dorinda

Heyyyy, writer! Hello!! Thank you so much for being willing to write something for me--I really appreciate you.

If you already have an idea you want to explore, please do go ahead and have fun with it. I want you to have a good time and enjoy your own story, and not stress out. But if more thoughts about my likes would be helpful, here are some!

( Some of my general preferences: )

If you're the sort of writer who'd like to hear a few more thoughts on my chosen characters, here are some details about my fandoms this year (in alphabetical order): Hap and Leonard (TV), Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World, Rejseholdet|Unit One, Shetland, The Sting (1973).

( Hap and Leonard (TV) )

( Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World (2003) )

( Rejseholdet|Unit One )

( Shetland )

( The Sting (1973) )

Have fun writing, and thank you! *\o/*

Dear author or artist,

Thank you so much for making something for me! Above all, I'd like you to have fun and create something you enjoy, so any other blatherings here are purely optional for reals. Just in case they might help. If you already have an idea, go for it!

Some of my general preferences:

First times. Happy or at least hopeful endings (that doesn't rule out bittersweet or melancholy tones, and needn't be fluffy...just no unalloyed sadness/darkness/loss please.).

I requested slash relationships, though for me that doesn't automatically require explicit sex. I mean, sex is great if the story or artwork calls for it. But don't feel hemmed in; it's entirely up to you. For me, slash is first about the depth of connection and intimacy between the characters, however it's expressed. I am, I admit, a sucker for tenderness. Especially coming from a repressed character for whom tenderness itself is an admission of vulnerability.

Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, protectiveness, worry, extreme competence (with honest weakness), hurt/comfort, chosen families, uncovering a secret, partners against the world, nurturing via food/drink/warmth. (Also, in stories I must admit I like past tense, unless there's a reason for present tense.)

Don't be afraid of classic frameworks if you like 'em! I mentioned hurt/comfort, but I also won't turn up my nose at Having To Share A Bed, Huddling for Warmth, Pretend Couple, Undercover as Rentboy, situations where one suffers or sacrifices for the other, rescues, stranded somewhere (idyllic or non-), etc.

A few thoughts by fandom, alphabetically:

( Almost Human )

( Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) )

( Rejseholdet | Unit One )

( The Sting (1973) )

Just a followup, Fic Mountain-wise. I ended up nominating:

* Almost Human, John/Dorian

* Rejseholdet, Fischer/La Cour

* The Sting, Henry/Johnny (and also Kid Twist in the character set)

And I added Nero Wolfe to the Nero Wolfe character set.

I feel so lucky re: Almost Human! The rule is that in order to qualify, a fandom has to have fewer than 500 stories (complete, in English, 1000 words or over). And when I ran a filter on Almost Human, its total came to 497. Yikes! That was a close one.

So I nominated it immediately. Once approved it gets to stay in, even if 4 more stories roll in in the meantime, and it has been approved. Whew! \o/

Along with my utterly wonderful Yuletide present, a brand-new story for The Sting just dropped right now, from mlyn:

You Lead, I'll Follow (1157 words) by mlyn
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Sting (1973)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kid Twist/Original Male Character(s), Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Characters: Kid Twist, Johnny Hooker, Henry Gondorff
Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Feelings Realization, Con Artists
Summary:

After wrapping up the Lonnegan con, Henry and Johnny hit the road. For Johnny, a journey of one night changes everything.

It starts just post-canon, with Johnny facing a letdown, but then learning a little something that helps him proceed. Or, a couple of somethings. :D It includes a nice little portrait of Kid Twist, my favorite secondary character. ♥____♥

Recommended!

I had such an amazing, fantastic Yuletide this year! I can scarcely believe it. Along with my assigned story, I received three (3!) treats, and they are all SO GOOD. Soooo goooood. Tailored perfectly to my interests, all in-character and well-written and well-paced and slashy and so emotionally satisfying.

Honestly, true story, as I was reading them on Christmas Eve, I kept stopping and looking up at the ceiling and just beaming with that inner bubbling feeling of utter squee. They make me so happy!

(And, I've never yet done an actual pimping post for any of these sources, but if you want to see them and cannot otherwise, please do drop me a line!)

1) SINBAD A scattering of pictures on tumblr.
First off, the assigned story, which is a Gunnar/Sinbad story for "Sinbad", the short-lived 2012 UK TV series, a show with a tone that reminds me of the Merlin-Xena-Hercules constellation sometimes...not quite historical, but magical-mythico-folklorish, with occasional purposeful anachronisms. Sinbad is a street urchin who ends up bereaved and cursed, and in the course of trying to save himself, he meets some other outcasts of one kind or another who basically become his found family. Especially the melancholy, protective ex-Viking. :D

The story posits that Gunnar (said Northman) is a literal berserker, a bear-shifter. The spot-on voices and characterizations of the whole crew! The layers of details in setting and worldbuilding! The pining! The mystery of why Gunnar doesn't shift back, and how he does, and the very satisfying answer!

