![[sticky entry]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/sticky_entry.png){kind=small}
I've been here for a couple of months now, and while I've never been overly inclined to journal in any way I figured I'd make a bit of an info post for myself and my current projects.
I'm Teratornis, or just Tornis, named for an extinct genus of massive condor-like bird. Rockies denizen, pretty queer, big reader, frequent writer, big animal nerd, big history nerd, and generally into a broad array of topics.
I ended up on DW to join a holiday fanfic exchange, something I would very much like to participate again in the future. I've been more of a lurker in fandom spaces for quite some time, but I've been a lot more active in writing and posting fic in the last year and a half or so. Most of what I've got is on AO3, also under Teratornis.
I write mostly for Highlander, at the moment, but there's quite a few fandoms I'm into, and I've got a handful of original settings and characters I write for as well. I've usually got multiple active projects at any given time, and tend to jump between the things I'm working on, though from time to time I will fixate heavily on one specific project or another.
Some current projects:
Forward. My biggest project to date. This is a Highlander AU diverting from the Archangel plotline, including a 100k-word main story and a number of short stories taking place during and after the course of that main story. Every now and again I'll hammer out another short story for this series, and I have vague plans to write a real sequel at some point, but I'm still pondering my options there.
Grief. A series of short Highlander stories revolving around the nature of grief and loss. Each story can be read on its own. Another series I occasionally toss a new story into when inspiration strikes. Mostly canon-compliant.
Superhero Stories. This is an original setting I've had floating around for somewhere close to fifteen years at this point, and in the last year or so really started writing and worldbuilding more seriously for. As seems to be the case for many of my projects, the timeline bounces around some between stories, and most of them can be read on their own.
Singing to the Stars. This series is new, but this is an original sci-fi (technically more sci-fantasy, actually) setting I've been working on off and on for about a decade, I think. This series specifically deals with humanity's first contact with an alien species.
The Wake of the Flood. A crossover of Highlander and the video game Horizon Zero Dawn. Mostly an exploration of how the characters involved would interact with each other and the setting. Currently updating on Sundays.
As-of-yet unnamed Highlander AU diverting from the fallout of the Methusela's Gift episode. Need to rewrite a few sections and do some major editing, and then wrap up the conclusion.
I also occasionally write stand-alone Guild Wars 2 short stories, and stories set in my original D&D setting for the game I've been running for probably seven years or so. This is very much on an 'when inspiration randomly strikes' sort of basis.
Anyway, hello, here I am. I'm not sure I'll post here all that frequently, but I'll probably try to post occasional updates on the stuff I'm working on or any new project I end up with, and I'm planning to keep an eye on other exchange and fanfic events when I can.
I can also be found under my previously-linked AO3 account and on Tumblr.
Feel free to message me or comment or whatever else! I get very enthusiastic about a lot of things, and love to chat about them.
Entry tags:
Matthew McCormick Project: People Like Us
So ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
argentum_ls and I have been continuing to work on and post our Highlander: The Agent series, a collection of stories focusing on Matthew McCormick, post-canon. We've been posting weekly for more than six months now (closer to seven, really), and we just wrapped up the third main story last night:
People Like Us (30641 words) by argentum_ls, Teratornis
Chapters: 11/11
Fandom: Highlander: The Series
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters, Reverend Bell, Derek Worth
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Beheading, Minor Character Death, TV Logic
Series: Part 6 of Highlander: The Agent
Summary: While investigating a string of murders in Louisiana, Matthew gets an unexpected opportunity to reconcile some more of the mistakes of his own past.
So I wanted to talk about the process a little bit.( Read more... )
argentum_ls and I have been continuing to work on and post our Highlander: The Agent series, a collection of stories focusing on Matthew McCormick, post-canon. We've been posting weekly for more than six months now (closer to seven, really), and we just wrapped up the third main story last night:People Like Us (30641 words) by argentum_ls, Teratornis
Chapters: 11/11
Fandom: Highlander: The Series
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters, Reverend Bell, Derek Worth
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Beheading, Minor Character Death, TV Logic
Series: Part 6 of Highlander: The Agent
Summary: While investigating a string of murders in Louisiana, Matthew gets an unexpected opportunity to reconcile some more of the mistakes of his own past.
So I wanted to talk about the process a little bit.( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Bite-Sized Fandoms Exchange 2025
I wanted to write this before but I was out of town during author reveals. Home now, though, and still highly entertained by this particular exchange experience.
