Unthinkable Wings

Yes, I wrote a fic again! Dedicated to lizbee, who inspired it by her brilliant description of Lorca as "an Ask A Manager letter in a Starfleet uniform".

Title: Ask a Manager, Space Edition.
Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery
Words: 1181
Rating: G

( worried about my boss's poor judgement, but the company has his back )

James Bond, stickit minister.

Inspired by a line in "Spectre", but not in any sense a spoiler for the film.

( It was that or the priesthood. )

I have been doing a bit of fic writing again, but it has mostly issued in some odd disjointed bits of crack fic that don't really go anywhere (actually, the main problem with my 'Panemvision' idea is that I don't know enough about Eurovision to pull off a good parody...)

This isn't really a complete fic; it's a vignette from my lunch break, but I'm not sure where else there is for it to go.

Something Nasty in the Cellar
Fandom: Wimsey
640 words

( There's something nasty in the cellar of Talboys. Again. )

Some of these are predictable. Some are... more surprising (clearly if I want more hits I should write... baby-fic? Or maybe it's Amanda being awesome).

1. Mother Tongue (723 hits, 17 kudoses (kudos? kudis?), 7 bookmarks). Star Trek (could be either TOS or 2009). In which Amanda pwns disapproving in-laws. I like this ficlet, but it's pure fluff dashed off in a hurry, and I'm rather surprised this is my top fic.

2. And after darkness, light (719 hits, 20 kudi, 10 bookmarks). Narnia. What happens if an Anglo-Catholic decides it would be a good idea to write a Problem of Susan fic. I'm not surprised this one is high-up (despite the possibly off-putting tags, but you can't say they don't warn you what the fic will be like). I think it may be my favourite of my fics, though. I also note that, though more people have _read_ Mother Tongue, more people like this one, as far as one can tell. I think this is fair.

3. In the Files (659 hits, 31 kudi, 3 bookmarks). Deep Space Nine. Behold the awesome power of Yuletide, for this was only written this Christmas. I'm fond of it - I wanted to look at mothers and daughters and the competing claims of various duties, and I also wanted to write something that you can imagine working as an episode (though of course it would need a lot more complications, and a B storyline. Also, I have a suspicion people are more generous with the kudos button at Yuletide.

4. Trailing at some distance, Tell Beauty How She Blasteth (429 hits, 10 kudi, 2 bookmarks). Wimseyverse. AU-fic of doom, which is the most depressing thing I have ever written. This was fairly widely recced at the time (including on TV Tropes), but it was posted on LJ long before I posted it at the AO3, so I strongly suspect that this is actually my most recced fic over all. I also think it's one of my best.

5.In Search of a Big Picture. (375 hits, 18 kudi, 1 bookmark). Vorkosiverse. This one was fun to write, but I can only attribute its popularity (it's a drabble!) to the fact that the Vorkosiverse is a small fandom which is very active on the AO3

And I note that all bar one of my top five fics are female-centric. I find this cheering.

6. Putting on Civvies. (367 hits, 6 kudi, 5 bookmarks). ST: 2009. Pure fluff, with a bit of linguistics geekery, in particular my fascination with the curious use of the Quaker Thou in Amok Time. A sweet little fic, in its way.

7. The Exercise of Virtue. (321 hits, 9 kudi, 3 bookmarks). Bible (NT). Actually I think this is the weakest of my three NT fics, but it continues a pattern of my female-centric fics doing best. I also suspect a pattern where people are more generous with kudos in small fandoms.

8. A Child of Our Time. (290 hits, 17 kudos, 2 bookmarks). Doctor Who. Another one I just dashed off: a timey-wimey origin for Susan. Fairly good idea, wish I'd been able to think of more than a fragment...

9. Some Secrets in a Privacy Forever Ours. (279 hits, 7 kudi, 3 bookmarks). Bible (NT). This one is my favourite Bible fic.

10. Just Good Friends. (278 hits, 3 kudi, 1 bookmark). Star Trek: 2009. More pre-ship Spock/Uhura.

Honourable mention for the great achievement of fic no. 12, Like a Thief in the Night - another undoubted beneficiary of the Yuletide Effect - since it was only published last Christmas, and I am the only person in the world who writes Rev fanfic (NB I would be very happy to be proved wrong).

