desertvixen | Entries tagged with heyer

My general preferences are here.

MAYBE: no-harm dubcon (sex pollen or “fertility artifact”) | period typical attitudes | infidelity | power dynamic

Treats are very welcome!

( On your mark... FIC! )

So first I must apologize for the extreme lateness of this letter, and if you have already started something keep right on rocking along! 2024 is not departing quietly.

My general preferences are here. To be general for threesomes, I prefer MFM.

MAYBE: no-harm dubcon (sex pollen or “fertility artifact”) | period typical attitudes | infidelity | power dynamic

Treats are always welcome.

Fairy Tail

Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss/Freed Justine (Fairy Tail)

Interested in the dynamics between these three - I am a serious Laxus/Mira shipper, but Freed clearly wants Laxus so bad.

My daughter and I have an ongoing joke that Freed is Laxus-sexual. Are the two of them having an ongoing thing when Laxus and Mira hook up, or does she bring him in because she hates to see him suffer?

Either way you go, I am interested, and think the three of them could make a powerful trio. (There’s a fanfic where it’s pointed out that Laxus doesn’t know what a unison raid is because he’s never needed to do one, and Mira’s all, what if we did one? What are we fighting?)

The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer

Hugo Darracott/Anthea Darracott/Vincent Darracott

These were really the first OT3 I ever seriously thought about. I love them, more in letter.

I love how basically Hugo absorbs Anthea and Vincent’s sharpness, and how well-balanced the three of them are. I feel quite sure Lady Aurelia would know, and probably Elvira, but would anyone else? This threesome has less to worry about in the children department as they are cousins, and I think they’re all good for each other. And has anyone sealed up that passage?

What If...? (Cartoon 2021)

Captain Peggy Carter/Howard Stark/Steve Rogers (What If 2021)

I just really think this would work nicely. More in letter!

Essentially, these three together interest me. Howard is responsible for giving both of them a chance to fight in the war, so how does that play in? That being said, I feel like a V focused on Peggy is probably the way to go.

Original Work

Niece of Famous Explorer/Son of her Uncle's Rival/Male Writer With Expedition (Original Work)

Regency Spinster Not Care for Reputation/Notorious Reg Gentleman with A Past/Mutual Friend (OW)

Harvest Goddess/King/Queen (Original Work)

Teenage Girl/Best Friend's Oldest Brother/Brother's Friend (Original Work)

Harvest Goddess/King/Queen - I love this idea of the goddess coming down.

Niece of Famous Explorer/Son of Rival/Male Writer - A little bit of sexy-charged-rivalry?

Spinster/Notorious Gentleman/Mutual Friend - Have you read Amanda Quick?

Teen Girl/BF's Older Brother/Friend - I find this interesting.

The goddess/king/queen one has been one that I have been wanting for awhile.

Niece/Son/Male Writer – I prefer the other two to have an ongoing will they or won’t they/driving each other crazy because they keep competing and just need to get a room, and the writer gets sucked into it. He is…not disappointed in the slightest.

Spinster/Notorious Gentleman/Mutual Friend – I am okay with the friend being male or female. The Spinster would like to be shown a good time and they are happy to oblige/instruct.

Teenage Girl/BF Older Brother/Brother’s Friend – I prefer friend here to be male, and am okay with a slide towards the predatory – she may be intrigued by both of them, but she may get a little more than she bargains for (or is brave enough to ask for).

Star Trek: Classic Timeline

Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard (ST:TNG)

I’ve just really been thinking about this AU and I want it. More in letter.

So this is obviously an “If Jack lived” AU request. Would they have been together all that time? Would they reconnect on the Enterprise? Or perhaps things started in Stargazer days?

I am okay with things not going 100% smoothly as long as all’s well that ends well. Also, please have it be certain that Wesley is Jack’s son.

Or, if you would like to take a trip to the department of Back Story Angst, one of them remembering when they were three and not two would be good as well!

Treats are so very welcome!

My general preferences are here.

I love all these ladies, tell me some stories!

( Get In Touch With Your Feminine Side )

My general preferences are here.

Treats are very welcome!

Please know that I love all these equally. Some fandoms just have more built up thoughts!

( Ready, Set, Requests! )

I’m a long letter person, especially for this challenge. Some fandoms have more than others, but that is no indicator of my love for them (just some have more thoughts/history).

My general preferences are here.

I am here for what-if AUs. I am here for crossovers (serious or cracky). I am here for epics and small tastes. In short, I am here for whatever you write!

