And All the Things Left Unsaid (6349 words) by Amatara
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dale Cooper & Albert Rosenfield, Dale Cooper/Albert Rosenfield
Characters: Albert Rosenfield, Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks)
Summary: Cooper’s been shot, and Albert still doesn’t know where they stand with each other. Which is symptomatic of who they are. You could fill a book with everything left unsaid between them; not that Albert’s planning on writing it, but he’s got a fair idea of how he wants it to end. Maybe not with sunshine and roses - some people aren't meant for happy endings, and he’s pretty sure that list includes him - but with honesty and hearts laid bare. Tonight isn’t quite that, but it’s a start. Missing scene for episode 9 ("May the Giant Be With You").

Wishing you all the very best for the coming year! Far be it for me to know what the future should bring to make you happy, so let me offer no big, booming wishes but just a small something to warm your heart, like you've all warmed mine with your words and your stories and your art and your presence:



It also happens to be my New Year's resolution for this year to remember this. :) I do that far too rarely.


Meanwhile, Yuletide reveal has happened, so finally, away with the secrecy! I wrote four stories in three fandoms: my official assignment as well as three treats.


Putting Out Fire (With Gasoline) (9128 words) by Amatara
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Category: Gen
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Dale Cooper, Harry Truman, Audrey Horne, Albert Rosenfield, Annie Blackburn, Lucy Moran, Dennis "Denise" Bryson
Summary: When you've pulled someone back from the brink, how do you put them back together again? A series of recordings and interviews, made at the Spokane Valley Hospital, where Dale Cooper was taken after being freed from BOB's control.

I've been frantic about this story from the moment I read my assignment, which was basically 'please write about Dale Cooper - apart from that, anything goes'. The lack of optional details had me flailing for a while to come up with a plot bunny that was both meaty enough for a longer story and something I hadn't done before. I ended up writing a series of post-canon character interviews recounting the story of Cooper's rescue and the inevitable messy picking-up-the-pieces afterwards. The first-person POV may have been a bigger gamble than I thought (I was about halfway into the story when there was this huge 'I loathe first-person POV' thread on FFA, so that was a little ouch) but in the end, with the help of my two lovely betas, I managed to put something together I think I can feel proud of. My one remaining fear now is my recipient, because they left a 'will come back later, when I have more time' comment and so far I haven't heard back from them. I do hope I wrote them something they enjoyed! *frets*


The Tender Boughs of Innocence (4398 words) by Amatara
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Category: Gen
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Albert Rosenfield, Gordon Cole, Chet Desmond, Dennis "Denise" Bryson, Dale Cooper
Summary: Albert didn't reckon himself a coward, a crybaby or a cream puff. What he was was a tender twenty-nine, which at the Bureau still counted as green behind the ears, but he had skill and wit and a bloodhound's instinct for clues, and he didn't rattle easily. Which was what had earned him this case to begin with. Right now, calling him 'rattled' would be stating it mildly.

Written as a treat for firerose, who specifically requested Albert-centric fic in which he gets to interact with other FBI agents besides Cooper. I adore Albert, so this was a challenge I couldn't pass up! Pre-canon case fic this time, which is also something I never did before.


Sharing is Caring (3127 words) by Amatara
Fandom: Boston Legal
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Category: Gen
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Alan Shore, Denny Crane, Shirley Schmidt
Summary: Denny wants a threesome for his birthday. Alan isn't thrilled. Shirley is caught in the middle.

I discovered Boston Legal not too long ago and instantly devoured all five seasons, and I was just itching to write fic for it this Yuletide! alexcat's Yuleletter requested Alan & Denny interaction, and I had great time putting together a snark-filled little treat.


In Flagrante (2048 words) by Amatara
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: Mature
Category: M/M
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: G'Kar/Londo Mollari
Characters: G'Kar, Londo Mollari, Delenn, Vir Cotto
Summary: Three times Londo and G'Kar were caught in the act: one happy, one angry, one sad.

Honestly, I hadn't planned on writing any B5 this year. But as it happened, my trusted Twin Peaks beta Nemo_the_Everbeing had  just discovered the fandom, promptly offered it for Yuletide, and got matched on it. The result is the absolutely stunning The Subtle Arangement of Stones (which I absolutely recommend to anyone who loves the fandom!) of which I got a sneak preview because I helped beta it... and suddenly I was in love with B5 all over again! After which I just couldn't resist aria's heartfelt plea for more Londo/G'Kar fic. This will, of course, surprise no one. (Least of all selenak, who immediately guessed this story was mine.)


All in all, it's been a good Yuletide for me. I got lovely gift stories and some wonderful comments on my own stories and writing was fun and productive - but I did realize how much more stressed I get when I actually have an official assignment, as compared to when I'm just writing treats like I did last year. So now I'm mulling over my strategy for next year. Signing up, which means a gift story but also more stress, or going for the more relaxed treat-writing experience again. Mmhmm, dilemmas... 

