beatrice_otter: Uhura and Uhura Prime (Too awesome for one timeline)
2025-03-01 09:38 pm
Entry tags:

Five Figure Fanworks Exchange Recs

[community profile] fffx is live! There are a whole host of great longfics to read, go check it out! I received two delightful stories:

Indulging Their Curiosity (5434 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek: The Original Series
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Spock/Nyota Uhura
Characters: Spock (Star Trek), Nyota Uhura, Amanda Grayson
Additional Tags: Post-TV-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Possible Bondmates, TOS Novel Influenced, Anything Can Happen on Shore Leave
Summary:

Spock and Uhura find themselves together on Vulcan after the five year mission...


Touch and Go (12102 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Columbo, Batman - All Media Types
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lieutenant Columbo (Columbo) & Bruce Wayne
Characters: Lieutenant Columbo, Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon (DCU)


Also, be sure to check your gifts page regularly! There is an intermittent bug that has been happening for the last several months where not everybody is getting notifications for all their gifts. I only received a notification email for one of my two gifts, and stumbled upon the other when trawling through the collection for fic to read. Checking my gifts page, I found a gift from November that I had never seen a notification for either. (And I double-checked my spam and deleted emails folders, just to be sure--neither notification ever got to me.)


Here are some other great fics from the exchange:

17 fics in 15 fandoms )
beatrice_otter: DS9 wormhole (DS9)
2024-11-29 06:34 pm
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My Fic In A Box gifts

I have not even started reading my way through the [community profile] ficinabox 2024 archive, but I can wholeheartedly rec the cornucopia of gifts I got.

I got two podfics, which was lovely, one of my fics and one of someone else's fics in a pairing I love. Both are delightful. Podficcers make such an important contribution to fandom, it takes so much work and time to do, and they don't get enough love, so please go listen and leave lots of lovely comments:

[podfic] A Grief Shared by Beatrice_Otter (29 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Guinan/Jean-Luc Picard, Jean-Luc Picard & Robert Picard
Characters: Jean-Luc Picard, Guinan (Star Trek), Robert Picard
Additional Tags: Episode Tag, Episode: s04e02 Family, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Comfort, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, 16:53 to be exact
Summary:

During the episode Family, Guinan comes to visit Jean-Luc at the vineyard.

[podfic] The Discipline Compulsion by paranoidangel (29 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: T'Pol/Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Characters: T'Pol (Star Trek), Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Additional Tags: 5 Times, Sex Pollen, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, 16:05 to be exact
Summary:

He was on an alien planet, alone with T'Pol and yet again there was sex pollen.



On top of the two podfics, I got four other fic that are just delightful:

Denorios Belt Briefs (1047 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Crew of Deep Space Nine, Jake Sisko, Bareil Antos
Additional Tags: Newspapers, Bajoran Religion (Star Trek), Alien Cultural Differences
Summary:

Interesting bits of news for residents of Deep Space Nine, by Jake Sisko

I love the worldbuilding in this one, each fragment is tantalizing

What's important (3039 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge
Characters: Geordi La Forge, Data (Star Trek)
Additional Tags: Developing Relationship
Summary:

After too long a shift the previous day, Geordi is tired of the VISOR, and he and Data change their plans so he doesn't have to use it.

I could really feel Geordi's pain and the ache of his choices, and I love how Data cares for him.

green with the colour of fresh willows (3402 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: 将军在上 | Oh My General (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hu Qing & Ye Zhao (Oh My General), Pre Hu Qing/Ye Zhao/Zhao Yujin (Oh My General)
Characters: Ye Zhao (Oh My General), Hu Qing (Oh My General), Zhao Yujin (Oh My General), Emperor Renzong (Oh My General)
Additional Tags: Don't copy to another site, FIAB 2024, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Death, Ruzhui Marriage, Love Confessions, Pre-Relationship
Summary:

Ye Zhao crumpled the letter, the violence of the motion concealing the trembling of her hand.

This is a really interesting AU, and the characters are so perfectly captured. I only wish it were longer!

The Things We Leave Behind (2142 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale
Characters: Peter Grant (Rivers of London), Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: History, Libraries, Grief/Mourning, Character Study, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Original Character(s), Post-Book: Broken Homes, Not Britpicked
Summary:

The Folly is full of ghosts.

Good Peter POV, and love the melancholy that Nightingale doesn't dwell on.
beatrice_otter: Elizabeth Bennet reads (Reading)
2024-11-29 12:49 am
Entry tags:

Fic in a Box is live!

Fic in a box is live, but today was very busy. I got a bouquet of smaller works instead of one long fic, two podfics and four fics. Although I've only had time to read one (it was very good!), I am so excited to get to read and listen to the rest tomorrow.
beatrice_otter: Me in red--face not shown (Default)
2024-07-26 02:27 pm

Fandom 5k Recs

[community profile] fandom5k is live! I do so enjoy ficathons with a longer minimum.

I received a lovely Pacific Rim story with great worldbuidling, and an aroace Stacker Pentecost, which I absolutely loved.

