As the Cardinal Flies

NEW FOR 2026: Master "Dear Writer" Letter

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:29:22 GMT

In an effort to save some time in drafting individual signups, I'm trying something new this year; starting with this year's unsent_letters exchange, assigned writers (and interested treat-writers) will get two posts as opposed to one. This master post will cover my general interests & likes, and there will be an individual signup post with specifics regarding prompts and DNWs for each particular exchange. The AO3 signup will link to the exchange-specific post, and each exchange-specific post will include a link to this one.

Treats are always welcome and encouraged.

( Why I'm Here )

( What I Like )

( DNWs )

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Fic: The Left Turn at Albuquerque Caper (Castle/Carmen Sandiego)

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 00:21:38 GMT

Herewith my intoabar fic. Yes, this one is definitely cracktastic...

Title: The Left Turn at Albuquerque Caper
Characters: Captain Victoria Gates* (Castle); Zack (Carmen Sandiego), the Chief (Carmen Sandiego)
Fandoms: Castle, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
Word count: ~2200
Rating/Contents: Rated G. AU for Castle as of Season 7; mentions events from the Season 6 finale.

Written for A Ficathon Goes Into A Bar....

Two weeks had passed since Richard Castle’s dramatic wedding-day disappearance, and Captain Victoria Gates – in unofficial but carefully arranged rotation with Esposito and Lanie Parish – had taken to “dropping into” the Old Haunt at regular intervals, to make certain Kate Beckett wasn’t sliding entirely off the rails into depression or worse.
And then a pink vortex dropped a demin-jacketed teenager into the bar....

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Crossovering 2014: What I wrote (Doctor Who/MCU)

Wed, 03 Sep 2014 18:56:35 GMT

And here's what I wrote for Crossovering 2014:

Let's Find Out
Fandoms: Doctor Who / Marvel Cinematic Universe [& Sarah Jane Adventures, Iron Man (Movies)]
Rating: G
Word Count: ~2500
Genre/Type: gen
Characters: Pepper Potts, Sarah Jane Smith, Maria Hill, Kate (Lethbridge-)Stewart
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Sometimes, the most straightforward approach turns out to be the long way around.

Or, how Pepper and Sarah Jane meet in a fused version of Whovian and MCU continuity, with a couple of bonus Easter Eggs (because I could not resist putting in a certain bit about just who Nick Fury was looking at as a potential Avenger....).

Be it duly noted that there are a couple of stories that I considered but didn't end up writing for this exchange: specifically, the one in which Pepper had been recruited as a companion by Eight (largely because it felt to me rather too similar to the premise of Azar's excellent "Rebel Yell" series about the Doctor and NCIS' Abby Sciuto), and the one in which the Anthony Ainley version of the Master finds his way to Asgard and hooks up with Loki in an effort to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters, which of course one or another Doctor would have had to show up and foil (because while that would have been immensely entertaining, it felt like a much bigger story than I had time to draft for the challenge).

Also offered as a plot bunny, because it occurred to me along the way, this theory: Hugh Lofting's (and by extension Rex Harrison's) character Doctor John Dolittle is, in fact, a Time Lord (and very possibly a previously unknown regeneration of the Doctor himself).

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Not Prime Time 2014: the Reveal

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 02:43:16 GMT

What I wrote for Not Prime Time this year:

The Virtue of Redundancy
Doctor Who (1963)
(Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, the Master (Ainley))
G • No Archive Warnings Apply
~ 4000 words

For sirvalkyrie (aka VampirePaladin).

The Master smiled silkily. “That’s the virtue of redundancy, my dear. Even if you had, the watch and the Kalisutra parasites would have been enough to carry the day."

In which there are watches, cheese, chocolate, and a twist or two.

And what I received:

Rebuilding, by kalisgirl / kalisgirl
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
(Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Pepper Potts, Maria Hill, Grant Ward)
G • No Archive Warnings Apply
~ 3000 words

Four Times Melinda Didn't Mean to Hurt Phil Coulson (and One Time She Sort of Did)

A delightful backward/forward look at the Coulson/May character bond. Just what I hoped for, and a pleasure to have had written for me.

