As the Cardinal Flies

I will have extremely limited access to a full-sized keyboard this week (phone, yes; proper keyboard, no), but don't want to disappear without acknowledging two wonderful recently-written gifts:

From Unsent Letters 2025:
A Series of Notes Attached to A UNIT Requisition Form by astrogirl

Three and the Brigadier navigate the halls of bureaucracy (and the vastness of time and space) in pursuit of an electron microscope. A perfect replication of the reality of bureacuratic procurement channels...

From Holmestice, Summer 2024:
a study in violin by unrevealed

A full-fledged and dead-flat-brilliant novella (!) following Elementary's Sherlock Holmes through a lifetime spent with a Stradivarius (and a great many complicated relationships).

Per immediately prior post, this is disastrously late - all the more embarrassing given that my gift for the prior round is genuinely exceptional. It's very much what it says on the tin - a post-ACD letter from Watson to Holmes, describing in eloquently researched detail (complete with a generous set of bibliographic links) the former's activities as a military medic during WW I:

A Letter From France
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Author rabidsamfan
Rating: General Audiences
Category: gen Warnings: none
Words: ~4600
Relationship: Holmes & Watson
Character: John Watson
Additional Tags: Ambulance Trains, Battle of the Somme, Correspondence, Watson knows Holmes can read between the lines, World War I

Watson writes to Holmes after becoming the commander of an Ambulance Train just before the Battle of the Somme.

For my part, I committed a more-than-usually ambitious fusion, merging elements of Laurie King's Mary Russell universe with those of Elementary....

The Really Final Problem
Fandoms: Mary Russell - Laurie R. King; Elementary
Rating: General Audiences
Category: gen, f/m
Warnings: none
Words: ~7600
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & Joan Watson, Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes & Sherlock Holmes
Characters: Sherlock Holmes (x2), Mary Russell, Joan Watson, Estelle Holmes
Additional Tags: crossover, fusion

Joan Watson's Sherlock Holmes has just come back to life.

Mary Russell's Sherlock Holmes has just come home with a copy of Joan Watson's book.

One Holmes is looking for an inheritance; the other has already bestowed it.

I can't write short letters worth a darn, so while I've got detailed material farther down, it's only fair to give you the list of fandom requests up front. So, those would be:

Batman (1966)
Crossover Fandom(s) - see below
Doctor Who
Gargoyles
Kim Possible
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Power Rangers Time Force
Stargate (SG-1)

Feel free to wander backward through this journal and my fic on AO3 (linked to your left) to get an idea of my interests; what I write is very much also what I like to read – and has, over time, added up to rather a variety of fandoms. My past letters for various exchanges are tagged "dear santa" herein.

Things I like:

I’m a flexible reader; the story I want most out of a given exchange is usually the one you want to tell me rather than the one that’s living in my own head (that one, if I want it badly enough, I can always write myself).

Text-driven pluses for me include effective use of wit (aka banter aka snark, etc.), as well as strong characterization & dialogue. I value both respect for and clever use of canon (including well-developed canon-divergence AUs). I thrive on UST (heavy on both U and T), and am neutral where gen/het/slash is concerned; if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind.

None of my requests call specifically for mature/explicit content. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate sizzling erotica/smut/porn; it's just that my fanfic-reading interests and my e/s/p-reading interests mostly don't intersect. Also, for this exchange, I find myself not especially interested in any of these characters writing e/s/p.

DNWs:

AUs. For this exchange, avoid alt-setting (i.e. coffeeshop, high school, dept. store, etc.). and major canon-divergence in non-crossover requests. This does not mean you can’t extend on canon, fill in blanks, etc.; indeed, Unsent Letters strike me as designed for just this sort of thing. Nor does this necessarily preclude crossovers, even if not formally built into a request.

Explicit sex, or “sexting” exchanges. Most likely not an issue as nearly all my requests are "&" rather than "/", but to be clear - basically, this just isn’t my jam. Non-explicit mention or discussion of sex is fine, though. Please avoid noncon, incest, adult/child, power-imbalanced sexual/romantic partnerships (teacher/student, boss/underling, etc.), and A/B/O settings.

Romantic elements that directly contradict canon. Also unlikely to be an issue, per above, but to amplify: where a character explicitly states a sexual preference/identity in canon, honor the statement. OTOH, if no preference/identity is specified onstage, it’s OK to establish – or widen – one for a given character. It's also OK to create or expand relationships for unpaired characters, including cross-canonical pairings where the potential arises.

Requests:

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I am behind on any number of things, but the trail of breadcrumbs backward from sanguinity's post today made me go back and rummage through the poetry shelf on the wall across the room, looking at some of my favorite authors...

