cyphomandra

I have had the most amazing Chocolate Box and received 6 (six!) fantastic gifts! I am still fizzing with excitement and it's helped make up at least somewhat for some significant real life disappointments. Anyway! Here they all are, in suitably delicious and tempting array...

Two of my gifts are for Stardew Valley, the move-to-a-small-town-and-start-a-farm video game that I love deeply and unironically despite never, ever, ever, wanting to do the same thing. One is about Maru, and gives her career hopes and recognition as well as a romance with a deeply recognisable farmer ("Maru found her wife scattering red cabbage seeds into the dirt. She was wearing the straw hat she'd finally beat Abigail for at that year's Egg Festival.") and a letter from Maru's greatest invention so far, the self-aware robot MarILDA:

a profession of hope (1469 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Maru/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Characters: Maru (Stardew Valley), Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Additional Tags: marilda, Life Outside the Farm, Tinkering, Over A Year, Married Life, Treat
Summary:

Maru settles onto the farm over the course of a year, finding her place and building something new.

The other is a sweet get-together Shane/Elliott fic in which Elliott is forced to write eight mystery novels about a chicken fancier detective (and the mysterious beach-dwelling novelist he falls for) before Shane finally gets a clue:

Authorial Intent (1664 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elliott/Shane (Stardew Valley)
Characters: Abigail (Stardew Valley), Emily (Stardew Valley)
Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, First Kiss, mystery novels, Pseudonyms
Summary:

Elliott writes books. Shane reads books.

Two are for Piranesi, and do a great job of capturing the atmosphere of the book and the integrity of the characters. The first is a thoughtful meditation on change and irreversibility, in nature and in life:

Unfathomable (1100 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Piranesi & The House, Piranesi & Sarah Raphael
Characters: Piranesi | Matthew Rose Sorenson, Sixteen | Sarah Raphael
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:

Natural processes, as I seem to remember knowing, are generally irreversible.

and in the second, two characters contemplate a statue removed from the House and taken back to our world, and the troubling questions this raises:

Man carrying olives, marble, 4th century BC (?) (477 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Matthew Rose Sorensen & Sarah Raphael
Characters: Matthew Rose Sorensen | Piranesi, Sarah Raphael | Sixteen
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Screenplay/Script Format, realism was taken to the back of the shed and shot at some point during the outlining of this fic, the Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite, Real world, Hyperreal Statue
Summary:

Conversation around a statue.

And for final symmetry, my last two gifts were for Original Work - firstly, for the irresistible tag, Sword Lesbian/Sword Lesbian, two battle-weary women meet for a training bout, and to discuss their respective - and possibly joint? - futures:

A Brief Reprieve (791 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Characters: Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: sword lesbian/sword lesbian, Swords, Lesbians, Royalty
Summary:

Someone requested 'sword lesbian/sword lesbian,' and I got inspired.

Two old friends meet for a little swordplay on a cold day.

and the final gift, shared with all the other insightful people who requested it, is for Librarian in library devoted to forbidden magic/Sorceress who really needs that tome, and has a determined necromancer, a hot substitute librarian, academic politics, and a cat's soul in the body of a rabbit, and I loved it.

Metaphysical Theory and Practice (5555 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Librarian in library devoted to forbidden magic/Sorceress who really needs that tome
Characters: Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: Magical Realism, Romance, Fluff, Academia, Magic, Libraries, Witches, Necromancy, Getting Together
Summary:

Penny Embric is on the cusp of becoming the youngest ever necromancer to be inducted into the Order of Acheron. The only thing standing in her way is the strict, and annoyingly hot, new librarian.

"It's no good," she said to her rabbit as she sat down on the sofa. "I can't talk myself out of this one. Eventually, I'm going to have to ask her on a real date, and then I'll have to move to another city when she says no and I can't show my face in the library any more."

Munch looked at her, long white ears twitching, and bent to nibble his fur.

I hope other Chocolate Boxers have had a great exchange!

