Uffish Thought

So I completely failed to reveal what I wrote for Yuletide this year --

stumble to prevent a fall
Life
written for mskikiiv
gen, post-canon
2200 words

The first thing Dani says after Bodner pulls the car over is, “Crews, you're an idiot. What the hell were you thinking?”


--before posting a little something yesterday that I co-wrote with Lindsey:

see a church by daylight
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
co-written with inmyriadbits
explicit, established relationship
2300 words

Perhaps Dot’s decision to ignore Phryne’s advice to elope had a bright side after all.


...possibly my next fic should NOT be titled in five lowercase words starting with the letter 'S'. Huh. And before that it was two six-word titles starting with 'T'! o_O

Merry Christmas, everyone! Or if you celebrate something else, happy that, or happy December 25th!

I participated in Yuletide this year for the first time - which feels a little embarrassing, since I've been in fandom for almost ten, though I guess Yuletide only started in 2003 - and I received Under, A Study in Emerald fic about Mary Morstan set in 1883. The author did an awesomely creative job with the details of the universe, the dark warping of the canon, and the secondary characters that Gaiman's story left out like Mary and Mycroft, which was exactly what I wanted! There are some great that is such a cool idea moments, and Mary will break your heart. *hugs author*

Hilariously, Lindsey got a Study in Emerald fic for her gift as well, Black Shuck, which is a deeply creepy retelling of Hound of the Baskervilles that had her saying "I really should not have read this at 4am." That's my sister. :D

I beta'd All Fall Down (Life), which is a quietly disturbing genish-ambiguous-Charlie/Rachel story that is not my normal cup of tea at all, but the author's characterization of Rachel is stunning. (and I don't consider this violating the Yuletide secrecy, because I have no previous online connection to the author other than this beta job, so there)

I haven't read much else, between the archive 502s and hosting Christmas at our house, but I highly recommend No Second Coming (The Dark is Rising), which is the post-series fix-it fic I have waiting for all my life. (Well, okay, just since I read the books, but that's still at least a decade.) And it's LONG for the fandom, at 16K. If you like Will/Bran, epic stories, intricate attention to detail, ensemble stories, creative-but-true reinterpretation of canon, Jane being an awesome human being, and/or gorgeous prophetic dreams, go read!

*****

In other news, I'm thinking about disabling the hit counter on my AO3 stories, because it is turning me in a twitchy neurotic mess as I wait for my recipient to comment (ETA: Ahahaha, nm, stalking revealed reason for delay, and it is an AWESOME reason). inmyriadbits can testify. She saved my ass while I was writing my story, as I was editing literally up to the minute the archive closed, with her expert assistance and moral support. I can't credit her on the story yet, obviously, but y'all should know she's a badass, and my story would have been several thousand words and several degrees of quality less without her.

Also: I would die of shock if anyone guesses what I wrote, but if someone does I will write them a story of their choosing. (From beyond the grave, obviously.)

I don't develop "personal canon" the way I've seen many writers do - all the little details like favorite color, first kiss, number of pets, etc., that are interesting and fun but never come to light. I usually start with core principles and canon details and go from there, reinventing the personal details to suit my purposes (for fic or meta or whatever).

But there's an exception: character sexuality.

When I develop an opinion about a character's sexuality, I will stick to it. I supposed a dramatic event in canon could theoretically change my mind, but it hasn't happened yet. It's weirdly opposite to my approach in real life, where I usually don't try to figure people out unless I'm deciding if I want to flirt with them. For many characters, I don't have a *conscious* idea of their orientation, but odds are I can give you an answer if you give me 30 seconds to consider it. For some, I've got very strong opinions.

Take Charlie Crews, for example. My fanon evaluation of him: straight. I used to read (and still enjoy) Charlie/Ted, but by the end of S1 I was convinced that Charlie just *loves* women, platonically and romantically. Any homosexual activity in his past was situational (i.e., prison) [and possibly not consensual], and while he's not going to have a freak out about it, he's not going to seek out male partners now that he's free.

On the other hand, Dean Winchester = bisexual, though he skews way more to the hetero end of the spectrum. I've considered him bi since well before Castiel ever showed his pretty face. If he wants to get laid, he'll usually pick up a woman, but sometimes he goes for guys - like the difference between craving a bacon cheeseburger and a double decker. Dean may be the type of guy who's very concerned with the trappings of masculinity, but I figure sex is sex is sex to him. (Falling in love, though -- that's a whole different barrel of monkeys, regardless of gender.)

Emily Prentiss: prefers women. I don't have much evidence for my opinion, and I don't think she's been in many relationships (if any) because repression thy name is Emily, but it's very clear in my mind. Hotch and Reid are both firmly heterosexual, though Reid doubtless knows reams of studies about sexuality and would be suprised-but-chill if he were ever attracted to a man.

Neal Caffrey: so very bisexual. He has strong tendencies towards clever people and committed-but-open relationships - the 'open' part being a necessary condition of his profession, where being able to seduce anyone is an advantage. If he met any aliens, he'd definitely pull a Jack Harkness and give it a try, and he's cool with polyamory.

Parker: bisexual. Obviously not shy about her sexuality, considering she hit on Nate's ex-wife in front of him, though she's as unlikely to talk about it as give away money.

Sherlock Holmes: nearly asexual, a state reinforced by his (self)conscious pursuit of logic, but he's got a weakness for people who admire him and who he considers an equal. However, in such rare events, he would only start a relationship with someone he trusts (*cough*Watson*cough*), and then only after overcoming his own self-imposed "love is a danger to logic" principles. After jumping all those hurdles, a metropolitan student of humanity like Holmes is not going to be concerned with something minor like gender.

Do any of y'all have this sort of personal canon? Want to test my opinions by throwing characters at me, or just argue with me about one of the above characters? Bring it!