...but what I'm actually posting is something a trifle more obscure. (An abbreviated two-stanza version is in some circulation among Irish folk musicians, often cited as "traditional" - I first heard it on an Irish Rovers album when I was in grade school - so I was much surprised when I ran across the full text below some decades later in a used bookstore, in The Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking World, Volume Two. I promptly bought the book, of course, and hope someday to find a recorded - and properly credited - version of the poem in its entirety....)

The Fairies
William Allingham

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men.
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together,
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather.

Down by the rocky shore
Some make their home--
They live on crispy pancakes
Of yellow sea-foam;
Some in the reeds
Of the black mountain-lake,
With frogs for their watch-dogs,
All night awake.

High on the hill-top
The old King sits;
He is now so old and grey,
He's nigh lost his wits.
With a bridge of white mist
Columbkill he crosses,
On his stately journeys
From Slieveleague to Rosses;
Or going up with music
On cold starry nights,
To sup with the Queen
Of the gay Northern Lights.

They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back
Between the night and morrow;
They thought she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake,
On a bed of flag-leaves,
Watching till she wake.

By the craggy hill-side,
Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn-trees,
For pleasure here and there.
Is any man so daring
As to dig them up in spite,
He shall find their sharpest thorns
In his bed at night.

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men.
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!

////

My recipient this round was mundungus42, for whom I also wrote "The Possibility of the Improbable" quite a few rounds back. Initially, I thought this gave me a chance to write a tale I'd had in the back of my head for years...but that idea declined to supply a plot to go with it, and so I reread the signup post, noticed an improbable-looking possibility (why yes, you should be picking up a theme here), asked myself a couple of key "what if" questions...

...and the rest pretty much rolled out like a magic carpet from there, including two complete musical numbers, a sheep (or SHEEP), and a theater that may just be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

The Affair of the Command Performance
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD); Muppet Show
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none Words: ~6900
Relationship: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Kermit the Frog, Statler (Muppets), Waldorf (Muppets), Sweetums (Muppets), Scooter (Muppets), Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker (Muppets), Rowlf the Dog, Baskerville (Muppets), Rizzo the Rat
Additional Tags: musical, songs, stealth crossover

Holmes and Watson are invited to an evening at the theater - only to find themselves guests at an unexpected celebration with an even more unexpected mystery behind it, and an even more unlikely performance as its featured climax.

Yes, I'm late with this....

That said: My gift-writer and I both went for MCU prompts this time out. My gift was one of two really excellent Yelena-and-Natasha stories written for this exchange:

Bringing Her Home
Author flipflop_diva
Fandom: MCU; Black Widow (Movie 2021)
Rating: teen
Category: gen
Warnings: no archive warnings apply
Words: ~1100
Relationship: Yelena Belova & Natasha Romanov
Characters: Yelena Belova, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Steve Rogers
Additional Tags: Post-Avengers: Endgame; (Movie) Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Post-Canon Fix-It; Natasha Romanov Lives; Sisters; Little Sisters; Letters

Steve was the one who brought the letters to her, folded gently and stacked carefully and tied with a thin red ribbon. He told her he found them in one of the metal safes that had originally been in one of the offices at Avengers compound in upstate New York. One of the very few things to survive the destruction caused by Thanos and his army. Almost like it was fate.

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My contribution was (this being me) a crossover; in this case, an exchange mostly involving Dr. Stephen Strange and Elementary's Joan Watson. (It's a small multiverse. I had, in a previous Unsent Letters entry, established that she and SG-1's Dr. Janet Fraiser were in med school together at Columbia; here, it turns out that she and Dr. Strange overlapped during their residencies.)

A Strange Correspondence
Fandom: MCU, Dr. Strange (Movies)
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~4400
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & Joan Watson (Elementary); Stephen Strange & Joan Watson; Sherlock Holmes & Stephen Strange
Characters: Joan Watson, Stephen Strange, Sherlock Holmes
Additional Tags: Musical, Songs, Stealth Crossover

Sometimes, even a Master of the Mystic Arts needs to call on others for assistance.

I can't write short letters worth a darn, so while I've got detailed material farther down, it's only fair to give you the list of fandom requests up front. So, those would be:

Castle
Crossover Fandom(s) see below
The Dark Is Rising (Cooper)
Kim Possible
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Stargate (SG-1)
Star Trek:TOS (Movies)
Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994)

Feel free to wander backward through this journal and my fic on AO3 (linked to your left) to get an idea of my interests; what I write is very much also what I like to read – and has, over time, added up to rather a variety of fandoms. My past letters for various exchanges are tagged "dear santa" herein.