I was lucky enough to get not one but two fantastic stories for Chocolate Box! A Short Interlude is Gundam Wing, by Chibifukurou, a Wufei/Duo/Heero in a safehouse fic that took me right back to the heyday of this fandom, with deftly observed character moments and (as per my request) lots of space bits. Leap of Faith is original work by Soroga, for the character set, “Kid Who Saved Fantasyland & Their Family They’re Trying to Convince To Move There” and it’s lovely, with Haley’s determination to go back to the delightfully named Phantagica intersecting with her family’s own needs and wants. Lots of great family dynamics and tempting hints at the world of Phantagica, and a happy ending.

A Short Interlude (1918 words) by Chibifukurou
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Chang Wufei/Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy
Additional Tags: Injury Recovery
Summary:

After another failed duel with Treize, Wufei needs some love and care.

Leap of Faith (3608 words) by soroga
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kid Who Saved Fantasyland & Their Family They’re Trying to Convince To Move There
Characters: Kid Who Saved Fantasyland, Their Family They’re Trying to Convince To Move There, Original Characters
Summary:

Haley's going to find a way back to Phantagica no matter what. But she'd really like if her family came with her, too.

I wrote French Polish for Nununununu, for KJ Charles’ Proper English historical f/f/ prequel to her m/m Think of England, in which Fen introduces Pat to a tasteful souvenir from her finishing school days. Nununununu suggested case fic or or smut with Fen and sex toys, and although I would dearly love to do case fic I knew I didn’t have the time (I wrote plotty fic for Yuletide and part of the reason I have yet to do a reveals post is because I was so up on deadline that I actually want to go back and add in a short scene), and I am also currently writing lesbian f/f historical set in 1915, and didn’t want to confuse myself on what was happening when. Also, I seldom write explicit fic and wanted to give it a go!

I did do some research, most of which is probably not in the fic (for example, I checked for French finishing schools at the time, found they all seemed to be in French-speaking Switzerland instead, and then decided I liked the title too much to change it), and I spent so much time looking for reference photos of Shropshire farmhouses that Air BnB is now sending me helpful emails about the importance of booking my upcoming trip.

French Polish (2323 words) by Cyphomandra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Think of England - K. J. Charles, proper english - Fandom
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fenella Carruth/Patricia Merton
Characters: Fenella Carruth, Patricia Merton
Additional Tags: Sex Toys, Dildos, Lesbian Sex, Canon Lesbian Relationship, unfortunate house parties, Mangold clamping
Summary:

"What exactly did they teach you at that finishing school?" Pat enquired.

I’ve been reading through the collection and although I will try to post again here are a few standouts (which I wrote up but failed to post before reveals):

A heartwarming picture of the Golux from James Thurber’s The 13 Clocks as a child (with hats).

Indescribabilities (0 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The 13 Clocks - James Thurber
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: The Golux & Saralinda (The 13 Clocks)
Characters: The Golux (The 13 Clocks), The Golux's Mother (The 13 Clocks), The Golux's Father (The 13 Clocks), Saralinda (The 13 Clocks)
Additional Tags: Hats, Extra Treat, Fanart, Embedded Images, Implied Relationships
Summary:

Featuring a younger Golux with no describable beard.

A fantastic Poirot/Hastings piece that made me cackle out loud:

Redeeming Features (0 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Arthur Hastings/Hercule Poirot
Characters: Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Touching, Fluff, Comic, Fanart
Summary:

Hastings' little grey cells are not up to standard. Poirot doesn't mind.

A great Dark Tower ka-tet piece with multiple billy bumblers:

The Bad Thing (3620 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dark Tower - Stephen King
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Roland Deschain & Eddie Dean & Susannah Dean & Jake Chambers & Oy
Characters: Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Jake Chambers, Oy (Dark Tower), Susannah Dean, Original Billy-Bumblers
Additional Tags: Oy POV, Dreams and Nightmares
Summary:

There was a bad thing in the woods. Oy could smell it.

