Stuff and Moonshine

Got my assignment on the weekend-- it seemed to me they came out faster this year. I was expecting it to take a week after sign-ups closed, but it was only about a day. 

Obviously I can't say what fandom it's for. I will say it's one I added as an afterthought to my list of offers and had no particular plans to write for, but I had some ideas yesterday (and re-read the recipient's requests) and I think I can do something good with it.



Other fics will have to be tabled for the time being, naturally.

The Face (2816 words) by moon_custafer
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eleanor Rigby (Beatles song)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Father Mackenzie, Eleanor Rigby
Additional Tags: Yuletide 2023, ghost story


I decided to try and make it a mid-century literary ghost story type of thing, complete with framing narrative. The tricky part was deciding if Father Mackenzie was Catholic or Anglican— he’s got an Irish name, but St. Peter’s, Woolton, whose churchyard actually contains the gravestone with the name Eleanor Rigby, is Anglican.

ETA: Not actually written for Yuletide, but seasonal, short and sweet:
Seasons greasons (2045 words) by hydesboy
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Dorian Gray, Henry Wotton, Basil Hallward
Additional Tags: Modern AU, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, dori is making things everyone else's problem again
Summary:

In which Dori has an obnoxious amount of Christmas spirit because I feel obligated to try my hand at a Christmas fic at least once

Modern Dori au also

In absentia (1084 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Instrumentality of Mankind - Cordwainer Smith
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Behavior, Mind Games, Mad Scientists, Mushrooms, Existential Horror
Summary: There is a joke, or a legend, or a warning, or a prophecy, or all of them together as related by the Lord Taverin Aurelius.  
It concerns mushrooms.

Certainly Not Lacking in Cheese (1311 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dennis Moore, Henry Wensleydale
Additional Tags: Cheese, Cheese Shops, Highwaymen, No parrots, No lupins either
Summary: Poor Henry Wensleydale, stuck in his cheese shop all the live long day. If only a dashing highwayman would come and liven things up!

The Price of Salvation (5780 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Jacob Marley & Ebenezer Scrooge
Characters: Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Ghosts, Haunting, Angst, Character Death, Implied Terminal Illness
Summary: Scrooge received only one visit from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come.

Jacob Marley came many times.

A Drop of Dew (1757 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Box of Delights (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Caroline Louisa
Additional Tags: Backstory, Magic, Dreams
Summary: Caroline Louisa is turning 11 years old, and that is when the magic appears for the first time. But certainly not the last.

In the Arms of the Enemy (1188 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Astérix le Gaulois | Asterix the Gaul - Goscinny & Uderzo, Astérix le Gaulois | Asterix the Gaul & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Claudius Malosinus | Vexatius Sinusitus (Goscinny & Uderzo), Panoramix | Getafix, Abraracourcix | Vitalstatistix
Additional Tags: Vomiting, poisoned character
Summary: He was sick and dying, but the hope on the horizon kept him fighting on.

Claudius' time in the Gallic village.

Appoggiatura (1900 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Amadeus (1984)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Antonio Salieri
Characters: Antonio Salieri, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Additional Tags: Character Study, Jealousy, Rivalry, Really the Ship Tag Should Be Salieri/Mozart/Music?
Summary: Mozart leans into the displeasing, and Salieri watches and wants.

and flies with swallow's wings (2205 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 15th Century CE RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Anne Neville Queen of England/Richard III of England
Characters: Anne Neville Queen of England, Original Female Character(s)
Summary: Scenes from a London cookshop.

Dear Yule Writer—
Thanks for volunteering to write a fic for me. I am moon_custafer on AO3 as I am here.

General likes: Mild hurt-comfort; Cuddling and conversation; Period-specific details; Friendship; Small, reserved gestures of affection (kissing or touching hands, foreheads, etc.); Ghosts or supernatural; Found family; Casefic or plotfic.

General DNWs: Fusions; AUs that deviate from canon to the point of being a completely different premise/setting, i.e. high-school/coffee-shop/ABO dynamics.


( Read more... )

I see that [Bad username or unknown identity: sovay’]s Where the Sky is Silver and the Earth is Brass has been nominated under Books & Literature, and that Night Nurse (1931) shows up in movies (characters tagged are Maloney, Nanny Ritchie, Lora Hart, and Mortie). Both the animated ‘90s The Tick and the newest live-action version are nominated under TV shows, and Edward Gorey’s The Curious Sofa under Uncategorized Fandoms.