Family of the Heart (5064 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mako Mori & Stacker Pentecost, Stacker Pentecost & Tamsin Sevier
Characters: Stacker Pentecost, Tamsin Sevier, Mako Mori, Hercules Hansen, Chuck Hansen
Summary:

Even as a boy, Stacker knows that family is what makes you, and that ‘family’ doesn’t have to be blood.



Other fics I liked:

The Second Ramat Affair (5774 words)
Fandom: Poirot - Agatha Christie
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Johnnie Race, Julia Upjohn, Mrs Upjohn (Poirot), Hercule Poirot
Additional Tags: Mystery/Procedural, Canon-Typical Plot, Post-Cat Among the Pigeons, Here to Bring Your Headcanon to Life
Summary:

Miss Bulstrode was surely going to kick her out of Meadowbrook, reflected Julia Upjohn as she crouched behind the sofa, trying not to breathe...

Or, Julia Upjohn once again finds herself in a Ramat mystery plot. Hercule Poirot and Colonel Race come to her assistance. And Poirot finds there is more than one mystery requiring his attention.

Set not-too-long after Cat Among the Pigeons



Reconciliation (12077 words)
Fandom: Persuasion - Jane Austen
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Reunions, Getting Back Together, Mutual Pining, Medium Burn, i.e. it's slightly more sped up than canon but they still take a while to defrost, canonical character injury, Slice of Life, Angst with a Happy Ending
Summary:

On the afternoon of her nephew's fall, Anne sets out a little earlier for Uppercross Hall, and is unable to avoid a reunion with Captain Wentworth. When disaster strikes, they must put aside their old hurts and work together, with far-reaching consequences.



Pest Control Officer Jones, Reporting (5100 words)
Fandom: Alien Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jones the Cat & Ellen Ripley
Characters: Ellen Ripley, Jones the Cat (Alien Series), Nostromo Crew Members (Alien Series)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, ship's cat
Summary:

There was, of course, a set of official procedures to go with the tradition of introducing a new ship's cat-- which had obviously not been written by anyone who'd ever been adopted by a feline of their own.



i'm not looking to be found (just want to feel unlost) (5952 words)
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Marvels (Movie 2023)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Carol Danvers
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Enemies-to-Lovers speedrun, Parallels, bed sharing
Summary:

Carol gets lost, and goes where all lost things go: Sakaar.



Didn't Know I Was Lost (9131 words)
Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus & Jacen Syndulla
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kanan Jarrus Lives, Parenting, Family Bonding
Summary:

Kanan has returned but not everyone is thrilled to have him back.



There Shall Be Dancing (6360 words)
Fandom: Bridgerton (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield | Kate Sharma
Characters: Anthony Bridgerton, Kate Sheffield | Kate Sharma, Edwina Sheffield | Edwina Sharma, Lady Danbury, Gregory Bridgerton, Violet Bridgerton, Mary Sheffield | Mary Sharma, Charlotte zu Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Charlotte Queen of the United Kingdom, Hyacinth Bridgerton
Additional Tags: somewhat AU, Book influenced, Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield | Kate Sharma in Love, Bridgerton (TV) Season 2, Anthony Bridgerton Being an Idiot, Anthony Bridgerton Doing Better, Different Path to S2 Endgame
Summary:

Edwina watched as the two of them made their way through the figures of the dance, and wondered how she had not seen it before, how everyone else did not see.

A slight S2 AU with slightly less bad decisions along the way.

A/N: Some dialogue is taken from S2 episodes.



The Darling Buds of May (10654 words)
Fandom: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Caroline Bingley/Original Female Character(s)
Characters: Louisa Hurst, Mr. Hurst (Pride and Prejudice)
Additional Tags: Epistolary, Past Relationship(s), Unhappy marriage, Class Differences, Flowers, Slow Romance
Summary:

While staying with her sister and his wife, Caroline encounters an eligible man and his sister, but it is the sister who more draws her eye.



Words and Actions (6428 words)
Fandom: Andor (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Cassian Andor, Mon Mothma, Vel Sartha, Cinta Kaz
Additional Tags: Politics, Philosophy, Political Alliances
Summary:

Cassian stays with Mon Mothma in the aftermath of a mission, and finds a way to see eye to eye with someone whose reality is so different from his own.



burn the shoes and boil the rice (21410 words)
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Daniel Jackson/Vala Mal Doran
Characters: Daniel Jackson (Stargate), Vala Mal Doran, Cameron Mitchell (Stargate)
Additional Tags: 5+1 Things, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, (Ish) - Freeform, Post-Canon, featuring:, Fake Marriage, Forced Proximity, Alien Wedding Ceremonies, a sprinkling of, Hurt/Comfort, My Best Attempt at Goa'uld Grammar, A Word Count That Got Away From Me, just a little bit
Summary:

Five times Daniel and Vala got married, and one time they didn't.

beatrice_otter: Me in red--face not shown (Default)
2024-06-26 09:39 pm

Heart Attack Recs

I love [community profile] highadrenalineexchange! The trick is to only offer to write stuff you're sure you could come up with a 10k-worthy story for. This year, as always, a lot of great fic got written. Here are my faves!