All length opt-ins are are the same for all requests:

999 words exactly – a skill, I salute you

Drabble/Double Drabble/Triple Drabble/Drabble Series - as long as they are actual drabbles, go for it!

500 minimum words – when you’re not feeling the big story

Writing - Advice Column – My faves are Captain Awkward and Ask A Manager, but a good old fashion etiquette one can be good too.

Writing - Reddit: In-Universe r/AmITheAsshole Post (Post + Replies) – AITA on Twitter is one of my guilty pleasures. I love malicious compliance and family messiness.

Writing - Reddit: In-Universe r/Relationships Post (Post + Replies) - Same as above,

Audio - Podfic /Podfic of any of my fics that match this request's fandom/relationships – If you want to do it, go for it! This is not in the requests but I AM OPEN TO IT!

Writing - Remix - Fic Remix of my Fic – Anything I have written in the requested fandoms is okay (feel free to include all my Heyer work, not just Ajax).

Writing - Recursive Fic of Any of the Recip's Works In This Fandom – Same as above.

I am 1000% open to any treats anyone chooses to write!

My general preferences are here.

The short list:

FEEL FREE TO CROSSOVER ANY TIME: Nancy Drew | Georgette Heyer | And Then There Were None | Clue

SPOILERS FOR SNW S2 UNDER THE CUT

( 10K TIME! )

My LBD Blanket DNW: Incest, extreme graphic violence/sexual violence, character death, cruelty to animals/children, coffee-shop style/mundane AUs, OCs

Blanket Opt-In: what-if AUs, Crossover with any fandoms in my works, realistic or cracked out: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen

I cannot tell you how much I love crossovers. Please feel free.

My general preferences are here (and have recently been updated!)

( My Closet of Black Dresses and Suits )

Just a note, some fandoms have more stuff in the letter – because some fandoms I have more history of asking for. It is not a reflection of my affection for a canon – if I asked for it, I love it. (IE don’t be concerned if we didn’t match on Fandom #2, that’s just the longest one.

Have fun!

Treats: Yes Please!

My blanket DNWs are nominated character death, cruelty/death to animals/kids, graphic/explicit/sexual violence

Genre Tags:

AU – Canon Divergence – I love these, have provided some ideas. See also Crossovers (Cracky or Serious)

Established Relationship – I love these as well.

Fix-It Fic – Canon hurt me, apply the bandaid!

Getting Together – I enjoy this just as much as established relationships, and sometimes more.

Canon-Style Plot – The canons I have picked – I am into what makes a canon-style plot for them, so have fun with it.

Fluff – Maybe not a whole 5K words of it, but I am here for it.

Worldbuilding – How do the worlds work? There’s some ideas.

Mystery/Procedural – I enjoy having mysteries and getting answers, even in non-detective canons.

Slice of Life – Let me into their lives

Interpersonal Drama – How messy are your characters?

( Requests! )

Sorry this wasn't up earlier, but I'm preparing to move and having a bad reaction to dust and dead bugs in my garage.

This is Yuletide Number Nine! I'm really excited and I know we're both going to have fun with it.

General writing stuff can be found here.

I'll love whatever you write for me, so don't feel bad if we didn't match on one of my repeat requests. All of my requests excite me!

I'm totally down for crossovers between fandoms requested, or with Poirot, Marple, etc. On the Scoop one, I wouldn't be averse to working in the Queens of Crime deal.

Onto the specifics:

( My letter, let me show you.... )

Good luck and good writing!

DV

Time flies when we're having fun. This will be my EIGHTH Yuletide, and I look forward to it every year.

I want to apologize for being a little late getting the letter open, but I've been busy getting married, so catching up now.

Optional details are, of course, optional - but I'm one of the people who always wants MOAR INFO on what you want, so I provide plenty.

General wants/DNWs:

Stories don’t need to be super sappy and sugary/fluffy, but please don’t get all grim and dark. Bittersweet can work if there are hopeful tinges.

I like humor, and I don't think I do a good job of writing it - sparkling snappy dialogue always works! (Especially if you are here to fulfill my Heyer request!)

Holiday-themed is always enjoyed if that’s where the story takes you, but not required.

I generally prefer het or gen. I'd rather not have too-explicit sex for Yuletide, but romance is always in - ESPECIALLY if you're going a holiday route because I love Christmas and mistletoe. The "fade to black" or implied sex is fine, or making out.

I'm a fan of AU, but prefer canon-divergence or "what-if" scenarios, rather than "all the characters are at boarding school together" types (Unless they ARE all at boarding school together...)