A very true to canon piece for Emily (of New Moon):

another white night (411 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Emily of New Moon - L. M. Montgomery
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Teddy Kent/Emily Byrd Starr
Characters: Emily Byrd Starr
Additional Tags: Pining, Angst

Another Gundam Wing piece, with Duo coming home to Wufei:

Welcome Home (1643 words) by anaraine
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Chang Wufei/Duo Maxwell
Characters: Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei
Additional Tags: Slice of Life, Established Relationship
Summary:

The price of peace included rules and red tape, but Duo was willing to pay it if it meant getting to return to a home and a partner.

(and, while I’m wallowing nostalgically in old fandoms, both Hikaru no Go pieces are good )

Much-needed fix-it for Pacific Rim: Uprising

Rebuild, Renew, Restore (3086 words) by tielan
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mako Mori & Jake Pentecost, Raleigh Becket/Mako Mori, Raleigh Becket & Jake Pentecost
Characters: Jake Pentecost, Mako Mori, Raleigh Becket, Nate Lambert (cameo), Liwen Shao (cameo), Hermann Gottlieb (cameo)
Additional Tags: Post-Movie: Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), Fix-It

And a final disturbing Rogue One sex-to-avoid-breaking-cover fic:

Marionette (4102 words) by DachOsmin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Original Character(s), Cassian Andor/Davits Draven
Characters: Cassian Andor, Davits Draven
Additional Tags: Rape to Avoid Breaking Cover, Undercover Missions, Voyeurism, Whipping, Sadism, Glove Kink, Drugged Sex, Praise Kink, Dom/sub
Summary:

On a mission, Cassian bargains for his life with his body while Draven listens in.

I had a fabulous Chocolate Box! I received three gifts, all great:

I don’t seem to have written much about them on here, but Antonia Forest’s Marlows series (10 books about the same family, published over 34 years but covering a little over two years in book time, with each book roughly contemporary with its publication date) are hugely important to me as a reader and as a person; they are stunningly well-written, brilliant on character and, unfortunately, difficult and expensive to find. I re-read them frequently and always find something worthwhile (I’m reading Lucy Mangan’s memoir Bookworm at the moment, and it’s great to see her similar enthusiasm).

The fic I got is totally in keeping with canon, a post-series talk between Nicola (mostly the series protagonist, although she’s largely absent in The Thuggery Affair) and her adored older brother Giles, who is now fallen from grace. It’s great on character and on casting a new light back at events of the series, and at showing that Nicola is growing up, and the balance between her and Giles is starting to tip. Also, bonus naval details.

Suffer a Sea-Change (1910 words) by AJHall
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Marlows - Antonia Forest
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Nicola Marlow, Giles Marlow, Miranda West, Ginty Marlow
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, The Royal Navy
Summary:

"That long line of naval officers, all with their happy ships..."

The name "Marlow" has been a powerful talisman in the Royal Navy for generations. What would it take for that name to change from a blessing to a curse?

On the eve of Nicola Marlow's departure for Britannia Royal Naval College, she and her brother Giles talk.

I nominated a few original prompts and got two amazing stories:

the battle is coming, I’ve been waiting so long is a great piece of hidden identities and arranged marriages, with a fantastic title, and some lovely world-building details.

the battle is coming, i've been waiting so long (1110 words) by sorori
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Queen Who Fought in the War/Princess of Enemy Country She's Marrying to Seal the Peace Treaty
Additional Tags: Storyteller narrator, Final Battle, Fights, Weddings, War, Battle, Identity Reveal
Summary:

“Where is your general?” Shikang asked, panting. “He is a coward if he does not come out to fight me.”

“Here,” came the answering shout, and she was far from a coward.

and Blades has a would-be fighter and an older world-weary mentor, both female and both tropes I am very fond of, as well as lots of extremely tasty-sounding baking, which, ditto. Very nice.

Blades (1215 words) by kalirush
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Older Woman from Proud Alien Warrior Culture & Half-Human Teenage Girl Who Wants To Learn To Fight
Additional Tags: Baking, a lot of butter
Summary:

Ulli goes looking for a mentor: the legendary Aellaria Sunkiller.