I've been lucky enough never to have been active in a fandom (or at least not been in contact with that particular part of said fandom) where character hatred and My Ship Versus Your Ship were things to worry about. Not that the phenomenon didn't exist at all in 'my' fandoms, but it was rare enough that you could avoid it by just being moderately cautious which fannish circles to frequent. Part of the reason, I think, is that the fandoms dearest to my heart are small and rare and not very recent, which is a pretty good incentive for fans to stick together. At least that's how it was on LJ and DW, which were my main fannish playgrounds so far.

On tumblr, though... Nope.

So I thought it would be a fun idea to track some tags for fandoms that I like. I've been in a haze of Twin Peaks love for some time, ever since rewatching parts of it when writing my last fanfic, so the twin peaks tag was an obvious choice.

Oh. Oh, dear.

Honestly, I never thought I'd see that kind of hatred of characters, ships, cast members, and so on, or that kind of vitriol directed at fans for expressing certain opinions, about A CULT SHOW THAT'S OVER 20 YEARS DEAD.

Did you know there's a tumblr called laraflynnboyle-liferuiner? Which delivers exactly what the name advertises: collected nastiness about Donna Hayward and actress Lara Flynn Boyle (particularly, how she is allegedly solely responsible for ruining Twin Peaks' second season by veto'ing the Dale/Audrey relationship? Ummm... Yeah, right).

And did you know that there's an Audrey/Cooper shipping war raging, and that it's apparently not done to both like Annie as a character and her relationship with Cooper, and like Audrey as a character and her friendship with Cooper? No, because if you like Annie then you're a moron who doesn't know what decent character building is, and if you like Audrey and Cooper together then you're a shallow shipper bitch who doesn't care about anything but shipping... or at least that's what I gleaned from posts like this one, or this or this.

Seriously, it makes me feel dirty just to read the stuff.

I already unfollowed a few so-called 'fannish' blogs because of this shite.
I'm seriously considering never looking at the twin peaks tag ever again, and just stick to following the small handful of fans who seem to think sharing squee about this show beats pouring vitriol onto it, and who don't let their dislike of certain characters (which is perfectly fine to have, btw) ruin their own and other fans' enjoyment of the show. I might have expected that of a new, shiny fandom, but... Really, tumblr? Really?

(That said, there are definitely fandoms on tumblr that don't have this issue, and that are all about sharing the love - the Babylon 5 fandom being a prime example of that. So it's not that I'm disgusted with fandom on tumblr as a whole. Just... certain bits of it. And I'd like to believe that tumblr having a younger audience than LJ explains it, but I don't really think that's true, and even if it is it's not an excuse.)

Gah, how I miss LJ the way it was a few years ago, when everything was still shiny and happy and active and yay!

Come baaaaack, everyone! Can't we just have a great big squeefest here? I WANTS IT, PRECIOUSSSS... *yearn*

Title: Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Characters: BOB, Dale Cooper, Albert Rosenfield.
Summary: Returning from Twin Peaks, Cooper finds himself on Albert's doorstep without even knowing why. BOB knows, though. Albert Rosenfield is special. Albert is the key that will make Cooper turn, turn, like the ballerina in a musical box. BOB can't wait to see them both dance.
Rating / Warnings: Rated R for adult themes. The story can definitely be considered triggery on some points, but only in the ways that canon itself is. We're talking possession, vague consent issues (though nothing as explicit as nonconsensual sex or rape) and generally BOB-ish fantasies. Basically, if you're okay with the subject matter of Twin Peaks the series, I'd say you will be okay with this, too.
Word Count: ~10.000 words
Author's Notes: This story started out as "that brief snippet I was going to write heartequals as a thank-you for my help_japan story (the wonderful I Knew This Much)" but it just grew longer and longer from there.
Many thanks to my ever-awesome beta nemo_everbeing for giving this story the kick in the ass that it needed to make it so much better, and for providing invaluable suggestions and encouragement! Thanks as well to st_aurafina, whose Say Goodbye (To the World You Thought You Lived In) was both an anchor and an inspiration to me all the way through writing this.
For those who wonder if "Eli" is a reference to Dorothy Marley's The Secret Tapes of Dale Cooper series: yes, it is. :) I love that fic to pieces, so I couldn't help paying a little tribute here.