Things I like:

( Read more... )

DNWs:

( Read more... )

Requests

Crossover Fandoms

These constitute an extremely mixed bag; I'm assuming anyone who tackles one of these is reasonably familiar with the fandoms. If you need more prompts for one of this group, ping the mod(s) and I'll do my best to be useful.
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Castle
Alexis & Gina • Alexis & Kate • Alexis & Martha*
Alexis & Victoria Gates • Kate & Martha

( Read more... )

The Dark Is Rising (Susan Cooper)
Jane & Merriman • Merriman & Will

( Read more... )

Kim Possible
Kim & Dr. Director • Kim & Monique • Kim & Nana Possible
Kim & Shego • MrsDrP & Dr. Director • MrDrP/MrsDrP

( Read more... )

MCU
Maria Hill & Carol Danvers • Maria Hill & Cassie Lang
Maria Hill & Kamala Khan • Natasha Romanov & Yelena Belova

( Read more... )

Star Trek:TOS (Movies)
Gillian Taylor & Uhura • Kirk & Gillian Taylor
Saavik & Spock • Spock & Gillian Taylor

( Read more... )

Stargate SG-1
Sam Carter & Cassandra Fraiser • Sam Carter & Vala
Vala & Cassandra Fraiser • *Vala & George Hammond
Vala & None

( Read more... )

Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994)
Carmen & the Chief • Carmen & Ivy • Carmen & Suhara
Ivy & the Chief

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Nine recs below, sorted alphabetically by fandom and including commentary. There's a considerable variety here, so I wish folks good hunting. (A quick shoutout to sanguinity, which I trust will be appreciated: there is marmalade in the last of these.)

Anastasia (1997)
you gave up all the golden factories
Rating: G
Category: M/F
Warnings: none
Words: ~3200
Relationship: Anya/Dmitri
Characters: Anya, Dmitri

Two Petersburg childhoods.

Notes: A brief piece that works for either the 1997 animated movie or the Broadway musical, blending pre-canonical memories and post-canon plans for both its leads. The tone is balanced nicely between the movie's lively banter and the stage version's slightly edgier quality, retaining the ultimately hopeful optimism that makes both iterations stand out.

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Batgirls (DC Comics 2021)
Deny thy father and refuse my name
Rating: G
Category: multi
Warnings: none
Words: ~2200
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain; Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson
Additional Tags: fluff, AU

It's going to be a day that will change the history of the Hill forever - if they can solve the mystery.

(Don't worry, they got this.)

Notes: Even if you're only glancingly familiar with DC comics canon, this is a devilishly hilarious West Side Story riff that wholly avoids tragic endings in favor of cleverly sly humor. (It's undoubtedly even funnier if you do know deeper Bat-canon, but this is deeply chuckle-worthy all by itself. I promise.)

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Enchanted (Disney Movies)
Let There Be Music
Rating: G
Category: M/F
Warnings: none
Words: ~2100
Relationship: Giselle/Robert, Giselle/Edward, Nancy/Edward

The night of the ball brings new music to the forefront for Edward and we all know how important music is to him.

Notes: The movie shows us Giselle's night at the ball. This story gives us Edward's, in deeply perceptive and surprisingly intimate fashion, yet retains an unmistakably Disney tone through it all. Beautifully done.

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Japanese History RPF / Pseudo-Edo Sci-Fi Art (Yamaguchi Akira)
Prime Time
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~1600
Additional Tags: AU: Fusion, AU: Alternate History, Edo period, Edo punk, stealth Buddhism, time loop, time travel

Everyone, please gather around – this will be the final briefing for the staff of the Kyuushuu Futuro-Historical Train Station prior to its official re-commissioning. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Notes: The subject matter here is completely outside my expertise...but the way it weaves itself through and around and back and forth in history, real and maybe-real, is exceptional. It's one of the strongest time-travel concepts I've seen in any venue, fannish or professional, executed with astonishing skill and a solid and thoughtful eye for its source material.

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The Parent Trap (1998)
more than just a game for two
Rating: teen
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~6600
Relationship: Annie James & Hallie Parker
Additional Tags: post-canon, Christmas, switching places, etc.

After their parents get back together, Annie and Hallie make a pact: no more switching places (except in total, real, actual emergencies).

A pact they keep...for twelve years.

And then, Parker Knoll ends up on the line.

Notes: I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this movie when it first appeared, but irrespective of anything she's done on- or off-screen since, Lindsay Lohan knocked her dual role here out of the park as far as I was concerned. This sequel does justice to its cinematic parent, allowing both twins to grow up, providing a perfect excuse to revisit the concept, and springing an ingeniously sneaky twist in the process.