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Dear Crosser-Over(er?): Crossovering 2014

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 16:54:13 GMT

Okay, this one is complicated. Which means I will be even more than usually grateful and impressed with whatever crossover you happen to devise in fulfillment of this exchange. The more I think about the logistics of this one, the more my mind boggles, and I am a serious crossover geek. Thank you very much for volunteering for this madness, and specifically for your willingness to indulge my particular cross-fannish sensibilities.

Anyhow. Per the usual form of these things, here's a cut, because this is going to be even longer than usual.( Read more... )

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I may be certifiable....

Thu, 29 May 2014 16:53:18 GMT

Let's see. I'm currently playing in Not Prime Time. I've turned in nominations for this year's fic_corner. And I've also just nominated a cluster of fandoms for a new exchange called crossovering (gee, whatever could that be focused on?).

This could be a really busy summer....

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Rare Women 2014: Given & Received

Tue, 13 May 2014 08:14:45 GMT

What I got for Rare Women 2014:

Destiny, by raktajinos
Ancient Egyptian RPF
G • gen • ~1500 words
Ankhesenamun, Nefertiti

Ankhesenamun reflects on the lessons her mother taught her about being Queen.

This was the longest of all possible long-shot matches, but the resulting vignette is a fascinating, intriguing look at one of the most elusive young women in the Egyptian archaeological record. Most of what we know about Ankhesenamun -- the young sister/wife of Tutankhamen -- comes from the latter part of her life; here, we get a speculative yet wholly captivating look at that life's beginning. I am very happy indeed to have had this written for me.

And what I wrote:

Something in Common for prettysophist
Castle
G • gen • ~3100 words
Alexis Castle, Mandy Sutton

"Six hundred numbers in this phone, and guess how many of those I could call for help with this stuff." Before Alexis could answer, Mandy Sutton made a game-show buzzer noise. "That would be one."

I matched on Castle for the second time in a row; having done a Martha story last year, I put the focus this year on Alexis and followed up the threads from the 6th-season episode "Limelight", featuring pop star Mandy Sutton (a character presented as sort of a Miley Cyrus/Lindsay Lohan fusion).

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Not Prime Time 2014: Dear Author

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 05:09:40 GMT

To my prospective writer (and anyone else who's happened by via the usual letter-collecting channels), greetings and welcome! This is my first official NPT, but I have been actively playing the fic-exchange field for long enough that I have five stories in the queue for the upcoming Yuletide merge. I am infinitely pleased that you'll be writing a story for me, and when ~~Christmas morning~~ the reveal arrives, I shall rip off the wrapping paper with joyous abandon, open my gift fic, ~~hug it and squeeze it and name it George~~ and peruse it with delighted anticipation, because it WILL be wonderful purely by the fact of its existence.

No, I'm not really as peculiar as the foregoing may make me sound, but there are only so many ways to start these letters. So no, I will not actually name your fic George, but I will be delighted by the fact of its very existence. I promise. So, what you should know going in:

My tastes in fic are wide and eclectic -- I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks aside from noncon, incest, and adult-child kink, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers and well-woven meta threads. As a rule, I tend to prefer canon-consistent romantic pairings (any exceptions will be noted further along), with the added note that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex. It's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.

The specific requests:

Agents of SHIELD • Phil Coulson, Melinda May
( Read more... )

Castle • Richard Castle, Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers
( Read more... )

Kim Possible • Any
( Read more... )

Young Wizards • Dairine Callahan
( Read more... )

And now I've gone on way long enough. (I think. If you are somehow still confuzzled, contact the mods per the usual protocol and I'll be happy to amplify or address any specific queries.)

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Fic: Spell and Counterspell (gargoyles / Young Wizards)

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:40:58 GMT

Posted at nearly the last moment for the latest round of A Ficathon Walks Into a Bar (I signed up on LJ, but the challenge is running in parallel on LJ (intoabar) and Dreamwidth (intoabar).

Title: Spell and Counterspell
Prompt: David Xanatos walks into a bar and meets...Dairine Callahan
Fandoms: Gargoyles / Young Wizards series - Diane Duane
Word count: 1687
Rating/Contents: G / gen; no warnings needed.

Rirhath B Crossings, just look at the stars,
How do you spell it without any Rs?