I received a great Reva-and-Ahsoka fic that I can't recommend highly enough.

Dandelion Seeds (15364 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars: Rebels
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Reva Sevander & Ahsoka Tano
Characters: Reva Sevander | Third Sister, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Set Between Kenobi and Rebels, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Philosophy (Star Wars), Pre-Relationship, Planet Dantooine (Star Wars), Late Night Conversations, Crimson Dawn Crime Syndicate (Star Wars), Imperial Inquisitors (Star Wars), Jedi Philosophy (Star Wars), Lightsaber Construction (Star Wars), Jedi Holocrons (Star Wars)
Summary:

A Mirialian collector has a Jedi Holocron stored safely in her vault, and rumours of its existence have reached multiple organizations. Crimson Dawn orders Reva to retrieve this holocron through any means necessary, while the Rebellion asks Ahsoka to acquire it through the most legal means possible.

When Reva and Ahsoka encounter each other at the vault door, they choose not to bring the holocron to either organization, but instead to listen to the Force and work together to learn what the holocron can teach them—and discover what they can learn from each other.


Other fics I enjoyed:

DCEU, Sherlock Holmes, Bridgerton, Rivers of London, Kingsman, Poirot, A League of Their Own )
beatrice_otter: Me in red--face not shown (Default)
2024-06-24 02:54 pm
Entry tags:

Classic Film Exchange

As someone who loves classic films, I am really excited for the classic film exchange! Nominations are in early July, signups are in mid July, stories are due September 15.

[personal profile] classicfilmex posted:
Classic Film Exchange is what it says on the tin: an exchange for fandoms in movies released before 1/1/1980. This date doesn't mean that no "classic" films were released after January 1, 1980, merely that it serves as a useful cut-off to allow less frequently requested and written fandoms to get the attention they deserve!

The challenge is fic only, and is open to films from any nation in any language, but the fic must be in English.
beatrice_otter: Cover of Janelle Monae's Archandroid album (Janelle Monae)
2024-03-17 05:27 pm
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Fic: Amber

[community profile] fffx has now revealed authors! I wrote a fic that was, er, exactly in my wheelhouse, I would not be surprised if people clocked it was me. I feel people on the TGE discord especially are likely to have suspected, because I've brought up "given the technological level, they really SHOULD have trains, why don't they?" on more than one occasion. And then I couldn't resist writing a fic that is (partly) about that. And partly about politics and 'soft' power, and Csethiro and Maia's relationship.

Title: Amber
Author: [personal profile] beatrice_otter
Fandom: The Goblin Emperor
Length: 11,698 words
Rating: General Audiences
Written For: [archiveofourown.org profile] swingandswirl in [community profile] fffx 2024

Summary: "The Ethuveraz has been trapped in amber for a very long time. Preserved, beautiful, but … not useful. Not able to go out and do things. Not able to grow or change. Not like the rest of the world has."

On AO3. On Squidgeworld. Rebloggable on tumblr, pillowfort, cohost.



The Ethuveraz was a backwards place. That was obvious to anyone with a modicum of education who wasn't a hopeless chauvinist.

"Which is why, of course," Vedero said dryly when Csethiro said it, "that much of the Untheileneise Court believes us to be the height of modernity and the center of the world."

Csethiro snorted in an unladylike fashion and leaned back, tucking her feet under herself. She hadn't been a part of Archduchess Vedero's set before her engagement; Vedero was just enough years older to make an awkward gap when Csethiro had been a girl, and her friends were more likely to read academic treatises than adventure novels, as Csethiro's friends were. But she had cultivated her new sister-in-law's favor since the engagement, as she had cultivated Arbelan's, so that the Drazhadeise women might have a united front.

"I should invite thee the next time Maia has a family dinner with his Aunt Nadeian," Csethiro said. "Her description of daily life in the Corat Dav Arhos was … well. She was very good at not being too obvious that she thought us all backward country rubes, easily dazzled."

Read more... )
beatrice_otter: BSG's Six with red Cylon eyes (Six)
2024-01-21 11:48 pm

Fic: Six Things That Changed Because They Were In A Sedoretu, and One Thing That Didn't

[community profile] sedoretuex has revealed, and I can now reveal that I wrote TWO stories! (I have not yet had time to read any stories but my own--I have been really busy this January--but I am planning on making my way through the collection soon.)

Sedoretu explanation )

My second story for this exchange was a pinch hit for [personal profile] tielan that I had been eyeing for treat purposes since the beginning, because our tastes are very similar and every one of her ideas was amazing and absolutely a story I wanted to exist. But there was a problem! Each one of those stories, my feeling was "I want that to exist, but I don't know if I can do justice to it."