I’m still working through the archive, but there’s a lot of great fiction and art there, and I hope to come back with some more recs.

For my own assignment I matched with thisbluespirit on Sid Halley and his father-in-law Charles Roland from Dick Francis, which I’d seen in the tagset and been very much taken with. I re-read Odds Against and Whip Hand for inspiration (I have these in a double edition that inexplicably published them in the wrong order, so the first time I read them I was quite confused) and read Come to Grief for the first time and thought it was fantastic. However, all the ideas I was getting were a) novel-length and b) required quite a bit of horse-research. So I went back to thisbluespirit’s prompts, and saw that she’d also nominated Sapphire and Steel, a canon I love dearly but have never written for, and found this important footnote - “I never not want random fantastical stuff in my mundane canons and having sensible people deal with the ridiculous in whatever way works for them.” So I had my concept. I rewatched some Sapphire and Steel and thought about time, and places and objects, and ended up with ships and bells.

I had my usual problems getting the start right - I had quite a bit of Sid riding in (and losing) a race based on the Carlisle Bell, the oldest British horse race (tweaked to make it jump rather than flat), and then a few chunks of Charles unconscious in hospital while Sid went back to Aynsford and encountered strange individuals, and then the deadline loomed over me like an iceberg and I finally found my way in. Many, many thanks to my betas, especially sovay who had less than 24 hours to look at it.

Stalk On (6074 words) by Cyphomandra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sid Halley - Dick Francis, FRANCIS Dick - Works, Sapphire and Steel
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sid Halley & Charles Roland | Charles Rowland, Sapphire/Silver/Steel (S&S), Sapphire & Silver & Steel (S&S)
Characters: Sid Halley, Charles Roland | Charles Rowland (Dick Francis), Sapphire (S&S), Silver (S&S), Steel (S&S)
Additional Tags: Crossover, Case Fic, Timeline Shenanigans, The Royal Navy
Summary:

Far up in the stretches of night; night splits and the dawn breaks loose;
I, through the terrible novelty of light, stalk on, stalk on;
Those great sea-horses bare their teeth and laugh at the dawn.

W.B. Yeats, High Talk

Sid spends another pleasant evening at Aynsford.

I wrote If You See Her, Say Hello for the book Carrie by Stephen King. It was pretty successful as far as my fic goes - double figures for comments! I guess this is what happens when I do not write crossovers between tiny or nonexistent fandoms :D

Carrie is the first Stephen King book I read, as well as his first published novel; I read it standing up in a department store, racing through to finish before my mother came and found me and insisted we go home. Some parts are too on-the-nose and the found documents format doesn't always work, but it holds up; a key part of this is Carrie herself, who is deliberately average in many ways - yes, she's bullied and she's a target, but part of the tragedy is that this was never inevitable. She is average and a victim and a monster all at once, which is a lot more than most horror protagonists get. I've never watched the film of The Shining because one of the things I like most about the book is that Jack is also a loving father and a monster simultaneously, inextricable, and from what I've heard the film makes it an either/or; I hadn't realised until re-reading this time how much of that is in Carrie as well.

I had trouble tracking down the book. I found - with some difficulty - my own copy, got about 70 pages into it and then lost it completely. I then borrowed the library's copy, got about 100 pages in and lost it as well. I was about to grudgingly buy an ebook version when I finally located the library copy wrapped in a duvet in the boot of my car, and was at last able to finish it.

I then started writing Carrie pov with multiple AUs and got totally stuck. I had a lot of ideas but nothing was working at all, so I went back through all the Sue bits of the book, many of which are extracts from her book My Name is Susan Snell, and that knocked something free. Reworking the Carrie pov stuff from Sue's perspective worked a lot better, but I'd still like to try giving Carrie herself a better ending.

I also need to fix the summary (my bête noir). The book has two Dylan songs quoted in it, Just Like a Woman and Tombstone Blues (I think. Definitely the latter, and I still haven't found my copy of the book to check). When this was in draft I was using a later Dylan song as a placeholder title, Changing of the Guard, a song I still feel has at least one story for me in there, but it wasn't right for this one; I went looking at what he had out in 1975/76, the time Carrie is set, and found the title song in Blood on the Tracks.