The Beast Within (16058 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sinbad (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gunnar/Sinbad (Sinbad)
Characters: Gunnar (Sinbad), Sinbad (Sinbad), Rina (Sinbad), Anwar (Sinbad), Tiger (Sinbad), Cook (Sinbad), Nala (Sinbad)
Additional Tags: Animal Transformation, Mutual Pining, Nonverbal Communication, Post-Canon
Summary:

There had not been time, Gunnar told himself afterward; there had not been any other way. But it was not true. There was always a choice.

(Or: Gunnar is a werebear. Sinbad has some issues with this; and, as it turns out, so does Gunnar.)

2) REJSEHOLDET A bunch of pics/gifs on tumblr.
A treat of nearly 10K words, if you can believe it, for Rejseholdet aka Unit One, the Danish cop show from the early-mid 2000s perhaps most notable for having Mads Mikkelsen in it (super-hot, natch). Whose character, the ambitious, aggressive Allan Fischer, has such wonderful partner and slash chemistry with the sensitive, secretive empath Thomas La Cour.

This story starts pre-canon and ends post-canon, and follows the entire arc of Fischer and La Cour's relationship, from awkward first meeting through to the finally-settled intimate relationship they had gradually been reaching for but took years to figure out. The characterizations are so so solid, and watching them learn to understand their inchoate need for each other is a sheer delight!

For All This Time (9881 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rejseholdet | Unit One
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Allan Fischer/Thomas La Cour
Characters: Allan Fischer, Thomas La Cour, Mille Fischer, Helene, Victor Fischer, Ingrid Dahl, Ida, Torben Ronne
Additional Tags: Getting Together, Partners to Lovers, First Kiss, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Canon Het Relationships Mentioned
Summary:

1996-2005. Repression, true love, crime, coffee and football.

3) THE STING (1973)
The classic Paul Newman/Robert Redford con-artist movie, if you needed telling. :D One of my very favorite movies of all time, a festival of competence kink, with Newman melancholy and worrying and gravely handsome, and Redford callow and eager and luminous, playing con men who meet and mesh (and make such heart eyes at each other oh god), and prevail over the forces of evil.

You guys I got a Henry/Johnny PRETEND RELATIONSHIP STORYYYYYY. So perfect for two grifters, to have to fake a closeted affair to draw a blackmailer out of the woodwork so they can nab him. And of course, it turns out Henry has a secret that makes the prospect of getting handsy with Johnny no hardship--except for the fact that he knows it's just for the con and will all be over soon. (OR WILL IT. :D ) It crackles with the energy both of the con and of desire, underlaid with secrets sizzling just under the surface.

truth deceived (7047 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Sting (1973)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Characters: Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Case Fic, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Yuletide Treat
Summary:

Henry and Johnny catch a blackmailer—by pretending they've got something to be blackmailed about. Except, of course, no one's doing as much pretending as anybody else thinks they are.

4) SHETLAND
The source I fell for most recently, a Scottish drama about a police detective-inspector who lives and works in the Shetland Islands. Jimmy Perez is a thoughtful, kind, determined, melancholy man who lives to protect his communities and look after his daughter Cassie. And he has a fascinating relationship with his daughter's biological father, the more cynical/shades-of-gray figure Duncan Hunter. Jimmy and Duncan get along like grownups, which feels really rare for TV--co-parenting the best they can, communicating with each other, being supportive (even when they conflict).

The story is a quiet, tender scene set after the end of the most recent season, season 3. Jimmy, as could have been predicted, is hollowed-out by serious Empty Nest Syndrome, and Duncan looks after him in a comfortingly bossy, intimate, straightforward, comforting way. Just what I needed, and Jimmy too. ♥

Okay (1007 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Shetland (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Duncan Hunter/Jimmy Perez
Characters: Duncan Hunter, Jimmy Perez
Additional Tags: Sharing a Bed, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, empty nest feels, Feels, Angst
Summary:

Cassie has left and Jimmy doesn't feel okay. Duncan helps.

Hello there! We got matched! Or you chose me for a pinch hit! And that means you're willing to write something in a tiny fandom of my heart, and I am delighted. Thank you so much! \o/

If you already have an idea you want to write, please do go ahead and have fun with it. I want you to have a good time and enjoy your own story. But if more thoughts about my likes would be helpful, here are some!
( Some of my general preferences: )

If you're the sort of writer who'd like to hear a few more thoughts on my chosen characters, here are some details about my fandoms this year (in alphabetical order): Peacemakers, Rejseholdet|Unit One, Shetland, Sinbad (TV), The Sting (1973).