Here were my main options:

1) Relationship and prompt I have written for [personal profile] tielan before (MCU, Steve/Maria/Natasha/Bucky, the previous fic being Look Clear and Calm)

2) Really interesting relationship and prompt from a TV show I've only seen sporadic episodes of (Simon Basset/Anthony Bridgerton/Daphne Bridgerton/Kate Sharma (Bridgerton TV), The oldest son and oldest daughter of the Bridgerton family finding and settling on a sedoretu husband and wife for their familial quartet. In the middle of the season. With the ton looking on.)

3) Relationship I requested myself and would really like to se done, but I requested it because I'm not sure of my ability to write it and the canon is a TV show I haven't watched in almost 2 decades. (BSG, Lee/Kara/Sam/Dee)

4) Relationship I already wrote for this ficathon for my original assignment. (Star Wars Legends, Luke/Mara/Leia/Han, the other fic being Dawning Understanding)

And these were just the top four. There were 13 requested quartets and I could have written 10 of them! I was spoiled for choice! Honestly, it was a little bit paralyzing.

But in the end, I went with BSG, and decided that Wikipedia would have to be enough canon review. And it really did write itself; everything poured out. As always, for me, Dee was going to have a major role and survive; I love her and she was done so dirty by canon. Her death was the first time I got incandescently angry about a fridging because I could see it for what it was. And of the relationships in this foursome, Lee/Kara is my least favorite. (I am glad that in Kara we got to have a female character who was fucked up and messy and not punished for it or considered 'whiny,' but at the same time, there were a lot of other fucked up and messy female characters on that show, and a lot of the other character arcs interested me more than 'cosmic destiny + will she and Lee ever get their act together.' But I know that Lee/Kara is [personal profile] tielan's favorite! So as I was plotting out each section I had to restrain myself: how much Dee was too much? What could I find to say about the other three? Because if I was writing it for myself, the balance would have been very different. (But I think it would have been a weaker story, less balanced.)


Title: Six Things That Changed Because They Were In A Sedoretu, and One Thing That Didn't
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Relationship: Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders/Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Rating: T
Length: 7930 words
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Written For: tielan in Sedoretu Exchange
Betaed by: iberiandoctor

On AO3. On Squidgeworld. Rebloggable on tumblr and pillowfort.


One.
Collaborators


Sam was waiting for Lee when he came off the flight deck after his flight. It had been a routine combat air patrol, relaxing, not even a hint of a ghost of a problem, and Lee was feeling pretty good.

"Hey, Sam," he said, giving him a peck on the lips. "How's it going?"

Sam smiled, but his eyes were stormy. "I know our room's supposed to be mine and Kara's tonight, but that's not happening. Would you like to join me?" The room they shared was tiny, barely room for a bed, and they were lucky to get it. And the bed could only fit all four of them if they got really close. They had a rotation for who got it, and the rest of the time they slept in their individual racks.

Lee stopped himself from asking what had happened. Sam and Kara were a lot less volatile than he'd ever imagined a relationship with Kara could be, so it wasn't anything petty. But Lee appreciated that Sam didn't try to interfere with Lee and Kara's fights, and he tried to return the favor. "Sure," he said. A (slightly) bigger bed than his rack and a handsome man to fill it—of course he was interested.

***

Dinner was no worse than usual, the sex was excellent, and afterwards Lee was looking forward to cuddling with Sam in a way neither Kara nor Dee tended to prefer. But Sam turned away and curled up on his side as soon as they were done. )
beatrice_otter: Han and Leia--Kiss (Han and Leia)
2024-01-20 11:20 pm

Fic: Dawning Understanding

[community profile] sedoretuex has revealed, and I can now reveal that I wrote TWO stories! (I have not yet had time to read any stories but my own--I have been really busy this January--but I am planning on making my way through the collection soon.)

A sedoretu is a specific organization of a poly marriage created by Ursula K. Le Guin in her short story "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea" aka "Another Story" available in a 1994 short story collection of the same name. It includes four people and specific arrangements of the relationships inside it. All people have a "moiety" that is considered as inherent as gender; the two moieties are Morning and Evening. Sex with someone of the same moiety is considered incest. The expected relationships within each sedoretu are:
The Morning woman and the Evening man (the “Morning marriage”)
The Evening woman and the Morning man (the “Evening marriage”)
The Morning woman and the Evening woman (the “Day marriage”)
The Morning man and the Evening man (the “Night marriage”)
(i.e. two homosexual and two heterosexual pairings) Here is the Fanlore explanation of it and the E2 explanation.

I like sedoretus because they create such interesting dynamics, one doesn't often see poly arrangements with the more rigid structures and cultural weight that one tends to find in a marriage. And fitting them into the worldbuilding of whatever fandom is always an interesting challenge.

My assignment was a Star Wars Legends Luke/Mara/Han/Leia foursome. I wrote a getting-together story, because that was most obvious; problem is, I've already done a Mara poly getting-together story (though that one was Luke/Mara/Lando), and Mara's character arc was roughly the same in both, and although I like the fic in general I was not thrilled that I couldn't find some other driving force for her. I include a diagram at the end if you have trouble visualizing the structure of the relationship.