Bite-Sized is only in its second year. It's an exchange for anything that takes fewer than eight hours to complete, so movies, miniseries, stand-alone books, short games. And, most notably in this case, songs.
See, I nominated a couple of songs for the fandom pool for this exchange. Specifically, I nominated a song called Tale of the Shadow, an original shanty by the artist Sail North. It was then one of my requests for the exchange, and I wasn't the only one requesting it, which was pretty cool.
When assignments went out, I got assigned to the other person requesting Tale of the Shadow. That was pretty exciting, I had some ideas, I got it written and posted fairly thoroughly ahead of the deadline.
I was also excited when my own gift appeared, and went to check on which of my requested fandoms it was for.
Tale of the Shadow.
That made me laugh, since it was also what I had written (and yes, it turned out the other Tale of the Shadow requester and I had indeed written for each other).
However, then I got a second gift. This was also very exciting. I haven't been participating in exchanges all that long, and this was the first treat I had ever gotten. All eager to learn some details, I went to check the fandom.
Tale of the Shadow.
I was incredulous but delighted. What a fun thing to happen.
Then I got a third gift, and might have been holding my breath when I went to look at the fandom.
Tale of the Shadow.
By this point, between what I'd written and the gifts I'd received, we'd tripled the number of fics for this song on ao3. There had been two, prior to this exchange.
(To my excitement and delight, I stunningly received a fourth gift, but it broke the streak, and was instead written for the book A Sorceress Comes to Call.)
Anyway, it was a hilarious and wonderful exchange experience, and I had a lot of fun with it this year. The gifts I received were all really excellent: ( Read more... )
In addition to my own official assignment for Tale of the Shadow, I also ended up writing one treat for this exchange this year, for the movie Ladyhawke. ( Read more... )
I've really enjoyed this exchange both years I've participated in it. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for it next year as well.
Bite-Sized is only in its second year. It's an exchange for anything that takes fewer than eight hours to complete, so movies, miniseries, stand-alone books, short games. And, most notably in this case, songs.
See, I nominated a couple of songs for the fandom pool for this exchange. Specifically, I nominated a song called Tale of the Shadow, an original shanty by the artist Sail North. It was then one of my requests for the exchange, and I wasn't the only one requesting it, which was pretty cool.
When assignments went out, I got assigned to the other person requesting Tale of the Shadow. That was pretty exciting, I had some ideas, I got it written and posted fairly thoroughly ahead of the deadline.
I was also excited when my own gift appeared, and went to check on which of my requested fandoms it was for.
Tale of the Shadow.
That made me laugh, since it was also what I had written (and yes, it turned out the other Tale of the Shadow requester and I had indeed written for each other).
However, then I got a second gift. This was also very exciting. I haven't been participating in exchanges all that long, and this was the first treat I had ever gotten. All eager to learn some details, I went to check the fandom.
Tale of the Shadow.
I was incredulous but delighted. What a fun thing to happen.
Then I got a third gift, and might have been holding my breath when I went to look at the fandom.
Tale of the Shadow.
By this point, between what I'd written and the gifts I'd received, we'd tripled the number of fics for this song on ao3. There had been two, prior to this exchange.
(To my excitement and delight, I stunningly received a fourth gift, but it broke the streak, and was instead written for the book A Sorceress Comes to Call.)
Anyway, it was a hilarious and wonderful exchange experience, and I had a lot of fun with it this year. The gifts I received were all really excellent: ( Read more... )
In addition to my own official assignment for Tale of the Shadow, I also ended up writing one treat for this exchange this year, for the movie Ladyhawke. ( Read more... )
I've really enjoyed this exchange both years I've participated in it. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for it next year as well.
Entry tags:
Friday Five Questions: Some Favorites
Seen in annavere's post, originally from ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thefridayfive. It's definitely not friday anymore, but this looked like fun, and who doesn't like talking about their favorites some?
( Read more... )
annavere's post, originally from thefridayfive. It's definitely not friday anymore, but this looked like fun, and who doesn't like talking about their favorites some?( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Music to Write To
I am procrastinating on editing something (a perpetual state of existence; the writing is excellent, the editing trips me up sometimes), and some time back when I mentioned some piece of music or another, argentum_ls suggested I list some of the stuff I listened to while working on our Highlander: The Agent project.