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Exchange: Fandom Stocking 2013

Sat, 07 Dec 2013 05:26:25 GMT

As if I didn't have enough on my plate (eyes deadlines for intoabar and yuletide), I've hung a stocking at fandom_stocking again this year, and here it is.

Some notes, because I know at least one person will ask:

Although it's been hosted on LiveJournal in the past, this year's event is happening exclusively on Dreamwidth. Here are some useful links:

2013 Announcement Post (deadline for signups: 12/18)
Signup Post

Because of the volume of posts that the stocking signups generate, I've found it useful to create filters (one with all my friends-page/circle groups except fandom_stocking, and one for just that community).

Note that unlike most other fanwork exchanges, there are no assignments and there is no matching; one simply trolls through the stockings (the fandom and interest tags are invaluable for this), finds stockings one can fill, and posts. Also unlike most such exchanges, contributions are not limited to fic, and may include non-fannish elements (recs, recipes, icons and art, general good wishes, etc.).

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Dear Writer: Rare Women 2012

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:17:30 GMT

For anyone not in the loop: the 2012 Rare Women Fic Exchange is live. General information is here, the list of eligible fandoms and characters is here, and signups are here.

And here we go; this is my 2nd year playing in this sandbox, and it looks to be at least as intriguing as the first.

The first order of business is (as always) thanks; I am grateful sincerely and in advance for the story I'm about to receive. Whoever you are, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf, and I look forward to reading the results.

My tastes in fic are wide and eclectic -- I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers and well-woven meta threads. As a rule, I tend to prefer canon-consistent romantic pairings (any exceptions will be noted further along), with the added note that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex. It's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.

Now, then, to the requests:

Batman Beyond (Talia al-Ghul)( Read more... )

Castle (Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers)( Read more... )

Diana Tregarde Investigations (Diana Tregarde)( Read more... )

Kim Possible (Dr. Director, Dr. Ann Possible, Nana Possible)( Read more... )

Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (Carmen Sandiego)( Read more... )

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Challenges: Cotton Candy Bingo

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:56:00 GMT

Thanks to the estimable medie, I have been seduced by the fannish-bingo side of the Force, and am now officially committed to the Cotton Candy Bingo challenge. (This is fannish bingo in the name of fluff, happy endings, and the antithesis of angst.) ( Herewith my card: )

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Fic: Rare Women Fanfic Exchange 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:44:54 GMT

And here's my other new piece, written for the Rare Women Fanfic Exchange.

Title: When the Bat in the Moonlight Flies
Author: graycardinal
Written For: SecondSilk
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1,731
Fandom: BtVS/Gargoyles
Characters: Jenny Calendar, Owen Burnett
Spoilers: None to speak of. Occurs in late 1994, during the first part of the first season of Gargoyles and some time prior to the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The Kalderash clan had long memories even by Rom standards. Women of the Kalderash had cursed vampires and outwitted wizards, and if they weren’t precisely friendly with the old races, they were well-versed in the legends surrounding them.

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Fic: Remix Madness 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:36:04 GMT

[wakes up, smells ~~coffee~~ hot chocolate]

Yeesh, I really ought to actually post in here once in awhile, especially considering I've actually been writing lately. Recently posted in connection with Remix Madness 2012:

Title: Who's That (the Quite As Good As the Original Remix)
Inspired By: Doctor Who Am I, by AstroGirl
Author: graycardinal
Rating: G
Wordcount: 313
Fandom: Doctor Who (new)/Pretender
Spoilers: None in particular.

The beauty of it is that the Daleks won't be expecting him at all.

Title: Evil Plans (aka "Remix In Mirror Is Closer Than It May Appear")
Inspired By: Blocked, by Medie
Author: graycardinal
Rating: G
Wordcount: 942
Fandom: NCIS
Spoilers: None in particular.

It would have been easier to take if only McGee had proven to be as inept at writing as he was at having a social life.

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Dear Writer (Rare Women Fic Exchange)

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:14:08 GMT

[deep breath]

This should be interesting. I've been participating in Yuletide for some years now, but this will be one of my first voyages into the wider world of the challenge/exchange universe. I'm looking forward to it, but it's definitely going to be a new experience.

