Allow me to share my most recent gifts!

 Unfortunately I missed the signup for Trick or Treat and so did not participate. 

 For Darkest Night 2017, I got a delightful Wait Till Helen Comes fic: Say, Say, My Playmate Come Out and Play with Me - think of it as something of a prequel to the book.  It fits delightfully, and ends on a perfect note. 

 Heather will be perfect.

 For Crossovering 2017, I got a Murder She Wrote & Nancy Drew crossover story: The Carson Drew Murder Case.  If you like either of these fandoms, it's a must read - and it has some surprise guest stars...

 For Fandom Giftbox 2017, I got a story where Unikitty meets Lex Luthor, The Art of the Deal.  Short and  funny, as well as Butterflies, a BSC going-to-prom story, and a Wonder Woman moment called Have it go along for a while that could fit right in the movie.

 For Alternate Universe Exchange, I got a funny and cracky Jem and the Holograms cartoon story called Talk It Out.  Funny as all get out!

 For GenEx 2017, I got a lovely Hill Street Blues story called Ex, Post Facto, dealing with Frank and Faye.  I also got an absolutely delightful treat called Dear H., in which an anonymous private detective writes an advice column. Guest appearances by other canons!

 For Rare Pair Fest, I got a Diana Prince/Bucky Barnes story, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace.  I'm not down with the tack DC seems to have taken about Diana pining for Steve Trevor for 100 years, and this goes along more with how I see the character.

She laughed like the ripple of the tide against the docksides, and he pleased her both without and with her explicit instruction, and in the morning they parted with only a smile.

 Rare Pair Fest also brought me The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, a He-Man MOTU story of which I need more more more, focused on Marlena and Randor.

For The Exchange at Fic Corner 2017, I got a great story for Are You There God?  It's Me, Margaret, in which Laura Danker takes Margaret to school again, called Beyond the A&P.  Really good, especially for teen girls who could use the lesson.

 Go forth and give them some love!

So most of my posts have been exchange letters lately, and I haven't shared any of the stuff I've written OR recieved...since, um Yuletide.  Here we go!

For Multi-Fandom Drabble, I got A LOT!

1.Something to Fight For - A Wonder Woman drabble, focusing on Steve's final moments.  Feels warning.

2. Observations - Perry Mason drabble, focused on Della's feminine skills.

3. Great Love, Great Fear - Greek/Roman Myth drabble, Clytemnestra focused.

4. Women's Work - Greek/Roman Myth drabble.  Someone has noticed what Penelope does at night.

5. The Case of Light and Shadow - Perry Mason drabble.  Perry and Della prepare for another case.

6. On a Hollow Ship - Greek/Roman Myth drabble.  Clytemnestra and Penelope interact.

7. The Works of Warfare - Greek/Roman myth double drabble.  This is my actual assigned fic, and it's really lovely.  Contrast of Penelope and Clytemnestra, who aren't really in that different a position...

For Not Prime Time, I got Wanax Kai Basileus (A Lord and A King), a really really really excellent story about Agamemmnon and Odysseus before the walls of Troy.  If you've ever thought that Odysseus should have been in charge of that show, you'll enjoy this.

For Night on Fic Mountain, I got One Got In Chancery, a really good AU story involving another scenario for the events of And Then There Were None.  It's Vera Claythorne-centric.

For All in the Family, I got Sacrifices and Gifts, a Hestia-centric fic that centers on her relationships with Demeter and Persephone.  It's nicely done, and sheds some light on the character who sits in the shadows.

For Jukebox (song-related fics only), I got At the Crossroads, a story based on Red Sovine's "Phantom 309".  Very lovely, and it brings everything full circle.

For Once Upon A Fic, I got Simon Peel's Bride, based on the Lady Lovibond story.  It's lovely and haunting.

For Fandom 5K, I got a fic (despite my defaulting), A Modern Barrayaran for the Vorkosigan Saga fans.  It's very good and pulls in some people we haven't heard from in awhile.

For May The Fourth Be With You exchange, I got Inheritance and Got a lot of fight left in me - both based on my prompt for an AU where Leia meets Kenobi.  They're both really good.

For Chocolate Box - Round 2:

1. Just like Sisters - a Lion Voltron story focused on Allura and Romelle.  Very nice!

2. Second Chances - a TNG story featuring Picard/Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher.  Obviously AU but very enjoyable, and hot.

For Fandom Stocking 2016:

1. A Quest for Merklynn - Visionaries fic featuring Cryotek/Galadria.  It made me squee.

2. Just Janine - Great BSC piece with Janine introspection.

DV

Kin I get Yew Some Coffee, ma'am was written for one of my prompts in the Bujold Ficathon 2016.  Laisa-centric.

DV

I've been remiss about updating lately.

My gifts for Trick or Treat Exchange were very spiffy.

The one most likely to be of interest to people reading here is called History, a Vorkosigan Saga fanfic that has Laisa and Tej having tea and an encounter from the past...

There was also a story for Wreck-It Ralph that was delightfully Halloween-apocalypse called Slouching Towards Niceland.  New games aren't always progress...

My last gift was for Star Wars (Original Trilogy) called visitant.  It deals with Wedge Antilles and the things he sees, this time of year.

I'll post about my works when they are revealed.  I haven't had time to read for recs yet.

DV

The gifts for Gen Ex are open, and I have TWO very enjoyable stories.