So. Why the hell not. Except I'm expanding the scope to music I commonly return to for just about any writing, listed in no particular order:
( Read more... )
argentum_ls suggested I list some of the stuff I listened to while working on our Highlander: The Agent project.So. Why the hell not. Except I'm expanding the scope to music I commonly return to for just about any writing, listed in no particular order:
( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Fanfic Writer Asks Meme
Okay well I was thinking about posting this anyway, but argentum_ls also prodded me about doing it last night (this morning? It was like 2am), so here it is. :P
Pick a number and I'll answer!
argentum_ls also prodded me about doing it last night (this morning? It was like 2am), so here it is. :P Pick a number and I'll answer!
Entry tags:
Matthew McCormick Project: Close to Home
So for about the last year, argentum_ls and I have been working on a collaborative series featuring Highlander character Matthew McCormick. We got to chatting one day a while back about the supposed spin-off series that character might have featured in, and what that might have looked like. I ended up writing a scene that got stuck in my head, and. . .
Well, now we're like a dozen stories deep and that first scene I wrote is buried somewhere in story six or some craziness like that. That sixth story was originally going to be the first one, I think, but we didn't even know we were going to do a series at that point, much less such an extensive one. We're both very much the sort of people who start writing something just to see what happens and roll with it from there, chasing the inspiration. The inspiration just. . . went a lot further than initially anticipated.
So I wrote that story, and then I wrote another story, and then we just sort of kept going, until it became apparent those two stories - and some of the stories Argentum had started hammering out as well - weren't destined to be the first in the series.
At that point I started Close to Home.( Read more... )
argentum_ls and I have been working on a collaborative series featuring Highlander character Matthew McCormick. We got to chatting one day a while back about the supposed spin-off series that character might have featured in, and what that might have looked like. I ended up writing a scene that got stuck in my head, and. . . Well, now we're like a dozen stories deep and that first scene I wrote is buried somewhere in story six or some craziness like that. That sixth story was originally going to be the first one, I think, but we didn't even know we were going to do a series at that point, much less such an extensive one. We're both very much the sort of people who start writing something just to see what happens and roll with it from there, chasing the inspiration. The inspiration just. . . went a lot further than initially anticipated.
So I wrote that story, and then I wrote another story, and then we just sort of kept going, until it became apparent those two stories - and some of the stories Argentum had started hammering out as well - weren't destined to be the first in the series.
At that point I started Close to Home.( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Fic Stats Meme
Gotten from argentum_ls. Looked like fun. Gonna be Highlander all the way down.
Rules: give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the fewest words.
1. The Wake of the Flood - Highlander/Horizon Zero Dawn
While exploring a bunker that's been sealed since the time of the Old Ones, Aloy discovers an unnaturally well-preserved body that, to her shock, returns to life.
Now unexpectedly accompanied by an immortal man from the distant past, Aloy strives to learn about him and about a history she's only glimpsed before, while introducing him to a world that bears little resemblance to the one he remembers. 43,000 words. 5,228 hits.
2. We Move Forward - Highlander
Richie follows an illusion to the racetrack, and MacLeod follows Richie. Methos and Joe arrive in time to avert one disaster, but find themselves faced with more than they ever could have bargained for.
Or, Yet Another Archangel Reinterpretation. 104,857 words. 189 kudos.
3. Someplace New and Someplace Old - Highlander
Methos has taken an unexpected trip to Utah. MacLeod and Joe decide to see what he's up to. 7,216 words. 30 comments.
4. Magnetic - Highlander
MacLeod is introduced to a surprising new side-effect of a recent quickening. 1,490 words. 10 bookmarks.
5. We Move Forward Postlude: Conversations with Joe - Highlander
In the wake of the events of We Move Forward, Joe finally has a chance to really talk with his immortals. 8,173 words.
6. Grief Like Drowning - Highlander
How do you live with watching someone you love die? 296 words.
My fanfic obsessions are very obvious with this one.
argentum_ls. Looked like fun. Gonna be Highlander all the way down.Rules: give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the fewest words.
1. The Wake of the Flood - Highlander/Horizon Zero Dawn
While exploring a bunker that's been sealed since the time of the Old Ones, Aloy discovers an unnaturally well-preserved body that, to her shock, returns to life.
Now unexpectedly accompanied by an immortal man from the distant past, Aloy strives to learn about him and about a history she's only glimpsed before, while introducing him to a world that bears little resemblance to the one he remembers. 43,000 words. 5,228 hits.