As with Yuletide, the first order of business is thanks; I am grateful sincerely and in advance for the story I'm about to receive. (Hmm, that sounds a bit like a Thanksgiving-dinner grace -- which is apt, I suppose, although with this sort of thing a case might be made that we're skipping straight to the dessert course.) Whoever you are, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf, and I look forward to reading the results.

As to my tastes in fic generally, they are wide and eclectic. I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers and well-woven meta threads. As a rule, I tend to prefer canon-consistent romantic pairings (exceptions will be noted further along), with the added note that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex. It's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.

( Now to the requests: )

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Yuletide 2011: Dear Yulecritter

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:15:08 GMT

Last year, the letter went up very late; this year, I'm posting quite early.

First things first: Thank you, Yulewriter, under whatever avatar you choose to appear -- and thank you as well to prospective Yulewriters and others who may be cruising the spreadsheets and LiveJournals reading these letters out of pure curiosity. You are noble and generous, not to mention helpful, friendly, courteous, kind...whoops, wrong script. Now, then: your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to overthrow the government of....no, that's not the right script either.

Then again -- this is going to be an interesting Yuletide. I turned in requests in an unusually obscure and baroque group of canons (calling these "fandoms" is an act of optimism on my part, as I'm not sure there's any fic at all out there for any of these). These are some of my longest-standing and most favorite literary worlds...but based on prior Yuletides, it's an open question as to whether any of them will draw offers from the wider Yuletide writing community. This initial group of requests is very much intended as a test case -- I'm doing what we've been specifically encouraged to do during discussions of the nomination/request process, even though I have a strong hunch it's going to make the matching engine throw up its virtual hands in defeat. If I'm wrong about that, and you've offered to write in one (or more) of these canons, you have my undying appreciation and gratitude, and we can discuss cookies after the reveal. If I'm right -- well, we'll see what happens next.

ETA: And there was much rejoicing, as it looks as if I have offers on two of these three requests! Thank you to all of you who've offered, whether we matched or not. And as for that third fandom, well, there's always next year. :-) [Note to self: plan on baking cookies early in January....]

But enough with the Yule intrigue. You want to know what I like. So:

Pluses for me include strong characterization, well-written dialogue, wit/banter/snark, clever use of canon, well-developed AUs, UST (heavy on both the U and the T), crossovers, and more. I'm neutral when it comes to matters of gen, slash, or femslash -- if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind. I'm not into noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks, but have few other outright squicks as long as the relationship is age- and canon-appropriate; OTOH, I mostly don't read fanfic for sexual content.

When it comes to Yuletide, I typically request single characters, but not because I'm uninterested in romantic pairings or the other characters in a given canon. Rather, my take is that single characters are easier for the mods to match (I may be ornery, but I'm not that diabolically evil), and that it gives you, the writer, greater flexibility as you look around for other characters in the fandom for my chosen character to hang out with.

Now, as to my specific requests:

( The Lastborn of Elvinwood • Linda Haldeman )

( Planet Builders • Robyn Tallis ) ( Windmaster's Bane series • Tom Deitz )

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Challenge ho!

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 06:26:27 GMT

I had to wade through to the sixth page of comments to find a request I could write, but since I did in fact find one, I'm now signed up for:

The above gets you to the main post with rules, dates, etc. (and six pages or so of comments to this point). My own requests are here.

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Remix Madness 2011

Tue, 03 May 2011 06:45:32 GMT

By sheer cosmic accident, I happened across a mention of Remix Madness 2011 last week and opted myself in.

Now the collection is open, and wonder of wonders, someone has remixed one of my Yuletide-prompted Oz stories, The Solitary Sorceress of Oz. The sister piece is The Magic of Us (the Wooden Leg Remix), and it is thoughtful and introspective and wise in ways that both surprise and impress me, and I am very glad that its author has given it to us. (And I do mean "us", as remix etiquette clearly notes that these remix challenges are not "gift exchanges" in the same sense as, say, Yuletide.)

As it happens, I also wrote a remix for Remix Madness; at present, of course, I can't tell you what it is because we're most of a week away from the author-reveal, and That Would Be Telling. However, the feedback I've had to this point has been most satisfying, and so I'm pleased with that, too. All in all, a most successful remixery.

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