Title: Dawning Understanding
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Written For: SassySnowperson in Sedoretu Exchange 2023
Fandom: Star Wars Legends
Betaed by: Shadaras

On Squidgeworld. On AO3. Rebloggable on tumblr and pillowfort.

On Dreamwidth. On AO3. Rebloggable on tumblr and pillowfort.

Mara slogged out of the cave, every step squelching in the mud and sending up noxious gasses. None of it toxic, or they would have been dead long since. Just unpleasant. And the mud. Was. Everywhere.

Read more... )
beatrice_otter: The Schuyler sisters from the musical Hamilton, pointing to the sky (Schuyler Sisters)
2024-01-01 12:13 pm

Fic: Planning a Peaceful Campaign

And here is the other [community profile] yuletide fic I wrote! This one was for Quasar, a pinch-hitter who was not signed up and so wouldn't receive anything without treats. They were the only one of the pinch hitters I could write for. This was my only treat this year; other writing projects got in the way. (Including my late pinch hit for [community profile] sedoretuex which was fun but did take a lot of time). I knew I wasn't going to have much time for treating given how much stuff I signed up for this year.

This was quick to write but I enjoyed it; and it's always fun to use bits of history trivia I already know. In this case, "spending a lot of time at a particular noble's house to force them to entertain the entire Royal Court (and thus spend a shitton of money) so they won't have the funds to cause future trouble, but also can't complain about their impoverishment" was a common tactic of late medieval/early modern royalty in England. And also, in the medieval period, if someone is abruptly a major player in politics and neither they nor their parents had that kind of power/position/money before, and it's not a case of "the monarch just happened to love this person," and you wonder how come they're such an important/rich person all of a sudden? The answer is usually "tax fraud," which was a booming industry in late medieval England at all social levels.

Title: Planning a Peaceful Campaign
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Fandom: Curse of Chalion
Length: 1424 words
Rating: Gen
Written for: [personal profile] quasar  in [community profile] yuletide  2023

At AO3. On Squidgeworld. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.


It was a good thing, Iselle reflected as she watched her Chancellor and his wife lay out their luncheon, that all four of them were known as excellent riders with a love of speed and the skill to accomplish it safely. Days like this, when they'd managed to outride the rest of the court and find a place to picnic by themselves, were the only truly private speech they'd had for months.

"You know, this isn't going to work for too much longer," Bergon said. It was his turn to walk the horses to cool them down, and Iselle turned to watch him. The light sheen of sweat from exercise on a warm summer day gave him a very appealing glow, pleasantly reminding her of other things they might be doing to work up a sweat. "We're giving them too much practice, and I know for a fact that dy Garnez has sent for his younger brother, who I'm told is one of the best horsemen in Almesca, to attend us."

"There are other ways of slipping off alone," Iselle said.

 )
beatrice_otter: Cartoon Obi-Wan and Yoda: The thing is, there were just no warning signs. (Warning Signs)
2024-01-01 10:52 am

Fic: A Promised Meeting

Now that [community profile] yuletide has revealed authors, I can post the two fics I wrote! My assignment was for vendaai, and it was an Imperial Radch fic. They were using the new "or" matching possibility, so of their requested characters I chose the ones that interested me the most, Sphene and Minask Nenkur. They also asked for worldbuilding! Which is my jam.

The books don't actually give us much detail about either the Notai in general or Minask in particular; we know they were one of the ethnic groups from the original Radch Dyson sphere, and they fought Anaander's rise to power. They seem to have given ship AIs more freedom than Anaander did, but they also saw no problem using ancillaries. And they probably didn't wear gloves because Sphene is derisive of the practice. As Sphene says in Ancillary Mercy: "What’s outside the Radch is impure, and mostly barely human. You can call yourselves Radchaai as much as you want, you can wear gloves like somehow not touching impure things is going to make a difference, but it doesn’t change anything. You’re not citizens, you’re impure by definition, and there isn’t an entrance official who’d let you within 10,000 kilometers of the Radch, no matter how many times you wash, no matter how long you fast."

So my question was, if the Notai believe that what's outside the Radch (i.e. the original Dyson sphere) "impure" and "barely human," why do they have all these ships to fight Anaander with? And the answer I came up with was "trade!" You don't have to respect or like someone to want the things they produce or the resources they have; consider the whole history of imperialism. But that got me thinking about the British East India Company, and the Dutch West India Company, and the Notai as sort of vaguely English colonialists. And that got me thinking of the Age of Sail, and balls, and arranged marriages and the marriage market, and "how does a ship get a captain if they don't have accesses that will force them to accept whoever you give them"? And that's what gave me the plot bunny to write the story.



Title: A Promised Meeting
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Fandom: Imperial Radch Trilogy
Written for: venndaai in Yuletide 2023
Betaed by: Gammarad
Length: 3,289 words
Rating: Teen

Summary: Parvenus and upstarts tried to arrange introductions to ships at mixer parties. Families with real connections arranged for more substantial—and more private—introductions in the ordinary course of business.