Stories where problems are solved by feminine insight/intuition rock! I think pretty much all of my prompts are good for the Misses Clause challenge if you're into that.

I participate in the Yuletide Madness Drabble Initiative, and I love to recieve drabbles as well!

If you know more than one of the requested fandoms, or some of my other fandoms (particularly Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, or And Then There Were None, which I nominated and then forgot to request), I love crossovers. But only if you like to write them!

Please no explicit violence/gore (nothing higher than what already exists in a canon) and no sexual violence. I'd also prefer you avoid major (i.e. nominated) character death.

On to the specific stuff. Prompts are in no particular order.
( Eleanor and Park, The Nonesuch, Murder on the Orient Express, The Scoop, Vorkosigan Saga )

I hope all this helps. And just remember, whatever you write, I am going to enjoy - because it's going to be good and it's going to be a gift just for me.

Good writing!

DV

Day 28 – Favorite title
2010 Answer: A Civil Campaign by LMB

Trying to come up with a title has never been my strong suit. There's just so many ways to go wrong, and I'm really not a fan of the cutesy theme romance titles.

This time, I'll go with a classic Heyer title - These Old Shades. It makes more sense if you know that the characters are "shades" of the characters in her earlier work, The Black Moth, as well as the "shades" or ghosts of the past between Saint-Vire and Avon.

DV

( The Rest of the Meme )

I missed a day due to transit. We are in Kuwait, but don't spread it around until you see a post on FB that I am home, please!

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
2010 Answer: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

As I've said, I don't usually keep track of which plot twist is the most shocking ever.

This year, I'll go with Georgette Heyer's mystery The Unfinished Clue, since I picked up a copy of it someone sent over here to keep me company while in an area I couldn't have my Kindle in, then read it on the Kindle because I realized I had never highlighted it. It has some memorable lines, but it gets today's answer because Heyer cleverly feeds you a red herring, and then totally redirects onto another character.

The Unfinished Clue features the classic person with too many enemies, so no one is really all that surprised that someone finally did the honors. The murder victim (unusual for a period mystery that there is ONLY one murder victim) has a wife who abandoned him and their son years before the book opens - maybe 15? There's a female character who Heyer leads us (well, me) to believe she could be the victim's wife. The wife is indeed, in the area, but it's definitely not the woman you think it will be.

Much enjoyed.

DV

( The Rest of the Meme )

Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
2010 Answer: Death on the Nile or And Then There Were None (Christie), The Perfect Poison (Quick), and Q-Squared (David)

So, picking a favorite Christie is hard. There's SO many good ones. Out of the 76 titles in my "desert island" file, 14 of them are Christie titles.

For Hercule Poirot, I'll still go with Death on the Nile. It has a classic "how DID they do it?" plot, a pair of victims who you don't really feel too badly about, and a good film adaptation featuring Peter Ustinov, David Niven, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow and others.

For Miss Marple, I have to give the point to A Pocketful of Rye, where she isn't really invited in, but comes to solve the crime anyway. I love how she does the plot, and there's a lot of room for stories to fit in, including some of the alternate ideas in her notebooks. Point for dysfunctional families, a favorite of mine.

For standalones, it's a tossup between The Sittaford Mystery (snowbound murder, Ouija board, crossword puzzles, an intrepid reporter, a girl out to defend her man) and Murder is Easy (no one listens to little old ladies - what happens when a bored police type DOES). And Then There Were None belongs in its own category, I think.

Out of the 76 "desert island" titles, 15 of them are Heyer novels. For her mysteries, I have to go with Envious Casca, which has all the elements I love - dysfunctional family, character who (surprise! not) ends up dead, plenty of people with motives and no alibis, and an Inspector who's always paying attention. For her romances, since I've already talked about The Nonesuch, I'll go with another dysfunctional family of hers, the Darracotts who star in The Unknown Ajax, which is just fun all by itself. There's a good romance and good characters, and you will have a few good laughs while you read it.

DV

( The Rest of the Meme )

Day 13 – Your favorite writer
2010 Answer: Agatha Christie, Amanda Quick, Peter David

I still can't pick just one.

So, there are two authors who could probably mostly fill one of my bookshelves by themselves. Their books were among the first to be downloaded onto Kindle.

Agatha Christie is still my favorite, although this time she is joined by Georgette Heyer. The two of them have given me many, many happy hours of reading.