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Remington Steele / Leverage
The Steele Dabbling Job
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~2200
Characters: Remington Steele, Laura Holt, Sophie Devereaux
Additional Tags: crossover, museums, old friends, pseudonyms

Mr. Steele leaned down to speak softly. "I don't mean to alarm you, Miss Holt, but if I'm not mistaken, I believe an old colleague of mine has just entered the gallery."

Ever proficient in discretion, Laura had no sooner processed these words than she made a point of fussing to retrieve something from her shoulder bag, sneaking a quick glance toward Charlotte in the midst of it.

"Not a blonde," she muttered, casting him a look. "Color me surprised."

Notes: This is exactly what happens when two old-school masters of the grift run into one another while out on theoretically innocent business. The character voices are dead accurate, and one can only hope there will be more shenanigans down the line.

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The Sherwood Ring
The Elusive Peaceable
Rating: G
Category: F/M
Warnings: none
Words: ~9600
Relationships: Barbara Grahame/Peaceable Drummond Sherwood, Percy Blakeney/Marguerite Blakeney
Additional Characters: Richard Grahame, Ludovic Lavenham, Mary Wollstonecraft, Gilbert Imlay
Additional Tags: adventure & romance, crossover, fandom fusions, French Revolution, etc.

Dick's face was white. “Good God – don't you know how the Revolutionary Government feels about Englishmen in disguise these days?”

I tried for a smile. “He speaks French very convincingly.”

Dick groaned and put his head in his hands.

Notes: Just as in the original novel, here we have women who outplan and out-intrigue their romantic partners on a regular basis - although the men are getting better at following their wives' leads. In this story, we've moved from the American Revolution to the French, so it's no surprise to find our colonial protagonists crossing paths with those of Orczy and Heyer, and the pace never lags on the way to a suitably successful climax.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks
The USS Cerritos, Sonnet 1
Rating: G
Category: F/F Warnings: none
Words: ~2100
Relationship: D'Vana Tendi/T'Lyn
Additional Characters: Brad Boimler, Beckett Mariner, Sam Rutherford
Additional Tags: crushes, poetry, puns & wordplay, easter eggs, etc.

T'Lyn is interested in poetry, and Tendi is desperate to impress her. Will this book of alien poems get T'Lyn's attention, or will it just turn life on the Cerritos upside-down?

Notes: The answer to the above is "Heck yes," since it involves the entire crew being unexpectedly afflicted with the inability to talk except in iambic pentameter - and mostly rhyming iambic pentameter at that. Fortunately, the author's ear for scansion is up to the challenge, so that the results are both highly amusing and technically sound. Moreover, the linguistic trickery that allows our heroes to resolve the problem is executed with proper poetic precision. (And the author demonstrates that one can, in fact, write funny sonnets, which is a rare treat for those of us who are poetically inclined.)

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Stealing the Elf-King's Roses (Diane Duane)
Marmalade, Xianese, and Fondue
Rating: G
Category: gen
Warnings: none
Words: ~3000
Characters: Lee Enfield, Gelert
Additional Tags: pre-canon

A glimpse at how Lee and Gelert might have become partners.

Notes: This was the story written for me this year, in the world of what I consider one of Duane's very best novels, where forensic sorcery is as scientifically rigorous as conventional CSI techniques are in our world. For myself, I'm delighted; the author's tone perfectly captures the nuanced, deeply philosophical quality of Duane's worldbuilding - both like and unlike her better-known "Young Wizards" books - and the pre-canon glimpse we're given of how the novel's protagonists might have met is thoughtfully developed. The story may be a little densely written to draw in newcomers, so it's as well that Duane's preferred edition is available from her online ebook storefront.

And because I need a distraction from the two fic exchange assignments I'm working on at the moment, let's do this again:

Rules:
I've made a list of fifteen (15) characters from a variety of fandoms. Your job is to ask questions about various combinations of these characters (examples: What secret past do #8 and #14 share? What if #2, #6, and #9 went on a road trip? If #5 and #10 were having dinner, who invited who?), which I'll do my best to answer.

Once we've accumulated sufficient questions, I'll compile the results and make a new post or posts incorporating all the Qs and As. (Many ages ago by 'Net time, the answers were given in comments to the questions in the original post, but that was long ago and far away, and nowadays the new post means that everyone sees all the answers at once, and no one besides me has to backtrail through a reading-page to find the original meme.)

Notes:
Different practitioners of this meme make different sorts of lists. My approach tends to involve recruiting from as many different sources as I can possibly manage. Thus, queries are extremely likely to produce Improbable Crossover Theater for various - and sometimes really weird - values of "improbable". Management will do its best to respond to all queries posed, but reserves the right to designate some results Just Too Bizarre To Contemplate.

[Also: why, yes, if anyone else is inclined to start one of these going, I will happily wade in....]