2. We Move Forward - Highlander
Richie follows an illusion to the racetrack, and MacLeod follows Richie. Methos and Joe arrive in time to avert one disaster, but find themselves faced with more than they ever could have bargained for.
Or, Yet Another Archangel Reinterpretation. 104,857 words. 189 kudos.
3. Someplace New and Someplace Old - Highlander
Methos has taken an unexpected trip to Utah. MacLeod and Joe decide to see what he's up to. 7,216 words. 30 comments.
4. Magnetic - Highlander
MacLeod is introduced to a surprising new side-effect of a recent quickening. 1,490 words. 10 bookmarks.
5. We Move Forward Postlude: Conversations with Joe - Highlander
In the wake of the events of We Move Forward, Joe finally has a chance to really talk with his immortals. 8,173 words.
6. Grief Like Drowning - Highlander
How do you live with watching someone you love die? 296 words.
My fanfic obsessions are very obvious with this one.
Entry tags:
Holiday Exchanges part 2!
Well it's been a couple of days (or a week, for yuletide), but both HLH Shortcuts and Yuletide have de-anonymized, so I can talk a bit about what all I wrote now.
I had an interesting time for my pieces for both these exchanges, both did a couple things that were a little outside my usual comfort zone, but I had a really good time.
( Read more... )
I had an interesting time for my pieces for both these exchanges, both did a couple things that were a little outside my usual comfort zone, but I had a really good time.
( Read more... )
Yuletide Recs!
I've spent some time over the last few days reading through select fandoms in this year's yuletide collection. Fascinating to see what fandoms pop up for this exchange, and there are some really excellent works out there.
Another shoutout to my gift, first of all, it's really lovely and has some really excellent worldbuilding.
The Stars Remember (1550 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Under This Luminous Sky (Short Film)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Skylar, Aries
Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Post-Canon, In-Universe Documents, Ambiguous Relationships, Unreliable Sources
Summary: Being some Fragments and Memorials from the reign of King Aries the Seventh, pertaining to the time the stars remembered.
And then some other favorites from this year:
( Read more... )
Another shoutout to my gift, first of all, it's really lovely and has some really excellent worldbuilding.
The Stars Remember (1550 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Under This Luminous Sky (Short Film)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Skylar, Aries
Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Post-Canon, In-Universe Documents, Ambiguous Relationships, Unreliable Sources
Summary: Being some Fragments and Memorials from the reign of King Aries the Seventh, pertaining to the time the stars remembered.
And then some other favorites from this year:
( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Holiday Exchanges 2024
This year I participated in Highlander Holiday Shortcuts, for the second year running, and in Yuletide, for my first year. I've been dipping my toes into the waters of several fic events, over the last year, and I was pretty excited to participate in these.
That being said, when I sign up for exchanges I frequently sort of forget that I'm going to be receiving a gift, as well as writing one. I mostly just really enjoy the writing, and then I remember I get a gift too, and it's such an exciting treat.
And holy shit, my gifts for these two exchanges have blown me away.
( Read more... )
Gradually working my way through reading the other stories in these exchange collections (or at least the ones for fandoms I'm into, for yuletide, because wow there's so many), and there's some really excellent stuff. I'm really enjoying the chance to read so many great stories.
That being said, when I sign up for exchanges I frequently sort of forget that I'm going to be receiving a gift, as well as writing one. I mostly just really enjoy the writing, and then I remember I get a gift too, and it's such an exciting treat.
And holy shit, my gifts for these two exchanges have blown me away.
( Read more... )
Gradually working my way through reading the other stories in these exchange collections (or at least the ones for fandoms I'm into, for yuletide, because wow there's so many), and there's some really excellent stuff. I'm really enjoying the chance to read so many great stories.
Entry tags:
TV Question Meme
Seen from argentum_ls and annavere, and thought it looked fun. I was pretty clear on what to use for the first four, but I struggled with which to put for five. Can't promise it wouldn't be something different next week, but that's not really a bad thing.
TV questions: pick your five favourite TV shows (in no particular order) and answer the following questions. Don’t cheat!
( 19 Questions )
argentum_ls and annavere, and thought it looked fun. I was pretty clear on what to use for the first four, but I struggled with which to put for five. Can't promise it wouldn't be something different next week, but that's not really a bad thing.TV questions: pick your five favourite TV shows (in no particular order) and answer the following questions. Don’t cheat!