 This one will likely have more widespread appeal— I got my Laura-is-on-the-spectrum Woman In White ficlet:

Silence Is Safe 

(Laura&Walter, Laura&Marion)

ETA— Also reccing Casio e Pepe, the genderfluid Some Like It Hot OT4 we all needed.

FETA— Wild and Clear, The Box of Delights. Kay Harker and Maria Jones both grew up to be magic workers, though along different lines. Friendship, unfazedness in the face of magical happenings.

Infinite Variety, Cabaret. London, 1950. Clifford tries to track down Sally Bowles and instead finds an odd household presided over by her (their?) daughter. (cw nazis, holocaust, etc, but none of that’s really unexpected given the original work) Found family, nazi-hunting.

Let’s Do The Same As They Captain America/MCU, Singin’ In the Rain crossover. One OT3 meets a potential OT3 at a USO show.

 Dear Yule Writer—

First off, thanks for volunteering to write a fic for me. I am moon_custafer on AO3 as I am here.

General likes:
Mild hurt-comfort;
Cuddling and conversation;
Period-specific details;
Friendship;
Small, reserved gestures of affection (kissing or touching hands, foreheads, etc.);
Ghosts or supernatural;
Found family;
Casefic or plotfic;
Low-key immortals or demi-mortals passing for human

Do Not Wants:
ABO;
Vore;
Non-con or dub-con;
Underage (although age difference between characters who are both definitely adults is ok);
Fusions or AUs that deviate strongly from the canon setting, i.e. high-school/different-century/IN SPAAACE” AUs

Requests below the cut:

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Characters: Laura Fairlie, Marian Halcombe, Walter Hartright
IMO the plot of Woman In White depends upon all the heroes being over-conscientious people who second-guess themselves until pretty late in the story: Walter, as an art tutor, already worries he’s crossed a line in falling for his pupil Laura even before he learns she’s spoken for, so it’s a simple (if not an easy) decision for him to withdraw so he won’t be tempted; Marion’s creepdar goes off the moment she meets Sir Percival Glyde, but in the absence of any documented red flags she falls back on telling herself she’s just being jealous and over-protective of her half-sister; Laura is easy-going in most matters, but if she believes she has a moral obligation to do something, she will stubbornly do it, against the wishes of her own heart and the worries of her nearest and dearest.

Not without reservations, though: Marion double- and triple-checks Sir Percival’s background; Laura attempts to provoke him into breaking off their engagement by telling him of her feelings for Walter, and the first time her new husband strikes her she has no qualms about contacting her half-sister for help in leaving him— she doesn’t consider herself obligated to stick by him once he’s broken the marriage vows. Walter is off the edge of the page for many chapters but he survives a doomed expedition to South America, kept alive against the odds by the inner feeling that at some point Laura and Marion are going to need his help.

Trying to figure out where I’m going with this– I guess I’d like stories that explore: rule-based morality vs. instinct, and the possibility that Laura is on the AS/ADHD spectrum, as is her half-sister Ann.

Alternately: many fics pair Marion with Walter but I think she feels some attraction to Laura and her guilt over this contributes to her fear that she’s personally motivated to think the worst of Sir Percival.

I’d also be fine with an extract from Walter’s harrowing adventures in the Amazon.

People Will Talk (1951)
Characters: Dr. Noah Praetorius, Professor Lionel Barker, Debra Higgins, Shunderson
“I've known you intimately for 10 years, and I can't even guess what you were up to the day before I met you.” There’s a lot to unpack there. I’d like to see some pre-cannon for these two, maybe including their first meeting (which have been around 1941); maybe some backstory for Barker. Slash ok but not required.

Other possibilities: Shunderson as observer; post-cannon (possibly with Noah, Lionel and Debra as OT3) also good, but that’s what I usually write for myself in this fandom, so you may wish to explore other avenues. Original movie viewable on YouTube.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Characters: Earl Cole, Glenn Mills, Preston Packard, Hank Marlow
I missed this when it came out last year, and watched it a couple of months ago mainly due to a newfound hyperfixation on Shea Whigham, who did not disappoint, except that I’d have liked more of his character (Cole), maybe some backstory– I can’t tell if he’s a deliberate example of “smarter/saner than everyone thinks,” or if the script itself wavers back and forth on whether to treat him as the unit cut-up or as a war-weary veteran who’s begun to suspect his side is wrong. Also, I don’t know a lot about Vietnam-era US military protocol, but was it odd for someone of Cole’s age and rank to still be out in the field (same goes for Col. Packard I suppose)?