At AO3On SquidgeworldOn tumblr. On Pillowfort.

Lieutenant—if all went well, soon to be Captain—Minask read a novel on her tablet, trying not to fidget. They were late, which would have been dreadfully rude if it hadn't been out of their control entirely. She ignored the excited chatter of the other two lieutenants, and the encouragement and advice one of the Lantana ancillaries was giving them. Both officers were young, and not looking for new assignments yet, but they were both from less well-connected families, and had never been to a mixer before, and were excited at the prospect of it.

Minask, as a Nenkur, had regularly attended such gatherings since before she'd been old enough to even think about what sort of apprenticeship she wanted. And a Nenkur would never depend on the chance of impressing the ship at a general meet-and-greet like this one for her assignments. Parvenus and upstarts tried to arrange introductions at mixer parties. Families with real connections arranged for more substantial—and more private—introductions in the ordinary course of business.

As had happened two years ago when Minask had been assigned to the Notai Spinward Trading Company's planet-side base on Cehines, and been conveyed there on Sphene, a Gem-class ship whose then-captain was within a few years of retirement.

Minask hadn't seen Sphene since, but they had written. Frequently. And three months of living together was a far better indication of compatibility than a few days of conversation. And in a few hours the shuttle would arrive and she would see it again.

Read more... )
beatrice_otter: Drawing of a hippo in a red leotard and tutu, holding a rose in its teeth.  At the top it says "Yuletide! Featuring Beatrice_Otter as Rose Hippo" (Yuletide)
2023-12-29 08:33 pm
Entry tags:

Yuletide Recs! 80 recs in 49 fandoms

For Yuletide 2023, I received this GORGEOUS, lyrical story for Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer:

tattoo your love on my heart (3620 words)
Fandom: Dirty Computer - Janelle Monáe (Music Video)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ché/Jane/Zen (Dirty Computer)
Additional Tags: On the Run, Polyamory, Amnesia, reclaiming yourself, idk Che looks like a they to me, Dancing, Internalised Oppression, POV First Person, Past Brainwashing
Summary:

I can feel sharp black holes in my mind, and there is nothing there.

I am Zen. It is my name. I thought I was someone else, someone clean with a proper designation. I forgot how much I loved these two people. They know who they are, and when I look at them I feel something that I know is far from clean. I try to remember how we met, what we did, and all I can find are those empty spots inside of me.



80 recs in 49 fandoms )
beatrice_otter: DS9 wormhole (DS9)
2023-12-22 04:39 pm

Fic: Third Chance

With the reveal of [community profile] ficinabox authors, I can now share what I wrote! I had lots of fun with some of my favorite characters, Ro Laren, and it's always fun to explore what things might be like after the Dominion War.


Title: Third Chance
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Written for: fly_to_dawn in Fic In A Box 2023
Characters: Ro Laren, Kira Nerys, Jadzia Dax
Length: 13,236 words
Rating: General Audiences

AN: Canon has two possible outcomes for Ro Laren. In Picard, she survived the destruction of the Maquis, spent time in prison, and then was recruited by Starfleet Intelligence. In the books and Star Trek Online, she survived the Maquis and joined the Bajoran Militia, and was stationed to DS9 as security chief.

Ro already got a second chance to start her life over, on the Enterprise; I figure this is her third chance at the life she wanted.

On tumblr. On Pillowfort. On Squidgeworld. On Cohost. On Ad Astra.


"Colonel, you can't seriously be considering allowing this." Lieutenant Belasco's voice was filled with a sort of arrogant disbelief that Kira found grating.

If I were going to argue with either Starfleet or the Militia about personnel, it would be to get rid of Belasco, not Ro, Kira thought to herself. The lieutenant was Deep Space Nine's Starfleet replacement for Chief O'Brien. He was less skilled than O'Brien was (although that was an unfair comparison—there was a reason O'Brien had been tapped to teach at Starfleet Academy, a rare honor for an NCO). He was less experienced, both in engineering matters and in personnel management. And he had in full that Human arrogance about the Federation's superiority, with an unhealthy helping of post-Dominion War suspicion and anger.

"Why not?" Kira asked, instead of saying any of that.

"Because she's a terrorist!" Belasco said.

Read more... )
beatrice_otter: Me in red--face not shown (Default)
2023-10-16 09:50 pm
Entry tags:

Fic In A Box: Undefaulted

So the reason I missed the deadline on Fic In A Box is because I had the reveals date in my head and assumed that the posting deadline was a week or two before it, and not a month before it. (Fic In A Box has an atypical structure and thus an atypical schedule). So when I emailed the mod explaining that I am on track to finishing a 10k fic in time for the collection, I just don't have the fic done yet, the mod undefaulted me. So there's a happy ending! But it was a bit more stressful than I wanted, and I'm sure it was at least a little extra hassle for the mod.
beatrice_otter: Cover of Janelle Monae's Archandroid album (Janelle Monae)
2023-09-23 06:51 pm
Entry tags:

Fic: Chenelo Zhasanai

[community profile] auexchange 2023 has finally revealed, which means I can tell you what I wrote! Those of you who guessed "Chenelo Zhasanai" are correct! I thought it was an easy guess because it was very on-brand for me: a longer-than-average fic about an underloved character (particularly a woman) which sticks close to canon even for an AU.