( Peacemakers )

( Rejseholdet | Unit One )

( Shetland )

( Sinbad (TV) )

( The Sting (1973) )

Have fun writing, and thank you! *\o/*

Authors and artists have been revealed for this year's Night On Fic Mountain exchange (welll, they were revealed a little while back, but then the weekend got away from me and hmm mutter mumble). Here was my contribution:

The Steel-Wire Tightrope (6609 words) by Dorinda
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Sting (1973)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Characters: Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker
Additional Tags: Con Artists, 1930s, Rescue, Angst, Misunderstandings, Nonverbal Communication, Drugged Sex, Broccoli Test
Summary:

Henry's in trouble. But when Johnny finds him, that's when their trouble really starts.

Awww yisssss, I got to write The Sting again! \o/ \o/ \o/ I rewatched the movie once during the writing process, and then I rewatched it last week with some friends, just because. I've seen it so many times, and show no signs of burning out or getting tired of it. I love the characters, and the milieu, and how amenable it all is to fannish extrapolation. Robert Redford glows like a sun god and runs like a deer, Paul Newman's eyes gleam a piercing clear sapphire, they both have arms and shoulders to make me weep in the best way, and Johnny and Henry come to care about each other SO MUCH you guys. So much. Not to mention that Henry is an Olympic-class secret worrier. ♥_____♥

Course, in this story, Johnny gets to do most of the worrying for a change. Just for a nice switcheroo. But this is my second story in which I was reminded that AO3 does not have a plain old "Drugged" tag! I mean, wat? "Drugged Sex", sure. But not just "Drugged". Which seems SO WEIRD, given the venerable age of the trope, you know--'oh no my partner got knocked out and doped and now I must rescue him', which was canon all the time at least back in the day, and which lends itself so well to tender h/c, and then perhaps sex that is not itself Drugged Sex, because everyone is now sobered up. So I used the Drugged Sex tag, even though that is not precisely how it goes (it sort of is at first, and then it isn't, and I think the story explains itself best).

Is there a way to propose they set up a canonical Drugged tag? I am ashamed to admit that my knowledge of the inner (or, in fact, outer) workings of the AO3 tag system is not the best.

Anyway, I'm excited to have had a chance to write these guys again! I fell into a weird throughline blockage during the writing process, but mary crawford and klia got me out of there and fixed it up, and I am really happy about it.

Dear author or artist,

Thank you so much for making something for me! Above all, I'd like you to have fun and create something you enjoy, so any other blatherings here are purely optional for reals. Just in case they might help. If you already have an idea, go for it!

Some of my general preferences:

"First time" stories. Happy or at least hopeful endings (that doesn't rule out bittersweet or melancholy tones, and needn't be fluffy...just no unalloyed sadness/darkness/loss please.).

I requested slash relationships, though for me that doesn't automatically require explicit sex. I mean, sex is great if the story or artwork calls for it. But don't feel hemmed in; it's entirely up to you. For me, slash is first about the depth of connection and intimacy between the characters, however it's expressed. I am, I admit, a sucker for tenderness. Could be from an already-openly-tender character , or a repressed character for whom tenderness itself is an admission of vulnerability.

Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, protectiveness, worry, extreme competence (with honest weakness), hurt/comfort, chosen families, uncovering a secret, partners against the world, nurturing via food/drink/warmth. (Also, in stories I must admit I like past tense, unless there's a reason for present tense.)

Don't be afraid of classic frameworks if you like 'em! I mentioned hurt/comfort, but I also won't turn up my nose at Having To Share A Bed, Huddling for Warmth, Pretend Couple, Undercover as Rentboy, situations where one suffers or sacrifices for the other, rescues, stranded somewhere (idyllic or non-), etc.

A few thoughts by fandom, alphabetically:

( Almost Human )

( Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian )

( Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) )

( The Sting (1973) )

At last, I got around to doing my Yuletide nominations! I nominated:

I Spy (1965)

The Sting (1973)

Peacemakers (2003)

I plan to offer to write all of these. It was difficult to settle; I kept swapping The Invisible Man (TV 2000) in and out, but in the end I regretfully left it out. I figure, I already have a partly-written I-Man story lurking on the hard drive, so even if no one else nominates it for Yuletide, I'll have that to work on, to keep me warm (after Yuletide season, natch).

Whew! Exhausting.

Hello! Welcome! And thanks for being my writer!

What I want most is for you to have a good time writing the story, so if you have an idea of your own, please do go for it. Optional Details Are Optional, and letter details are the most optionalest of them all.

But if it would be useful, here are some of my general preferences:

I prefer slash if I can get it, but for me slash doesn't automatically equal porn. For me it's about the depth of the bond between the characters, the discovery of a startling and unexpected intimacy. I like a subtle, nuanced, gradual approach, the characters getting closer maybe even despite themselves, and figuring things out as they go.

Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: happy or at least hopeful endings, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, showing over telling, extreme competence (but with honest weakness), characters with a protective shell that the other character finds their way into even just a bit, hurt/comfort, chosen families, partners against the world.

And here are further thoughts on the fandoms I requested, in alphabetical order...

( 1. I Spy )

( 2. Peacemakers )

( 3. Sinbad (TV) )

( 4. The Sting (1973) )