Hope you enjoy! As always, any feedback is loved - for this story maybe even more than usual, because topics like possession, mental breakdown, coming out, and all the other potentially triggery stuff that's in here (and that I tried to handle as sensibly as possible) are still so easy to get wrong... so your opinions on this would be invaluable to me. <3


( Fic: Crazy Little Thing Called Love )

 

Title: Be My Homeward Dove
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Characters: Sarah Palmer, Albert Rosenfield, Harry Truman, Audrey Horne, Dale Cooper.
Summary: Five goodbyes in Twin Peaks which really aren't goodbyes at all.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2100 words

( Be My Homeward Dove )

Despite (or maybe because of?) not having signed up, I ended up writing three treats this year! Not sure if that means I should have signed up anyway, because there's still a huge difference between getting to pick your own prompt and getting one assigned, stress-level-wise. But it's a good sign! I did miss writing a Yuleletter and anxiously waiting for/squeeing over a gift, though, so I really hope I'll be able to sign up again next year.

As for the fics I wrote: two of them I'd actually planned for, in the sense that I scrolled through the Yuleletter list and picked up the two prompts that appealed to me most. The third one was, shall we say, an impulsive decision. *g* Here are all three:


Face of the Moon (Twin Peaks, 2596 words) ... or read it on DW or LJ.
Summary: Diane doesn't work in the spotlights. If Dale is the bright face of the moon, then let her be the other face, the one people don't see. That doesn't mean she's not part of the story.
Characters: Diane, Audrey Horne, Albert Rosenfield, Gordon Cole, Harry Truman, Denise Bryson, Dale Cooper.

Written for allchildren, who specifically asked for Diane fic - a challenge I just couldn't pass up! Of the stories I wrote this year, this is still my personal favorite. No small thanks to my ever-gorgeous beta nemo_everbeing, who was so kind as to critically review this story while still working on her own Yuletide fic! I wasn't sure whether having Diane as a POV character would work for everyone, but the feedback I received on this was heartwarming and awesome. *beams*


Fake Plastic Life (Galaxy Quest (1999), 1651 words) ... or read it on DW or LJ.
Summary: Sometimes all you need ends up being right in front of you. Alexander should know.
Characters: Alexander Dane, Gwen DeMarco, Jason Nesmith.

A short character vignette written for celandineb, who wanted to read about Alexander Dane and how he went from playing Richard III to being Dr. Lazarus on a cheesy sci-fi television show. The overall quality of GQ fic this year was just stunning, and compared to all the other stories this little piece feels really lightweight, but people seemed to like it as well, so yay! Many thanks to everywherestars for the beta.


Be My Homeward Dove (Twin Peaks, 2115 words) ... or read it on DW or LJ.
Summary: Five goodbyes in Twin Peaks which really aren't goodbyes at all.
Characters: Sarah Palmer, Albert Rosenfield, Harry Truman, Audrey Horne, Dale Cooper.

On Dec 23rd, st_aurafina posted a note on her journal mentioning she was on the pinch hit list. I knew she'd asked for Twin Peaks fic, among other things, and my flaily little Twin Peaks heart couldn't bear the thought that she might not receive any, so... I dived in.

I didn't stress out over the other two fics, but boy, did I stress out over this one! I wrote most of it at night, struggling to stay focused and keep my fingers going on the keyboard. I finished the last part the next morning, re-read the whole fic... and promptly panicked. Was I really going to gift a story that I'd written in a few hours' time, knowing how rough and unpolished it still felt to me? And gift it to someone who's not just a casual TP fan but has produced some great work of her own? And then I owe a massive thanks to selenak, for agreeing to do an extremely last-minute beta and providing not only reassurance but some life-saving suggestions for edits as well! At which point I worked in the edits, re-read the whole thing again, and finally felt courageous enough to post it. I don't think I've ever been more relieved about a fic than when st_aurafina commented to say she enjoyed her gift!


In short: I had a lovely Yuletide, and I hope the same goes for all of you who participated, in whichever way, big or small! Thanks so much to everyone who read and/or left comments or kudos on my stories; that means a lot to me. *hugs*

Once again, wishing y'all a very happy New Year! 

#1 help_japan update: I officially owe fics to two winning bidders, and made unofficial promises to write two more ficlets, which was - ambitious, for sure. I was hoping to get these all done by the end of this month, but due to a combination of real life (work! vacation! planning for Our House That Still Needs To Be Built but should start to rise out of the ground pretty soon now!) and a stubborn case of writer's block, I've finished only one so far. Here you go, faelhach, this one's for you! Toyetanothermask: hope you'll forgive the delay, but I'll get this done and get it done properly, don't you worry a bit. Thank you both again!

#2 Did I mention the house, and that they're going to start construction on it soon? I did, didn't I? Giddiness and panic in one package! But it's going to be great... I hope. *takes deep breaths*

#3 Went to see X-Men: First Class last week, like nearly everyone else here, and loved it. Also, as was wholly and hopelessly to be foreseen, fell like a brick for James McAvoy's Charles. *sigh* Why so predictable, self?
I'm not complaining, mind you! If there's one regret I have it's that I'm hardly familiar with the rest of the canon (I saw the first movie and that's it) but right now I'm having far too much fun keeping up with the growing list of fics on AO3 to mind too badly. The only complication (apart from the general one of *omfgTIME*) is that I'd love to dive into the fic-writing fun for a little while, but lack of canon knowledge isn't too beneficial for morale. Ah, fannish life...

