Charon. Thank you, Rosencrantz, because this story reignited my love of Greek mythology. (I am totally requesting Dionysus/Ariadne next year. Guys, he marries her even though she's mortal, because she's amazing and he loves her, and then when she dies, he marches down to the underworld, and tells Hades he's taking Ariadne and his mom to Olympus to be made gods. That is one of the most romantic stories ever.)

The response for this one took me by complete surprise! I had so much fun writing it, though, so I'm glad other people enjoyed it. :)

Oh my goodness, you guys, I got an AMAZING fic. (Not that I don't always because Yuletide is amazing, but this fic is so, so good.)

The Beat Goes On is a A Chorus Line story, post-musical, that revolves around my two favorite characters Diana and Paul and their awesome friendship. The writer even included cameos from my other favorites, Cassie and Larry.

And oh, you guys, this fic is so good. It's all about family, and friendship, and the choices you make for the things you love, the choices you make because people have forced you to, and both the danger and the beauty of defining yourself through your dancing/singing/performing.

In other words, if you've seen A Chorus Line, READ THIS FIC. If you haven't seen it, and are into musicals at all, get the Original Broadway Cast CD from a website or your local library, listen to it, and then read this fic. :D

God, I love Yuletide.

Also, Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! It's snowing here. Yay, white Christmas!

How're you all doing?

I've got 3,000 words so far on mine, and just need to write a final scene and send it off to beta.

I've also actually got 400 words and an entire plot thought out for a Madness fic.

And, uh, a title and an idea for two others, but I doubt I'll be able to write them in time for Yuletide. (I am not the fastest writer in the world, heh.) Maybe as NYR fics.

Okay, since we were allowed to nominate six fandoms, I had a lot of fun. My six ended up being:

Baccano (anime)
A Chorus Line (musical)
Jane Yolen - The Young Heroes series
Jonathan Coulton - The Princess Who Saved Herself (song)
Laurence Yep - Chinatown Mysteries series
Nurse Jackie (tv)

I was going to nominate Some Like It Hot and then realized someone else definitely would. :)

As you may or may not be aware *grin* the Yuletide authors were revealed today.

For the first time ever, I managed to write a Yuletide Treat as well as a fic for my original recipient. They were both fun to write, but the former is definitely the closest to my heart. It was so interesting to write.

For calliope85, I wrote a Regeneration (Pat Barker) story: Such Delight As Prisoned Birds Must Find In Freedom. For those of you who have never heard of the book before (which is probably all of my flist), Regeneration is the first book of a Regeneration trilogy set during WWI. It revolves around Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and William Rivers, a psychiatrist who works with Sassoon at Craiglockhart, the hospital Sassoon and Owen went to during the war after shell-shock. It's a brilliant, amazing series, and it was so great to research WWI and especially the real life relationship between Sassoon and Rivers. Emulating Barker's beautifully stark prose was a challenge, but then, I enjoy a challenge. I wrote Ursula Le Guin Earthsea fic last Yuletide, after all.

My Yuletide Treat was for spicy_diamond, and it's a Yozakura Quartet story called Swept By the Tempest Of Your Love. Yozakura Quartet is a short manga/anime revolving around a town and its literal demons. I had a lot of fun getting into Kyosuke's head and examining his devotion to Hime, the young mayor of the town.