Uncharted Desert Isle

 You know, I did start writing a little in the latter part of the year. Definitely not thrilled with the low low word count, but! C and I came through for each other for our annual yuletide story exchange. I'm very happy (and relieved)--that one means a lot to me. We've been going for 5 years now.

(Currently we've got our a03 memberships locked down, restricted to people who are already members for personal reasons, but we'll probably be able to lift that before too long)

Here's C's story for me, her first time writing Wynonna Earp (syfy) based on my prompt. Read the labels if you need warnings, please.
Toxic to the Touch (Wynonna Earp/Doc Holliday)
The prompt: Doc is gravely injured--to the point of death, if that were possible. Wynonna fucks him anyway. (Featuring a morally deficient Wynonna, taking what she wants.)

My story for C, and my first time writing Justified (FX). Again, read the labels if you need warnings.
A Soul's a Fair Trade (Raylan Givens/OMC)
The prompt: One of the (many) reasons that Raylan couldn't make peace with Arlo was because when he was fifteen, Arlo caught him in the middle of a blackberry patch with Garner Pruitt doing things he shouldn't have been doing with another boy. Garner is all grown up now with a grown up drug habit and he just traded Boyd a story about Raylan's past for a quick hit.

In an effort to resist unpleasant realities all around me- defy them if you will - and ignore all real life stuffs to the point of insanity, I have reworked all my sites except my author site which isn't bad (though it could stand some umpfh, so to speak, but I have no heart for it until I actually write some more).

Working on the sites took me weeks while I ignored family and home. I'm no webmistress, I'm not all that bright with html and really resist learning more for some reason, apparently I'd rather struggle with the unknown (aka why the fuck does that line of text do the opposite of what I want it to do? And why is the placement of that photo excessively completely wonky? and the like). They were old sites and had dead links - and though I was full of enthusiasm for them when I put them together they weren't always the most attractive things (except for Sonja's contributions, they were gorgeous as always).

Now they are all pretty. I am telling you. Though a couple are more like web *pages* instead of sites, but whatever.

Dante's Cove
Alias Smith and Jones
Starsky & Hutch gen
Starsky & Hutch slash
Planet of the Apes (massive website for a 14 episode TV series, but hey, downloads - audios of records! And comics! My childhood shit. My now shit. The POTA fanboys gave me a lot to upload, and I have quite a lot of stuff as well).

It's that time of year again, and I almost wish it'd happen more than once a year so I'd get more gift stories (is greedy). This year my lovely tipitiwitchet wrote me a story based on the Salem's Lot miniseries from 1979, with David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin and Bonnie Bedelia. God, I loved that miniseries (and David Soul, always, naturally).

The story is called "Taking the Yoke," and is as bleak as I have come to expect from my dark-hearted C:) I really loved it - it retains this whole stripped, lonely view of the characters from the end of the movie, and even the cadence of the one person they speak to, on the side of the vampires, sounds right - a bit old-world, like Straker himself.

The prompt I gave her (a bit of a run-on, yo): Salem's Lot the movie - after it's over, and Ben's killed Susan the vampire, and Ben and Mark are running - what might happen, how will Ben deal with/save Mark when vampires grab Mark and use him for bait to get Ben to come to them?

This also gives me the opportunity to post a couple of caps from the movie I'd made years ago - (oh, DAVID):

( Mark and Ben from Salem's Lot... )

I wrote a story for C, also based on a 1970s miniseries (who knew - we think alike), The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, which is based on Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon. It's called "If Mine Eyes Offend Thee." Happy Holidays!

As I told you guys before, I was so delighted to be gifted with several lovely stories. And one of you, my friends, (eying you all closely) knew me before Yuletide - because I was gifted a story for a fandom I didn't ask for but love so much! I can't tell you how happy I was to see it.

Planet of the Apes, the tv series, all 14 episodes of it (there's a new comm for it here) - yes, Pete, Burke, Galen, Urko. I started a recent rewatch and the characterization and chemistry between the actors holds up well, which is what tends to make me fannish over shows. This was my first fandom before I knew the word fandom, fannish, or fan fiction. I thought I was all alone in these bizarre tendencies to fixate over shows, and was heartbroken when it was cancelled. The episode that made my little heart pound loudly was "The Interrogation" - Pete's subjected to torture by the apes to get him to spill information on the humans who helped our fugitive trio since they began running. I wrote a story with that in mind years later, too - it just wouldn't leave my psyche, apparently:) So I was gifted a story this year in the fandom! Now, I've been getting some new stories in the fandom after an arid patch - gryphon2k has taken to it again with some wonderful results, but this was totally unexpected!

Cry Over Me looks at the death of the 3rd astronaut in the pilot episode. Poor Jonesy finally gets his proper due. There's also the interesting dynamic of Galen and Pete's new relationship - it actually takes a more realistic view of two characters who are in trouble and who've only just met - there's some initial friction.

The rest of my gifts are fairy tales - Little Red Riding Hood, all of them. It's what I asked for:) I've always loved fairy tales - the more gruesome, the better. None of that Disney stuff. To this day, they reflect some very old, real terrors that are just as powerful now as they ever were. Little Red Riding Hood is loaded with issues relating to women, and depending on the version you read, can make you want to slap someone or cheer. Plus the nasty/wrong things, which as you well know fascinates me.

I received four stories for LRRH, and not a one of them with a happy ending, which makes ME happy. And another thing - I LOVE how writers can still continue to rewrite this, finding all the different forms it can take and still make it original to them.

She-Wolves
summary: They did not question that there had been a wolf. There were blood and bodies. Surely that was proof enough.

a poem! If someone close to Red Riding Hood is a monster, does that make LRRH a monster as well? Best line for me because I love the flow of it (I was going to quote more but my favorite section is very spoilery for the author's version, but I can't help but quote this one):

I'll hide my beast-face 'neath my girl-skin--

Isn't that wonderful?

Later, Tater
summary: On the Internet, no one knows you're a wolf...

and check out the warnings;) - Warning for moderately bad language, sexual themes, general darkness, an abundance of txt spk, and casual mention of Jim Carrey mpreg

the mention of Jim Carrey almost did me in - that rubber-faced weirdness is scarier than the clown from It (Tim Curry)! This story combines social networking and LIttle Red Riding Hood, which I love. The faceless aspect is the scariest, and really relevant.

Blood Red
summary: She pauses at the edge of the woods, but only to check her weapons.

Isn't that an amazing summary? It's not exactly a total horror ending, but it's Red Riding Hood, taking care of herself - always awesome.

That Black Forest
summary: Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly, for I've four and twenty blackbirds, all baked in a pie.

Grandma to the fore here, and reminding me of the witch from Hansel and Gretel. Red is never mentioned, but there is an inference that I like a lot:)

In conclusion: bloody bestial happy Yule to me. Thank you so much, you talented authors:))))