- Leverage
- Person of Interest
- Highlander
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Sanctuary
( 19 Questions )
Entry tags:
HLH Shortcuts AO3 Submission Guide!
Assignments are out! A lot of the process from here is probably familiar, but there are some specific details of ao3 assignments that do like to hide in awkward places, sometimes.
( Read more... )
Hopefully this is helpful, I'm really looking forward to the rest of this event!
( Read more... )
Hopefully this is helpful, I'm really looking forward to the rest of this event!
Entry tags:
HLH Shortcuts AO3 Signup Guide!
HLH Shortcuts is imminent, and signups have moved to ao3 this year! I've only participated once before now, but this is a bit of a different process, so I've got here a bit of a guide for that process!
( Read more... )
Additional note and tip from Killabeez: You are welcome to copy/paste previous years' signups into the "What I'd like to receive" field, as long as you also choose between 3 and 20 characters from those available under the 'Characters' dropdown menu, for both receiving and offering!
Hopefully this is helpful!
( Read more... )
Additional note and tip from Killabeez: You are welcome to copy/paste previous years' signups into the "What I'd like to receive" field, as long as you also choose between 3 and 20 characters from those available under the 'Characters' dropdown menu, for both receiving and offering!
Hopefully this is helpful!
Bite-Sized Fandom Exchange
Back in March I had the opportunity to join bitesizedfandomsex, a multifandom exchange that focuses on shorter forms of media (ex. anything that takes fewer than eight hours to finish) that just did final author reveals last night. This is its first year, and I loved the idea. Obviously there were a lot of movies present in the tagset, along with a lot of miniseries, standalone books, and short video games, but there were also a lot of songs and music videos, webseries, comics, poems, and even still images and paintings. It was pretty cool to see what people were nominating.
I ended up writing two pieces for this, my main assignment and an eleventh-hour treat for a particularly inspiring request:
( Read more... )
These stories were very different experiences, in terms of writing process. I had to approach them both very differently, but they were both a lot of fun to work on.
I also received a really excellent piece:
Zale and Halla's Day Out, by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Gammarad
Rating: General Audiences
Fandom: Swordheart - T. Kingfisher
Relationships: Zale & Halla (Swordheart)
Characters: Zale (Swordheart), Halla (Swordheart)
Tags: Fluff
Words: 2,220
These two characters interacting is probably one of my favorite parts of Swordheart, so getting a fic focused on that was a true delight. It's a ton of fun to read, and does a little bit of plot- and world-building that's a lot of fun to ponder on. I was so tickled by this gift.
All in all, I had a grand time with this exchange. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it again next year.
bitesizedfandomsex, a multifandom exchange that focuses on shorter forms of media (ex. anything that takes fewer than eight hours to finish) that just did final author reveals last night. This is its first year, and I loved the idea. Obviously there were a lot of movies present in the tagset, along with a lot of miniseries, standalone books, and short video games, but there were also a lot of songs and music videos, webseries, comics, poems, and even still images and paintings. It was pretty cool to see what people were nominating.I ended up writing two pieces for this, my main assignment and an eleventh-hour treat for a particularly inspiring request:
( Read more... )
These stories were very different experiences, in terms of writing process. I had to approach them both very differently, but they were both a lot of fun to work on.
I also received a really excellent piece:
Zale and Halla's Day Out, by
Rating: General Audiences
Fandom: Swordheart - T. Kingfisher
Relationships: Zale & Halla (Swordheart)
Characters: Zale (Swordheart), Halla (Swordheart)
Tags: Fluff
Words: 2,220
These two characters interacting is probably one of my favorite parts of Swordheart, so getting a fic focused on that was a true delight. It's a ton of fun to read, and does a little bit of plot- and world-building that's a lot of fun to ponder on. I was so tickled by this gift.
All in all, I had a grand time with this exchange. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it again next year.
Entry tags:
The Wake of the Flood: Halfway!
My Horizon Zero Dawn/Highlander crossover story has been updating weekly for a couple of months now, and I'm over the halfway mark with it at this point (24k words, 10/19 chapters).
I am absolutely blown away by the reception this story has received so far. I fully expected to get like five people reading this on and off, but there have been so many people reading, from both fandoms, who seem so enthusiastic about it. It's been a real joy to share each chapter and to see what people think. I continue to be pretty excited about this crossover, from both a character development and worldbuilding point of view, and I'm really excited to keep posting the rest of it.