Christie is all about the plots. How will it get pulled off this time? I enjoy the characters, but many of them are sketched rather than drawn and finely detailed, despite the fact that Christie's plots hinge on people and how they act. I love the novels. I love the short stories. I love the plays. I've always been a Poirot fangirl - Murder on the Orient Express was my first Christie - but I've come to appreciate "Aunt Jane" and all the other detectives who populate the books, even if they don't intend to be detectives. (Emily Trefusis of The Sittaford Mystery comes to mind.) The romantic elements often seem quick and spare, but fit the sentiments of the times. She also does a good job of sketching in social details.

Heyer is all about the characters. The characters make the story, whether you love them or hate them. The stories live and breathe. Heyer made the Regency what it is, and everything else is an imitation - many of them enjoyable, but they lack what makes a Heyer story live and breathe. Her mysteries are good as well, and her other historicals. She inspired a lot of writers (including a close second place Lois McMaster Bujold, who acknowledges her in the intro to A Civil Campaign, and who has at least one Heyer-inspired moment - Miles' ride in the end of Barrayar marks him very clearly as a possible Darracott descendant) as well she should have.

Both are well worth reading. In fact, both could probably have their own 30 day meme.

DV

( The Rest of the Meme )

Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
2010 Answer: Saved By Scandal by Barbara Metzger

Now I feel like reading last year's answer on my Kindle, as it is part of my Desert Island file. These are the books that I feel I can't live without, and several of them already have ended up as answers to this meme. There will be more. It's hard to top Saved By Scandal because it just makes you feel better. Metzger is funny as all get out, and not stupid - her characters are a delight, even the people who are cardboard foils for the real characters. The mishaps are over the top in this one, the villains are deliciously bad, and it puts a smile on my face.

This year, I'll go with another Georgette Heyer title (get used to seeing her name, because her books are something else), The Nonesuch. This Heyer Regency has several elements that make me happy - a spoiled character who gets her comeuppance (not enough, sadly), the spinsterish governess Ancilla Trent falls in love with a handsome, smart, wealthy guy (Sir Waldo Hawkridge) who falls in love with her right back. The dialogue sparkles, the characters are well-drawn on both sides, and Heyer's deft touch with the Regency is all over the place. I'm fond of several of the supporting cast, including Mrs. Underwood, who is slightly mushroomy but a good soul at heart (despite her total inability to deal with Tiffany).

But he don’t look at her the way he looks at you – no, and he don’t talk to you as he does to her either! What’s more, if she ain’t in the room he don’t look up every time the door opens, hoping she’s going to come in!’ Her cool composure seriously disturbed, Ancilla said involuntarily: ‘Oh, Mrs Underhill, d-does he do so when – Oh, no! Surely not?’ ‘Lord bless you, my dear, of course he does!’ replied Mrs Underhill, with an indulgent laugh. ‘And if it is you – well, often and often I’ve thought to myself that if he was to smile at me the way he does at you I should be cast into a regular flutter, as old as I am!’

Yes, that makes me happy, in part because that's a very apt part of being in love. This bit makes me happy as well, but for different reasons:

‘I said, Quiet !’ Tiffany was so much startled by this peremptory reminder that she gasped, and stood staring up at the Nonesuch as though she could not believe that he was speaking not to his cousin, but actually to her. She drew in her breath audibly, and clenched her hands. Miss Trent cast a look of entreaty at Sir Waldo, but he ignored it. He strolled up to the infuriated beauty, and pushed up her chin. ‘Now, you may listen to me, my child!’ he said sternly. ‘You are becoming a dead bore, and I don’t tolerate bores. Neither do I tolerate noisy tantrums. Unless you want to be soundly smacked, enact me no ill-bred scenes!’ There was a moment’s astonished silence. Laurence broke it, seizing his cousin’s hand, and fervently shaking it. ‘I knew you was a right one!’ he declared. ‘A great gun, Waldo! Damme, a Trojan !’

DV
( The Rest of the Meme )

( Day 1 )

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
2010 answer: Murder on the Orient Express, Cards on the Table, and After The Funeral

Still wondering who this meme is geared to, because "books I have read more than 3 times" is a pretty broad category. I reread a fair amount

A triple feature answer (since today's question is brought to us by the number three):

1. A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer - One of her best, although not what many would consider a romantic novel today. It's more pragmatic, the heiress isn't beautiful, and she's more concerned with making her husband comfortable than having him make a passionate declaration of undying love. (Of course, she wants him to be comfortable, because she does love him.) It's also got one of Heyer's top 5 most annoying characters, Julia Oversley, the girl who the hero had an attachment to before everything got out of whack, and she's a melodramatic pampered drama queen. The hero's mother is a bit of an homage to Mrs. Bennett, but not as annoying - maybe because A Civil Contract hasn't been made into a miniseries. Too bad - I would watch.

