a conspiracy of cartographers

Oh hey, it's that time again! For Yuletide this year, I wrote just the one fic:

shape of the boundaries you leave behind. Demon's Lexicon, Alan/Sin. "Come on," Cynthia said, and pulled him upstairs. Alan went without protest, because Cynthia's warm hand in his was the only thing tethering him to the world. Everything else was dark and cold, killing cold.

Initially this fic was weirdly difficult to write, because though I ship Alan/Sin like burning, my Demon's Lexicon pairing of choice is ... everyone; I kept trying to dial back my earnest poly agenda, and the fic wasn't quite working. Then Olivia, who is the best beta ever and always knows what my story needs to do, told me gently that this story was allowed to have more Nick. And suddenly it worked! MORE NICK, is the moral of every Lexicon story.

I'm sad I didn't get through the whole archive before reveals; but I'm still trucking along, and enjoying myself immensely.

It is Yuletide reveal time! I love Yuletide reveal time, because it means my flist is rife with awesome surprises. Meanwhile this entry is rife with things that are probably not very surprising.

My assignment: Aschesis, Young Wizards, Ronan & Darryl. The assignment itself made me giddy with joy, because while my recipient said she'd be happy with any story involving the two of them, what she really wanted was an exploration of what it meant for Ronan dealing with the consequences of Wizards at War in conjunction with Darryl the ex-autistic abdal, and -- someone was specifically asking me to write identity porn!! It was also great fun because while I love writing in the YW style, my comfort-zone POV characters are Nita and the local Seniors; writing snarky sullen Ronan while maintaining the essential optimism of the world was a lovely challenge.

My fic that wasn't assigned to me in any way but still happened and then grew into a goddamn novella because I apparently have a lot of unfinished business with this canon: No Second Coming, Dark is Rising, Will/Bran & the Drews. Apparently everyone has a lot of unfinished business with this canon, because I look at this fic's current hit count and then I have to go sit somewhere quietly for a while. I'm completely delighted with it, really; I wanted to give the characters their agency back, and I don't think there's anything cathartic in quite the same way as a fix-it fic. This one was nurtured to life and coherence by the combined efforts of fahye, schiarire, nextian, polarisnorth, and oliviacirce; if there's anyone else I threw a draft at in a panic and have forgotten to thank, just raise your hand and I will gladly add you to the list of praises.

My Yuletide Treat that actually stayed Treat-length: The Demon's Fun Day Out at the Park with a Picnic, Demon's Lexicon, Nick & Alan. The title started as a joke on SRB's journal re: why Nick can't have nice things, and when innocentsmith linked to the conversation in her request letter, I was so charmed by the title and by the notion of a story in which nothing seriously bad happens to the characters that I wanted to write a little something. It still turned out sort of melancholy and longing rather than fluffy, but Nick and Alan both smile, which is like a happy ending.

I ... should probably start replying to all the lovely comments I've received. DAUNTING.