Don't know if I'll write more for this universe at this point, but I'd like to and I certainly have a history of plot bunnies. I'll have to see.
The Wake of the Flood on AO3
. . . And my E key fell off my laptop keyboard. Typing is certainly a little more complicated than normal right now.
I am absolutely blown away by the reception this story has received so far. I fully expected to get like five people reading this on and off, but there have been so many people reading, from both fandoms, who seem so enthusiastic about it. It's been a real joy to share each chapter and to see what people think. I continue to be pretty excited about this crossover, from both a character development and worldbuilding point of view, and I'm really excited to keep posting the rest of it.
Don't know if I'll write more for this universe at this point, but I'd like to and I certainly have a history of plot bunnies. I'll have to see.
The Wake of the Flood on AO3
. . . And my E key fell off my laptop keyboard. Typing is certainly a little more complicated than normal right now.
Entry tags:
It Begins! Highlander/Horizon Crossover Fic
It took a little longer than I had anticipated to get this story squared away, but it's finally ready to start posting, and I am wildly excited about it.
The Wake of the Flood
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Fandom: Horizon (Video Games), Highlander: The Series
Relationships: Aloy (Horizon) & Methos (Highlander)
Characters: Aloy (Horizon), Methos (Highlander), Background Original Characters
Additional Tags: Temporary Character Death, Conversations, Explanations, Culture Shock, Blood and Injury, Post-Apocalypse, Travel, Developing Friendships, Author has not played Forbidden West, Individual chapters contain individual warnings, Happy Ending, Immortals in the future
Chapters: 2/19
Summary:
While exploring a bunker that's been sealed since the time of the Old Ones, Aloy discovers an unnaturally well-preserved body that, to her shock, returns to life.
Now unexpectedly accompanied by an immortal man from the distant past, Aloy strives to learn about him and about a history she's only glimpsed before, while introducing him to a world that bears little resemblance to the one he remembers.
I've had the seeds for this story for quite a while, but I finally got especially inspired to write it back in November, and apparently I was excited enough about it that I finished the first draft in about a week. I'm still not entirely sure how I pulled that off.
It has undergone some serious revisions since then, but my god was it fun. The Horizon setting absolutely fascinates me, and what's better than tossing an immortal into a strange but fascinating setting? I had a great time figuring out how these settings and characters would interact with one another, and what the culture of immortals would look like in the world of Horizon. All around just a lot of fun to work on.
I've got the first two chapters up, and after this I'll be posting a new one every Sunday. I'm very excited about it.
The Wake of the Flood
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Fandom: Horizon (Video Games), Highlander: The Series
Relationships: Aloy (Horizon) & Methos (Highlander)
Characters: Aloy (Horizon), Methos (Highlander), Background Original Characters
Additional Tags: Temporary Character Death, Conversations, Explanations, Culture Shock, Blood and Injury, Post-Apocalypse, Travel, Developing Friendships, Author has not played Forbidden West, Individual chapters contain individual warnings, Happy Ending, Immortals in the future
Chapters: 2/19
Summary:
While exploring a bunker that's been sealed since the time of the Old Ones, Aloy discovers an unnaturally well-preserved body that, to her shock, returns to life.
Now unexpectedly accompanied by an immortal man from the distant past, Aloy strives to learn about him and about a history she's only glimpsed before, while introducing him to a world that bears little resemblance to the one he remembers.
I've had the seeds for this story for quite a while, but I finally got especially inspired to write it back in November, and apparently I was excited enough about it that I finished the first draft in about a week. I'm still not entirely sure how I pulled that off.
It has undergone some serious revisions since then, but my god was it fun. The Horizon setting absolutely fascinates me, and what's better than tossing an immortal into a strange but fascinating setting? I had a great time figuring out how these settings and characters would interact with one another, and what the culture of immortals would look like in the world of Horizon. All around just a lot of fun to work on.
I've got the first two chapters up, and after this I'll be posting a new one every Sunday. I'm very excited about it.
Entry tags:
Insert Title Here Challenge
I recently participated in the insert_title_here challenge, in which participants sent in up to five title suggestions and then received back three random titles. It's very low-key, any fandom, any rating, etc.