For Chocolate Box I wrote Once a Shield Maiden in Rohan... a Narnia/Lord of the Rings crossover. This was the last pairing I added to my sign-up and the one I felt least sure of, mainly because I've never written in Lord of the Rings and it's such a epic fandom in all senses, as well as being a book I've loved for years. Naturally I matched on it.

Initially I wanted to do something set during the years that Lucy is Queen in Narnia, and I wrote a few openings trying to work out what she would be like; I also wanted to do something with Éowyn's ability to fight, and contrast that with the Narnian approach ("Battles are ugly when women fight," Father Christmas tells Lucy when he gives her her present; but although it's the healing cordial that has pride of place in the book, she also gets a dagger - and Susan a bow & arrows). I hadn't really worked out what I wanted to say, though, and setting events in Rohan made me anxious about getting something wrong - I've always been more a fan of the hobbits than the humans - and I was also trying to put in references to Tolkien and Lewis in real life, and it was all feeling far too forced. So I wrote this instead.

Apparently Rohan is based linguistically on Mercia, but when I looked up their word for sheep it was shep. With a long e. So I went for Old English instead, with the help of my beta who'd conveniently studied it...

Dear Chocolatier,

Thanks so much for creating for me! This is going up late, sorry, so if you've started something already, run with it - really, I just would like to spend more time in these worlds with these characters.

General likes:

Worldbuilding, action, humour (witty dialogue or slapstick), friendship, teamwork, food & mealtimes, moments that change people for the better. Happy or bittersweet endings.

Do not wants:

Child/animal harm or death. Earthquakes. Non canonical character death. Non con. Mundane AUs (except FFVII), ABO, mpreg.

Requests:


Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Zack Fair and Cloud Strife

I played this for the first time in the aftermath of the Christchurch 2011 earthquake, and not only is it a fabulous game in its own right but it was the best possible distraction. I love Cloud, and I'd love to see him happy (despite all his own attempts to ensure the opposite!), and, well, obviously it would help if Zack were around. Friendship or relationship fine, although if you go with relationship, please don't erase Aerith. Ideas - well, pre-game bonding, either in the military or out socialising in Midgar? En route to Nibelheim, especially if you can work in a chocobo or two? (or any of the game stuff, phoenix downs and materia and all) Given events of canon I am more than happy with canon AU or other AUs, and I'd be thrilled if you could give them a happy(ish) ending.

Gundam Wing

Chang Wufei/Duo Maxwell
Chang Wufei/Heero Yuy (Gundam Wing)
Chang Wufei & Duo Maxwell
Sally Po & Chang WufeiFanart Fanfiction

Basically I love this series and its completely incomprehensible approach to space warfare, and I am especially fond of Wufei for his grumpiness and actual competence (I am less keen on his misogyny and would prefer to see this not being a major feature). As per tags, I am not particularly attached to any one pairing, or indeed a pairing at all. I would prefer to keep to canon but canon AUs are fine; I love space battles, space colonies, people repairing their Gundams, and am also fond of the total fanfic cliche of hiding out in a safehouse.

Babylon 5

Delenn/John Sheridan
Susan Ivanova/Talia Winters
Vir Cotto & Londo Mollari
Susan Ivanova & John Sheridan

This is really my "I love everyone in this bar!" fandom (well. Except Byron, but fortunately he wasn't nominated). I still think it's one of the best TV series when considered as a whole. I would love to see anything with any of the nominated characters and would find it impossible to pick a favourite out of them. I am actually really fond of the low-key moments in canon as well as the universe-changing, and I love the moments when cultures collide. How about a banquet (or state meal, or picnic, or hideaway obscure alien restaurant)? A visit? A diplomatic incident?

Artwise, I like cool stuff and quiet moments, interesting styles and pieces that make me appreciate characters all over again.

But anyway - I hope you enjoy your assignment!!