The first is called Nancy Drew and the Case of the Troublesome Trashcan.  As you might guess from the alliterative title, it's a crossover with Perry Mason.  Nancy leads Della on a bit of an adventure.

The second is called Letters from Quarantine, for the Oxford Time-Travel Universe, featuring Kivrin Engle and Colin Templer.  I loved Domesday Book, but I felt like I needed to see how Kivrin dealt with the aftermath of her Black Death experience.  This addresses it quite nicely.

Reveals are the 24th, so I'll be posting the 2 works then.

 My gift for YCDTIF 2016 is The Secret of the Smitten Sleuths (Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys TV show).  If you've enjoyed the "will they or won't they" of the relationship in the show, you will enjoy this story.

 Going to emergency pinch hit seems to have worked out.

 I got an awesome story, called The Wild (Star Trek TOS, Mirror Pike/Mirror Number One).  So I threw this mirror couple on my nominations and request list because I had extra space, and because I love Pike/Number One.  It makes me happy.  I love Number One on her own, but the two of them together are so good.

 And that was a really good choice.  The ISS Enterprise finds itself at a little planet called Talos IV... the inverted events in this are nicely done, and it addresses a hole in the original episode "Mirror, Mirror" - how did Kirk get rid of Pike?  (I believe in the ep it references his murder.)  There's also a nice callout to The Menagerie.  And because this is a ship fest, the new Adam and Eve.  It's over 4400 words of awesomeness!  Go read it.

I also got a treat (I love treats, and I so rarely get them) that may interest more of the crowd that hangs around here.  It's a Vorkosigan Saga work called Till Things Are Brighter, dealing with Ivan/Tej before Aral's funeral.  I love Ivan/Tej and this is so wonderfully them.  The author proposes the link between funerals and fatigues that seems VERY Barrayaran.  It's a tender shippy scene to which I recommend bringing a tissue. I really really like it.

I'll do a recs post once reveals happen, but at a first glance there's a Bucky Barnes/Maria Hill fic that looks promising, and a sensual Mummy fic with Evy/Rick/Ardeth that I don't recommend reading with curious eyes in the room.

DV

 I found this link while I was working on my The Hundred and One Dalmatians - Dodie Smith story, and didn't want to share it at the times as it might have tipped people off.

 It's called Black and White and mashes up Dalmatians with ... Anita Blake.  The author is not an LKH fan, but it channels early Anita pretty well.

 DV

My assignment ended up being Nancy Drew and the Hassled Heiress, for the 1930s Nancy Drew fans.  The recipient really enjoyed it, and left me a lovely compliment.  As for the alliterative title, I may have been watching too much Perry Mason.  This case involves the aforementioned hassled heiress, a greedy relative, and a house with a secret.

I also did an initial pinch hit for the Vorkosigan Saga called To Dance Again, featuring Lady Alys Vorpatril and her memories of dancing...and her hopes of the future.  Several known names seem to have found it, so I'm super happy to be able to claim it.

Recs:

1.  Left Unspoken (Captain America movies) - Okay, if you totally felt like Cap 2 was setting us up for Steve/Natasha and then were totally frustrated by the lack of follow-thru (and the whole Natasha/Bruce thing), then this is a story for you.  It's by the same person who wrote the really awesome Let The Water Wash You Clean, and... just read it.  Assumes that everyone on Steve's side went with him.  Story has spoilers for Captain America: Civil War.

He’d always suspected Nat and Clint had ways of talking to each other that didn’t involve telephones or other usual means. And Sam was right that he wouldn’t have gone eighty-four days without at least finding out if she were okay. And the other way around too.

Steve’s patience was gone. “God dammit, Clint, I’m not going to have you tell her I love her in a coded message from you!”

There's some Steve/Bucky stories, a Steve/Peggy story, and a Steve/Maria Hill story as well.

2. Persephone Departs (Greek/Roman Mythology) - A lovely piece about Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, leaving her mother in the autumn.  The language in this is lovely.

3. Feather on the Nile (The Mummy series) - If you ever thought Ardeth should hook up with Rick and/or Evie... yeah, you need to read this.  It's quite nice, sensual without being explicit.

Ardeth understands only too well why O’Connell would forsake all others for this woman, if she looked at him as she looks at O’Connell, he’s certain he would too. The knowledge passes between them that they would burn cities for this girl if she asked. Better for both of them that her hunger is for knowledge rather than treasure.

“Are you dying?” Evy asks, voice utterly serious, “I’d like to think you’d tell me if the world was ending after everything we’ve been through but it’s worth asking anyway? Because I’ve been kissed by a desperate and doomed man before and I know what that feels like. Ardeth, what’s wrong?”

4. Victory Dance (Star Wars Original Trilogy) - A Leia/Han/Lando piece set at the Endor celebration.  Not my usual taste, but good.  Not super explicit, but descriptive.

Instead, to her surprise, he pulls her in closer for a second kiss, gentler and quicker than the first, then lets her go, gives her a wink, and turns to Han to say in tones of mock complaint, "See, now she knows how to welcome a guy home from a suicide mission."

DV

 I got an excellent gift for the Not Prime Time 2016 exchange called Home at Last.  It answers my prompt for Demeter to give Clytemnestra some help, given that Demeter knows how it feels to have your daughter wrenched from you on male whims.  Clytemnestra is still herself, but Demeter shows her some grace, and it has a lovely, if bittersweet, sort of ending.

I'll talk recs and my works after the reveal on Friday.

DV