I wrote for two of the three titles I received. I had some vague ideas to start off with, and after pondering where to take those ideas for a few days, I ended up doing something completely different for both of the titles I ended up using.
Nevertheless, I had a whole lot of fun. Titles are challenging, and while this isn't the first time I've started with a title and worked backward, so to speak, it was an interesting challenge to see what I got out of it. I'm pretty happy with both of my pieces. One in particular helped to fill in some backstory on an ongoing project of mine.
( Read more... )
I thought this was a great idea for a challenge, and it was a fun way to get inspired. This was its first year, and apparently had 127 signups, which seems like a crazy amount of people for a first-year event. Still, that bodes well for another one like it in the future, I hope. I definitely had a good time.notyourwinter, the mod/event runner, has sent around a list of all the submitted titles that I'm definitely going to keep on hand for more inspiration.
insert_title_here challenge, in which participants sent in up to five title suggestions and then received back three random titles. It's very low-key, any fandom, any rating, etc.I wrote for two of the three titles I received. I had some vague ideas to start off with, and after pondering where to take those ideas for a few days, I ended up doing something completely different for both of the titles I ended up using.
Nevertheless, I had a whole lot of fun. Titles are challenging, and while this isn't the first time I've started with a title and worked backward, so to speak, it was an interesting challenge to see what I got out of it. I'm pretty happy with both of my pieces. One in particular helped to fill in some backstory on an ongoing project of mine.
( Read more... )
I thought this was a great idea for a challenge, and it was a fun way to get inspired. This was its first year, and apparently had 127 signups, which seems like a crazy amount of people for a first-year event. Still, that bodes well for another one like it in the future, I hope. I definitely had a good time.
notyourwinter, the mod/event runner, has sent around a list of all the submitted titles that I'm definitely going to keep on hand for more inspiration.Entry tags:
An Old Favorite: A Matter of Profit
A Matter of Profit is a stand-alone YA sci-fi novel by Hilari Bell. A brief summary, lifted directly from the wiki:
And there's a bit of a story behind my copy of this book.
( Read more... )
I think I may be due for a reread of this book soon. It's been a while, and as I said, it's been on my mind a lot lately. I'd love to maybe write a piece or two of fic for it at some point, it's got such a great setting to explore. Currently there's only one piece of fic for this book on ao3, and I'd love to add to that.
Ahvren's people, the Vivitare, have conquered the T'Chin confederacy. After spending two years fighting a brutal war on another world, Ahvren welcomes peace. However, he is suspicious of his people's easy victory, wondering why the T'Chin surrendered. It is rumored that the Vivitare emperor is in danger of being assassinated and Ahvren offers to uncover the plot, in return for the freedom to choose his own path. To do it, he must understand what motivates the T'Chin.This book has been on my mind a lot recently. It's been a favorite of mine for somewhere close to 20 years. It's got some pretty interesting worldbuilding, a lot of fascinating cultural conflicts, characters I love, and a couple of twists near the end that still delight me. It's been a little while since I read it, but for a while this was a book I read at least once a year.
And there's a bit of a story behind my copy of this book.
( Read more... )
I think I may be due for a reread of this book soon. It's been a while, and as I said, it's been on my mind a lot lately. I'd love to maybe write a piece or two of fic for it at some point, it's got such a great setting to explore. Currently there's only one piece of fic for this book on ao3, and I'd love to add to that.
Entry tags:
Series: Grief
Grief
Fandom: Highlander
Works: 5
Words: 7,986
This is one of those series that I'll work on in fits and starts whenever inspiration strikes. The pieces in it are in chronological order, and can mostly stand on their own. They're connected more by theme than anything else, that theme being, unsurprisingly, grief.
This is one of the few projects of mine that started with a title, rather than an idea for the story itself. Grief like an Old Friend was the first piece I wrote, despite being the current last piece in the series, starting from the title and working the story itself out from there. For a few of the others, the titles came before the story itself as well, and the series built up from there.
Given the theme, this is a very personal series. Parts of it draw very heavily from my own experiences. Because of that, it's mostly been very cathartic to write, and having these stories around is consistently something of a comfort to me.
This series doesn't really have an end-point, given the relative stand-alone nature of the stories in it. I'll probably just keep adding pieces to it whenever inspiration for one strikes. I have a couple more ideas that I want to write down at some point, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Fandom: Highlander
Works: 5
Words: 7,986
This is one of those series that I'll work on in fits and starts whenever inspiration strikes. The pieces in it are in chronological order, and can mostly stand on their own. They're connected more by theme than anything else, that theme being, unsurprisingly, grief.