Do I know what to make of this? No, I don't, other than that I am not and never will be a BNF (but then I don't want to be). Interesting that it tends to be the fic with women at the centre that do well, though.

Despite my dismal lack of productivity of late, a meme:

If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach. —Alfred Hitchcock

When I write a story, what do readers immediately look for?


Contrariwise - Tweedledum/dee

When I write a story, what would readers be extremely surprised to find?

Hurrah! Exams finished, and without blisters on my hands, though I do have an impressive dent in my index finger. And I've got the Undergraduate College theology dinner tonight, which should be good fun and good food.

With that in mind, a meme gacked from all over:

Name a character (including, of course, my OCs) in any of my fandoms and I'll tell you 3-4 things about them from my personal fanon-take on said character.

From which we learn that, though I'm no-one's idea of a BNF in any fandom, a lot more people look at things on the AO3 than comment on them.

1. (420 hits): And After Darkness, Light. That's my 'problem of Susan fic'. I'm not surprised that this is in the top ten, but I am surprised it's the most read one. Admittedly it's in a bigger fandom than "Tell Beauty How She Blasteth," which I would guess is my most commented on fic on LJ/ DW and certainly the most widely recced. But PUSH, which doesn't even appear here, had a lot of comments too. So did the Phineas Nigellus and the Mirror of Erised one, which even got Niffled, and nobody loves at all on the AO3 (it's even beaten by the vaguely disturbing, vaguely Hannay/ Medina ficlet, and who on earth reads that?) Possibly writing in big fandoms just gets your fic swamped, if it's on obscure characters rather than the main pairings? All the same, though, AADL surprises me. It's a fic I'm proud of, and it's on a popular fic theme (I guess most people who have dipped their toes into Narnia fic have written or thought about the Problem of Susan), but it's not the usual take, and it's full of Anglo-Catholic stuff which is, let's say, a minority interest. On the other hand, it does have large chunks of Julina of Norwich, and who can resist Julian of Norwich?

2. (395 hits): Mother Tongue. Sarek/ Amanda fluff, in which Amanda pwns disapproving in-laws. Now the popularity of this one does surprise me. It's a nice little fic, but I don't remember it garnering an unusual amount of attention on LJ/ DW, and I bashed it out quite quickly - it's certainly not my best work.

3. (275 hits). Trailing a long way behind - unjustly I think - Tell Beauty How She Blasteth, aka that Wimseyverse AU, in which Strong Poison has an unhappy ending. This one has been quite widely recced, but of course the links all went to LJ/DW, where I think it is still my most commented upon fic.

4. (273 hits). Putting on Civvies. A very fluffy look at the early stages of Spock and Uhura's relationship, with bonus linguistic geekery.

5. (191 hits). The Exercise of Virtue. Again, a bit surprising. I'm fairly fond of this fic, though exegesis fic's not a popular genre (though I suppose the AO3 promotes small fandoms, and it is quite hard to find Bible fic that's not either Jesus/ Judas slash, or apparently Good Omens slash in disguise...) I thought it was the weakest of my three Bible fics, though it does deal with the most obvious textual difficulty, i.e. how unpleasant Jesus is to the Syro-Phoenican woman. I think Daegar's fic on the subject is better, though.

6. (180 hits). In search of a big picture. Now this is the biggest surprise of all, especially as it was only posted last month. It's a ficlet of Cordelia and Martya discussing higher education choices, and while I think it turned out quite well, it was a quick ficlet for International Women's Day. I suppose the Vorkosigan fandom is small but quite active, which is the sort of situation where fics on the AO3 will get a fair bit of attention.

7. (177 hits). Just Good Friends. In which Gaila is pestering Uhura for details about her totally, absolutely, non-existent relationship with Spock. I thought I got Gaila quite well here, and Uhura's state of denial is quite fun, but I'd say I've written better about Uhura.

8. (135 hits). Illogical. A male Bechdel Test fail (is that a reverse pass?) - in which Spock and McCoy have a conversation about Uhura. I think this fic is nice enough, but I'm not sure why it's more popular than some of the others - again, a bit of fluff.

9. (127 hits). Fly Me To The Moon. In which Caspian tries to write science fiction. This is, actually, hands-down my favourite of my Narnian fic, and I submit that the premise is less cracky than it sounds. Caspian is a total geek.

10. (123 hits). Some Secrets in a Privacy Forever Ours. John and Jesus, post-Resurrection. Can you meaningfully say that God is your best friend? I still really like this piece.