2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - Yes, a repeat from last time. There's just something soothing about reading the mystery, having everyone trapped on the train, and watching Poirot do what he does. Especially since he serves justice, rather than strict legality. It's also got an excellent movie version.

3. Hunting Party by Elizabeth Moon - I picked this one because I found a paperback copy of it here, and it was like finding an old friend to open it up and get lost in the pages. It's the first book of the Serrano series, and sort of throws you into the middle of everything. I love how the characters just suck me in, between Heris and Cecelia and the rest of the cast. It's pretty light, until we get thrown right into The Most Dangerous Game. Also, as you go through the series, I love how she ties things up in the final book, despite some of the plot twists that fall into the "sudden and inevitable betrayal" category.

DV

( The Rest of the Meme )

desert_sdwndr has arrived. Yes, I am typing this with a big smile on my face. It throws my schedule off some, but it was nice to have about four hours today to spend together.

I got my assignment for

intoabar, not sure I'm super happy with it because I barely recall the character, so I foresee some research and possible Kindle downloading.

Finished up No Wind of Blame, and it will not be staying on the Kindle - into a reread of Behold, Here's Poison, which IMO has a much more entertaining cast. They're a thoroughly dislikable group. I may have to go on and reread Envious Casca next... I am also having an idea which would be better addressed in a longer post, which I am working on.

I'm also (slowly) downloading the whole 13 episode run of Visionaries to the computer. The best solution here seems to be to start a download before I go to sleep. I'm also going to try my hand at screencaps for some icons. There's definitely some tropes in it I enjoy.

Unfortunately I also have to polish off a piece of homework and try to finish reading the stupid book for class.

DV

Day 06 – A book on your Kindle that makes you happy

So, my Kindle includes a collection called "Desert Island". In other words, if I could never have any more books than what is in this collection, these are the titles I absolutely must have. I like the idea that I could just them out and read them, whenever, wherever.

They are the books I adore.

As for making me happy, I think I would have to split between two of the Heyer titles that live in this collection.

Cotillion is just happy and fluffy and the right amount of zany. Plus I love that Kitty realizes just how lucky she is to avoid Jack. Freddy, the guy in the book, is delightful. It's a romp, with well-drawn characters and one of those families that just draws you in...because they are crazy.

The Nonesuch features Ancilla Trent, a blue-stocking governess to a spoiled brat with tons of money and feminine charms. The brat ever-so-gently gets her comeuppance. The gentle, well-bred girl gets the guy worth having. And Ancilla, the governess, gets to marry one of Heyer's best heroes, Sir Waldo Hawkridge. People get what they deserve, in general, and the small world the characters inhabit is exquisitely drawn.

Both of them are romances, obviously, but their endings are just perfect. They're both books that I could pick up when in a blue mood, and smile by the end.

DV

( The Rest of the Meme )

Amazon has a whole bunch of Heyers (mysteries and romances) for $1.99.

The Toll-Gate
Beauvallet
Royal Escape
Charity Girl
Bath Tangle
Arabella
Powder and Patch
Regency Buck
Cotillion
Sylvester
Venetia
The Grand Sophy
The Nonesuch
The Quiet Gentleman

Detection Unlimited
Blunt Instrument
Footsteps in the Dark
Unfinished Clue
Penhallow
Duplicate Death
Envious Casca

I'm mildly annoyed because a full-price Kindle version of Nonesuch was one of my first purchases (goes in the Desert Island section of my Kindle). I snagged several of these.

DV

So I stayed up late to finish it and... yes. That was something different.

Under a spoiler because I know I can't be the only one reading these for the first time with the new editions:

( Penhallow Spoilers )

DV

( Days 1-24 )

Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most - Yet another one where it's hard to just pick one. I have to go with Delia Peabody (from the "In Death" series), with Ancilla Trent from The Nonesuch following closely behind. Peabody is the sidekick, the smoother-over, the accomplisher of administration, although she manages to get enough smart-ass remarks in that she holds her own. Especially as the only female in my job (where I am), I feel like I'm in this role a lot. Eve also sticks her with a lot of the touchy-feely-girly stuff, and I end up doing a lot of it myself. Ancilla is a bluestocking - smart, independent, and good with dealing with difficult people, which I hear a lot myself.

( Days 26-30 )

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