So, more Cole and Mills, or Cole/Mills if you like, and I’d also enjoy some interactions with the other Sky Devils and/or their commander, or that other eccentric character, Hank Marlow (I think there’s time for a missing scene between the meet-up between Packard’s and Conroy’s groups, and Packard striking out in search of Chapman and the weapons).

Post-canon flashbacks also a possibility.

The Time of Your Life (1948)
Characters: Joe, Nick, Kitty Duval, Mary L.
I’m fascinated by Cagney’s performance as Joe – someone who barely moves from his chair for most of the story shouldn’t, by rights, be so mercurial. Is he an ex-gangster? An ex-Time Lord? But I’d sort of like his past to remain mysterious but for hints.

I like watching Joe’s interactions with Nick, with the other bar patrons (including his brief platonic romance with Mary L), and the interactions between Nick and the others.

Alternately: Nick seems the most grounded of the movie’s characters—we know he has a family outside the bar, because his mother and his little daughter both come by to visit him. What happens when his home life and work overlap, possibly with Joe in the mix as well?


So, there you go, hope one of theses prompts pings something. Thanks again!

This is my first year doing this, so I hope I’m getting it right—

People Will Talk (1951)
Characters: Dr. Noah Praetorius, Professor Lionel Barker
“I've known you intimately for 10 years, and I can't even guess what you were up to the day before I met you.” There’s a lot to unpack there. I’d like to see some pre-cannon for these two, maybe including their first meeting (which from Prof. Barker’s statement, must have been around 1941); maybe some backstory for Barker. Slash ok but not required. Other possibilities: Shunderson as observer; post-cannon (possibly with Noah, Lionel and Debra as OT3) also good, but that’s what I usually write for myself in this fandom, so you may wish to explore other avenues. Original movie viewable on YouTube.


Oz – Baum
Characters: Button-Bright
Button-Bright is an Oz character I’ve always had a bit of trouble getting a handle on – likely because he was introduced as a toddler, then I think Baum must have aged him up to about nine or ten and given him his own spin-off series, before bringing him back as an Oz regular. As a toddler he’s a bit irritatingly oblivious—as an older kid he retains something of his initial stolidity, but it’s become less a matter of “too ignorant to panic” and more “has realized a wait-and-see approach works for him. Looking at him again, he could be read as non-NT – and as the main thing I like about Oz is the theme of integration, characters with fairly different needs making allowances for each other (i.e. the “meat people” need food and sleep, but tend to have better motor skills than the animated-by-magic people like the Scarecrow or the Patchwork Girl), I’d like to see a fic that takes that approach.

The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
Characters: Mr. Candy, Ezra Jennings, Rachel Verinder
These two are pretty much made for hurt/comfort, but would also enjoy seeing casefic (possibly including Mr. Candy having to be the “face” of the practice because of prejudice against Jennings); backstory (just what was Jennings accused of anyway?); post-cannon angst with Candy mourning Jennings; competent!Candy who is way less frivolous than he seems on the surface. ETA -- I would also be good with Ezra Jennings/Rachel Verinder or Rachel Verinder/Mr. Candy friendship.

Lud-in-the-Mist – Hope Mirrlees
Characters: Ambrose Honeysuckle, Marigold Chanticleer, Nat Chanticleer

General likes, in no order: Mild hurt-comfort; cuddling and fluff; period-specific details; friendship; small, reserved gestures of affection (kissing or touching hands, foreheads, etc.); fat appreciation (WG or feederism not so much); ghosts or supernatural; cozy atmosphere; found family; casefic or plotfic; low-key immortals or demi-mortals passing for human. Crossovers welcome. AUs ok, though would prefer canon.

Do Not Wants: ABO (it just makes no biological sense to me); gore; vore; non-con or dub-con; underage (although age difference between characters who are both definitely adults is ok); fusions.

ETA -- removed Hilda the plus-size pinup -- I think I'd like to offer to write for that fandom.