This is one of the few projects of mine that started with a title, rather than an idea for the story itself. Grief like an Old Friend was the first piece I wrote, despite being the current last piece in the series, starting from the title and working the story itself out from there. For a few of the others, the titles came before the story itself as well, and the series built up from there.
Given the theme, this is a very personal series. Parts of it draw very heavily from my own experiences. Because of that, it's mostly been very cathartic to write, and having these stories around is consistently something of a comfort to me.
This series doesn't really have an end-point, given the relative stand-alone nature of the stories in it. I'll probably just keep adding pieces to it whenever inspiration for one strikes. I have a couple more ideas that I want to write down at some point, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Some Recent(ish) Fic Recs
Just a bit of a spotlight for some stories of varying fandoms that have stood out to me in the last few months.
A Grand Romp, bymoon_custafer
Fandom: Highlander: The Series
Rating: Teen and Up
Words: 3,724
A series of short vignettes centering around Hugh Fitzcairn. I've found every chapter of this to be an absolute delight, and the author writes and incredible Fitzcairn. I laughed aloud at several parts of this collection of tales. Most of the dialogue especially is truly excellent.
Copper Prayer, byAedenSolus
Fandom: Warhammer 40k
Rating: Not Rated
Words: 70,695
I'm a bit biased on this one, Aeden and I have been good friends for over a decade. That being said, I am not in the Warhammer 40k fandom in any way. I know very little about the setting, and this story is incredibly engaging and compelling despite the fact that I went in pretty much canon-blind. The characters (all original) are magnificent, the story is a ton of fun, and it's really just a great tale all around.
Destination Everywhere, byLithiumDoll
Fandom: Calvin & Hobbes
Rating: General Audiences
Words: 490
A brief and absolutely wonderful story featuring a college-age Calvin. I thought this little tale was so perfectly in keeping with the feeling of the Calvin and Hobbes comics. I first read this a number of months ago, and I still think about the last line of it especially on the regular.
The Rubicon, byGallusRostromegalus
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Words: 9,615
A really incredible look at a force-sensitive child whose parents keep them from the Jedi, and what happens when they truly come into their abilities without any sort of support or training. This story is a really hard read at points, but it's so beautifully written, and has some really fascinating worldbuilding and character development.
Only Violets are Blue, bymisura
Fandom: A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher
Rating: Teen and Up
Words: 154
A very brief story that made me laugh aloud the first time I read it, and continues to make me snicker whenever I give it a reread. Honestly, what retail worker doesn't fantasize about becoming a notorious assassin on occasion?
A Grand Romp, by
Fandom: Highlander: The Series
Rating: Teen and Up
Words: 3,724
A series of short vignettes centering around Hugh Fitzcairn. I've found every chapter of this to be an absolute delight, and the author writes and incredible Fitzcairn. I laughed aloud at several parts of this collection of tales. Most of the dialogue especially is truly excellent.
Copper Prayer, by
Fandom: Warhammer 40k
Rating: Not Rated
Words: 70,695
I'm a bit biased on this one, Aeden and I have been good friends for over a decade. That being said, I am not in the Warhammer 40k fandom in any way. I know very little about the setting, and this story is incredibly engaging and compelling despite the fact that I went in pretty much canon-blind. The characters (all original) are magnificent, the story is a ton of fun, and it's really just a great tale all around.
Destination Everywhere, by
Fandom: Calvin & Hobbes
Rating: General Audiences
Words: 490
A brief and absolutely wonderful story featuring a college-age Calvin. I thought this little tale was so perfectly in keeping with the feeling of the Calvin and Hobbes comics. I first read this a number of months ago, and I still think about the last line of it especially on the regular.
The Rubicon, by
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Words: 9,615
A really incredible look at a force-sensitive child whose parents keep them from the Jedi, and what happens when they truly come into their abilities without any sort of support or training. This story is a really hard read at points, but it's so beautifully written, and has some really fascinating worldbuilding and character development.
Only Violets are Blue, by
Fandom: A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher
Rating: Teen and Up
Words: 154
A very brief story that made me laugh aloud the first time I read it, and continues to make me snicker whenever I give it a reread. Honestly, what retail worker doesn't fantasize about becoming a notorious assassin on occasion?