Title: Chenelo Zhasanai
Author: [personal profile] beatrice_otter 
Fandom: The Goblin Emperor
Length: 13,593 words
Rating: General Audiences
Written for: Gammarad in AU Exchange 2023
Betaed by: Irina

On AO3. On Squidgeworld. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.


On good days, Chenelo did not take a sedative before bed, and her sleep was light and restless. She would spend the next day tired, but clear-headed.

Chenelo would later give many prayers to Csaivo that the day her former husband—and his elvish sons—died had been a good day.

So it was that when Othallo Neälu shook her gently in the middle of the night with the news that a courier had come on an airship, and Maia had read the message and called for her, Chenelo's mind was fogged with sleep but not with opazhin. )
beatrice_otter: Me in red--face not shown (Default)
2023-09-11 11:17 am
Entry tags:

Sedoretu exchange

I do a lot of exchanges in fall/winter, and I love all of them, but I just learned about another one that I might have to do instead of one of them. There is an exchange entirely dedicated to sedoretus, that weird 4-person poly marriage LeGuin came up with. And I love Sedoretu stories. It's called [community profile] sedoretuex and it runs from now through December (currently in nominations). If I do it, I would have to give up doing [community profile] startrekholidays, which I've done the last several years and really enjoyed.

My problem is that there are a number of ships I have where there are THREE characters, but nobody to really slot in for the fourth. For example, Lando/Mara/Luke and then who would you put in for the fourth? There are a dearth of women in the Legends universe, even fewer in the OT, and most of the ones who exist are already paired up. I don't want to break up Han/Leia, or Corran/Mirax. Then with Babylon 5, I love the idea of Delenn/John/Lennier and Delenn/John/Neroon, but then who to put in as a fourth? Mayal? Susan?

And you know, there aren't that many possible sedoretus in most of my fandoms. I'm used to offering, like, ten different characters/pairing in a lot of my fandoms because they tend to have large casts and I love them all. But most of them, I'm going through, and there's like one possible sedoretu.

I do love the concept of sedoretus.

But I also love [community profile] startrekholidays 

beatrice_otter: Enterprise-D and the TARDIS (Crossover)
2023-09-01 10:42 pm

(no subject)

[community profile] crossworks is live, and the authors will be revealed tomorrow; I wrote one story and received not one but TWO great fics! Go read them all, there are a lot of great fics, but here are my recommendations.

Crossover Recs )

 


beatrice_otter: Aim high--you may still miss the target, but at least you won't shoot your foot off. (Aim High)
2023-07-22 11:56 am
Entry tags:

Fandom 5k Rec List

[community profile] fandom5k produced a lot of really great fic this year! There were 141 fics in 119 fandoms, and (given the fest) all of them over 5k words. I was lucky enough to receive a WONDERFUL DS9 fic that felt so much like it could have been an episode, I loved it. Here is a list of my favorite fic, and I highly recommend you go browse the collection because there's a lot of great fic and much of it is in fandoms I don't read.


I received:
Voices from the Past (8648 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Benjamin Sisko, Ro Laren, Miles O'Brien, Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: Minor Character Death, implied lesbian relationship, Styled As an Episode, needlessly self-indulgent, Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:

Ro Laren runs into a friend from before she joined Starfleet, and Benjamin Sisko suspects something in the wormhole may be trying to send him a message.



the body keeps score (5121 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Leia Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker
Characters: Leia Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Additional Tags: Reconciliation, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Jedi Culture & Tradition (Star Wars), Post-Battle of Endor (Star Wars), New Republic Era (Star Wars), Order 66, Jedi purge, Destruction of Alderaan (Star Wars), Anakin features heavily here, Aftermath of Torture, Grief/Mourning, a smidge of Jedi philosophy/tradition, POV Leia Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi Lives, this is not a story about Anakin Skywalker, but Anakin features heavily
Summary:

With the fall of the Empire, a man thought long-dead is rescued from Vader's prison. Healing isn't as simple as surviving, though.



History Never Repeats (34769 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Loop, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Ideation, Character Death, Obsession, Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationship, Non-Linear Narrative, Unreliable Narrator, Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:

There's no possible way to keep track of how long Obi-wan's lived, now. He lives, he dies, he lives again. He'll wake up somewhere in the past, the possibility of chance infuriatingly close but forever out of reach. Anakin always falls to Vader; the Republic always fails. The hows and whys of both are not set, Obi-wan's interference never changing anything for the better.

He quite dislikes the lives where they find themselves on Mustufar. The heat of it, the stench; Anakin's yellow eyes burning more than the lava ever could.

Sometimes, Obi-wan misses the sickly yellow of them as much as he does clear, sky blue.