Bizarrely, the eleventh most popular fic is Careers Advice, or, Marx Was A Friend of Narnian, which was a complete jeu d'esprit.

I cannot draw any sensible conclusions from all of this, other than that the AO3 is good for small fandoms.

I don't believe I ever posted this ficlet - Francis Urquhart in a missing moment from the very end of The Final Cut.


Urquhart had never understood what his wife saw in Wagner. Especially the Ring. All that turgid over-blown Germanic pomposity! Not his style at all.

“It’s the power thing,” Tim Stamper had said, grinning up at him, “surprised it doesn’t do it for you, really.” But though Tim – poor Tim – had had many admirable qualities, music appreciation had not been among them. Urquhart was no Wagnerian, but he had lived with one long enough to know that the Ring wasn’t an ode to power. It was about giving it up, or what might force you to do so. And giving up power didn’t suit him – or Elizabeth.

“We can be safe still,” she had said, bracing as ever. Yet there was an odd flicker behind her eyes, and Urquhart had felt the cold weight in his stomach grow heavier, not lighter.

Power, and what made you give it up. As he walked out to the unveiling ceremony, he found he was trying to recall how the final bars of Götterdämmerung went.

Preposterous. Not his style at all. And yet… well, maybe he would listen to them later. If there was time. He was trying hard not to be melodramatic - another Wagnarian vice that didn't suit him - but it felt like the very last act of all.

At any rate, perhaps there was something in it, after all. For Elizabeth, if not him.

This is sort of for axelrod. I say "sort of," because I was feeling a bit vague when I wrote this and thus failed to fulfil the prompt fully. It is Bechdel-compliant, though. I'll hopefully write something closer to your prompt later, but since I've written this, I might as well post it...

Title: In Search of the Big Picture
Characters: Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, Martya Koudelka.
Words: 282.
Set soon after A Civil Campaign. No spoilers for Cryoburn.

“So,” said Martya, fiddling with the cuff of her blouse, and looking uncharacteristically nervous, “if I –uh – wanted to go back to school, where would be good?”

“Well, that depends what you want to study,” said Cordelia. “Biology? Butter-bugs got you hooked?”

Martya nodded. “I’ve learned a whole heap working in the lab, but – it’s all little bits. I want a look at the big picture.”

“Biology was never my thing,” said Cordelia. “But the university in Vorbarr Sultana is pretty good these days. Gengineering’s not one of its strengths, of course.”

“I was sort of hoping to get off-world”, said Martya.

Cordelia nodded. “Yes, I thought that might be the case. Beta Colony would be best, of course, but I’m not sure your parents would ever forgive me for mentioning it, in the circumstances...”

“Drop dead from horror, I should think,” said Martya. “But - what do you think of Solstice?”

Cordelia smiled. “Of course! I should have thought of that at once.”

“I liked the look of the elective on the aesthetics of gengineering.”

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got it all worked out, haven’t you, kiddo? Did you really need my advice?”

“No,” said Martya honestly. “But I think Ma and Da might need to think I did. I… I’m going to let them get used to me being my own person gradually. Can’t say I want any more family drama for a while.”

“I think that once you work out what you want, you won’t let anything stand in your way.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds, that,” said Martya, “Knowing what you want. But this is the best way I can think of to find out.”

For oursin, who requested Mary Lamington.

Just Like Old Times. Double drabble, missing scene from The Three Hostages.

Mary revolved with practised ease in Turpin’s arms, keeping her face smooth and vacant under the powder and paint. And indeed, though she was waiting in some suspense for Adela Victor to appear, she was calm. It had done her good to compare notes with Dick; she was desperately worried about him. If Medina saw through him… But she was glad Dick knew what she was doing, no panic or distrust, glad that she was working at the same job. Just like when they had first known each other.

It was a bad business. That poor little boy! And Medina, uncanny in a way that made von Schwabing seem human and comprehensible. It wasn’t just his hypnotic powers, it was the way he saw everything as a tool. There had been something about how he had looked at her... Condescending, and yet resentful. She wondered how he looked at Dick; no, best not to think about what couldn’t be helped. Dick had been in bad places before, and come through them. He knew his job.

And so did she. Revolving in Turpin’s arms, she breathed in. She was – not happy exactly, but fully alive, entirely alert.

Just like old times.