Now, on to fic!

Title: For in That Sleep of Death What Dreams May Come. Written for faelhach for help_japan .
Summary: Coming face to face with evil is not Dale Cooper's prerogative. Albert would know.
Rating: Gen (with some slashy undertones), rated R for potentially disturbing/triggery content. Brief warning: Contains mentions of sexual abuse of a minor, which may be considered triggery. The mentioned event doesn't involve the main characters, though, and I kept the descriptions deliberately vague. Just thought it would be best to put this on the label anyway.
Word Count: ~6000
Thanks to: nemo_everbeing, for the awesome and lightning-speed beta job.

or read it on AO3.


( With the sun down, the temperature was dropping fast. Albert told himself it was simply the cold that led him to turn up his collar and thrust his free hand deep into his jacket pocket. He was acting like an idiot.  )

I wrote something for Porn Battle!

Well, actually I was (and still am) intending to write two somethings, being one Twin Peaks piece and one piece of Londo/G'Kar, because, damn, it's really been too long since I gave these two some proper attention! The Twin Peaks fic was a promise to someone, so I finished that one first. I don't dare to make any promises, but I'm still hoping to bring you Londo/G'Kar before the battle ends on Thursday. *crosses fingers and implores muses to cooperate*

I left some prompts of my own as well, should anyone feel tempted to peek and/or be creative with them.

Now without further ado, I bring you p0rn:


Title: Premeditation
Summary: There's not a thing that Cooper doesn't plan in advance. Least of all when Albert's involved. 
Pairing: Dale Cooper/Albert Rosenfield
Rating: NC-17
Word count: ~ 1600
Author’s Notes: So, while I've written R-and-up rated stories in this fandom before, this is arguably the first serious attempt I've made at writing pure smut. Which means nothing more or less than that, for once, the sexytimes aren't limited to one or two paragraphs crammed together near the end of the fic. *g* In terms of writing that's a pretty new experience for me, so any feedback, coherent or not, would be loved! Unbeta'd and written in two days or so, so please forgive any mistakes that might still be there. Written for ingridmatthews for the prompt "Escape".


( Fic: Premeditation. )

Just got back from family Christmas visits (multiple), so I've barely had enough time to read my own gift, never mind start browsing the rest of the archive - but OMG, people, just like last year I have been so lucky with my gift story! I got OVER 15,000 WORDS of Twin Peaks goodness, which is... *sits in open-mouthed admiration*

If It had to Perish Twice is a massive, intricate, deliciously plotty post-canon Cooper/Albert fic, written from Albert's POV - and what a fantastic Albert it is, in all of his snarky glory! The slash is beautifully done, weaved gently into the main plot rather than dominating it, and not shying away from tough questions, like - well, don't most of us think of Cooper as straight, anyway? Albert-the-sarcastic-bastard, making scathing comments to himself about the stupidity of falling for a straight guy, just broke my heart into so many little pieces.

The author pays wonderful homage to the show, with lots of subtle references to, among other things, the Black Lodge/White Lodge mythology and the aftermath of Coop's possession. We don't learn how Cooper got rid of BOB, exactly, but we learn that he did, and that the years since then have hardly been a picnic. The plot is as great as the characterizations, with a masterfully executed twist that... well, I mustn't tell, of course! Suffice it to say that, once you start reading, you really have to continue to the end!

Quoting all of my favorite lines would be pretty much impossible, so I'll just pick out one of the many wonderful bits of dialogue, to hopefully whet your appetite:


The country highway had a forty-five speed limit, which Cooper met and held. He had always been a stickler for adherence to stupid laws like that. Albert said, “At this rate, we won’t get to Prophetstown until the evening rush hour. If there is an evening rush hour. The last instance of gridlock around here was probably caused by a three-buggy pileup on the way to the county fair.”

“I find gridlock to be a very harmonious experience.”

Albert said what he always said when Cooper indulged his own particular brand of insanity: “Okay” with just enough incomprehension and sarcasm under that one word that he might get an explanation.

Cooper obliged. “All those cars are unified in a desire to go in a single direction.” His smile was brighter than the sun through the leaves. “A mutual will straining for motion.”

Albert rolled his eyes. “And the little old lady at the front of the line whose will is straining much more slowly.”

“Life is more enjoyable with an optimistic mindset.”

“And it’s less frustrating without one.”

Cooper returned his gaze to the landscape without comment or reaction, but the feeling that he was disappointed disconcerted Albert more than he liked to let on. Albert prided himself on never caring about the opinions of others, but Cooper . . . Cooper was different in ways Albert had little desire to confront.


In short: Go! Read! Enjoy! You won't regret it.