Bones and Blood: A Jurassic Park Survivor's Story (10286 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Billy Brennan/Alan Grant, Alan Grant & Ellie Sattler
Characters: Alan Grant (Jurassic Park), Billy Brennan, Ellie Sattler
Additional Tags: the mortifying ordeal of writing a celebrity memoir
Summary:

Billy was still staring at him. His face looked narrow and shadowed in the spotty kitchen lighting. Alan always thought about geometry when he looked at Billy: angles and rays and points and transversals. He was beautiful in the way that math was beautiful: like an equation that was beyond Alan's abilities, too complex for him to handle. But there, nonetheless. Holding all the secrets of the universe, if only Alan could figure out how to solve him.



To the Victor, the Spoils (6904 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Pietro Maximoff, Erik Lehnsherr, Charles Xavier
Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Parentage Reveal, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Pietro Maximoff Goes by Peter, Politics, Road Trips, Complicated Relationships, Family Feels
Summary:

With Erik missing and the US government gearing up to offer a reward for the events in Egypt, Charles offers Peter a chance to find him and maybe, finally, tell him the truth. But with Erik largely sceptical of the offering and only a few days of driving between them and their destination, Peter doesn't know if he'll manage it - or if he even wants to.



The Green Lady (11879 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Duv Galeni/Delia Koudelka
Characters: Delia Koudelka, Duv Galeni, Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: Ghosts, Rituals, Bechdel Test Pass, Mystery
Summary:

The first time Delia saw the woman, it was after a party at the Residence and she assumed that the woman had gotten lost.

But then it turned out nobody else had seen her and she did not appear on the Residence security logs ....



trust in serum (15762 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: DCU (Comics)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Clark Kent
Additional Tags: Dick Grayson is Robin, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Truth Serum, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Unreliable Narrator, Adoption, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Good Uncle Clark Kent, Miscommunication, Eventual Fluff, Kid Dick Grayson
Summary:

"I believe the serum is a mixture of chemicals that compels the target to be completely honest, even against their own will."
"You got hit with a truth serum?" Bruce winced as Dick's voice reached a high pitch. "Really?!"
"Yes, really."

 

[Batman and Robin don't keep secrets from each other. They can't, because how are they supposed to work together and fight crime with secrets between them? An incident involving truth serum puts this to the test.]

beatrice_otter: DS9 wormhole (DS9)
2023-06-16 10:55 am

Fic: Schoolwork

Title: Schoolwork
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Characters: Jake Sisko & Kasidy Yates
Written for: Ericine in Heart Attack Exchange 2023
Rating: K
Length: 10k

AN: Thank you to sixbeforelunch for the beta, and sovik on the Vulkhansu Discord for information about how long it takes to get from Bajor to DS9.

According to secondary canon, Andorians have four sexes (zhen, shen, chan, and than), and these are important enough to be part of their names. On the show, what few times we see an Andorian, they use 'he' or 'she' which does not make sense to me if they genuinely have four sexes. (The show does tell us that Andorian marriage requires groups of four.) So I decided that the Andorian OC appearing in this fic is going to be of the chan sex and that the name of the sex doubles as a pronoun.

At AO3. On Squidgeworld. On Ad Astra. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.


"So, when are you coming home?" Grampa asked.

Jake made a face. "I don't have any plans for a vacation to Earth in the next few months," he said. "There's a lot going on here, and will be for a while. And the Federation News Service doesn't have anybody else on the station—it's a great opportunity, I don't want to miss it." They'd spent half the call so far talking about how busy he was, so he wasn't sure why his grandfather was asking when he was coming home.

"I understand all that," Grandpa said with an air of patience. "But I mean, after that. Things will quiet down eventually, or they'll send someone else to cover things. Your father isn't stationed there any longer, and who knows how long it'll be before he gets back from wherever he is? And besides, you're a grown man; you don't have to live out in the far reaches of the galaxy just because it's where Starfleet sent your dad."

"I know that," Jake said. If he hadn't been a grown man, he couldn't have stayed on the station when the Federation pulled out. "What's your point?"

"I was assuming that you'd want to come home, to Earth," Grandpa said. "You talked about getting a writing fellowship at the Pennington School."

Read more... )
beatrice_otter: Me in red--face not shown (Default)
2023-04-20 12:46 am
Entry tags:

Dear Heart Attack Author

I use the same name everywhere so I am [personal profile] beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.

I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for over a decade and am usually very happy with my gifts.

The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.

I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.

Please no incest or darkfic. I define "darkfic" as stuff where there's a lot of suffering and no hope even at the end and all the characters are terrible. Angst with a happy ending is fine, I enjoy it, but there's gotta be a payoff. Even an ambiguous ending is fine! But there has to be some note of grace or redemption or hope somewhere, it can't just be "people are awful and the world sucks, the end." I define incest as siblings and/or parents, cousins don't count.



Random Harvest (Safety) )

Thrawn Trilogy )

Crossover )


Star Wars OT )

Star Wars: The Force Awakens )

TNG )

DS9 )

The Goblin Emperor )