Moon Kingdom

Whew, I finally managed to get all of my stories uploaded to Archive of Our Own. It was going very slowly until I finally noticed the link at the top of the page that gives you the option to import from an existing URL. I really need to be more observant. Anyway, speaking of Archive of Our Own, I have an invitation if anyone still needs one. Just leave me a comment and I'll give it to the first responder...

***Edit -- Invitation claimed***

The Knights Have a Thousand Eyes by Stakeaclaim is a delightful Merlin slash story (Arthur/Merlin). Arthur's knights decide that Merlin is just what Arthur needs and come up with a plan to make Arthur see this, too. Of course, it's Camelot, so things never do go exactly to plan... The knights are well developed characters with very distinct personalities, and it's easy to see that they care about both Arthur and Merlin. The Merlin/Arthur interaction is very well done and in character.

In-Law by rageprufrock is a humorous romance NCIS slash story (Gibbs/DiNozzo). I just love this story to pieces. It never fails to make me laugh, and all of the character voices are spot on. Seems Tony has remained in contact with Jackson Gibbs (father to Leroy Jethro Gibbs), and Gibbs isn't sure he's comfortable with that fact--brings back memories of how Shannon used to talk to his father. Once Tony is injured in the line of duty, however, Gibbs is forced to face some truths--and his father. ;-)

Title: War Shorn
Author: Princess Nat (moonprincessnat on LJ)
Fandom: Magnificent Seven
Pairing/Characters: Team
Rating/Category: K+ (strong language)
Summary: Chris' truck explodes and Vin is missing...
Word Count around 5500

War Shorn

Title: Anything for You
Author: Princess Nat (moonprincessnat on LJ)
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing/Characters: Merlin/Arthur (unrequited)
Rating/Category: All audiences
Summary: Be careful with Merlin...
Warnings: Character Death

This idea just wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to write it to get it out of my head...

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"Be careful with Merlin," Morganna warned. "One day, his inability to deny you anything will be the death of him."

Arthur just laughed.

*****

Merlin disappeared the day that Arthur married Gwen and made her his Queen. He returned a month later, but was changed in ways that Arthur couldn't quite explain.

"He said he wasn't in love with you," Arthur said to Gwen, scowling.

Gwen gave him an exasperated look. "He wasn't and he isn't," she stated.

"Then why did he leave?" Arthur demanded.

This time, Gwen's look was pitying.

*****

"Gwen won't be harmed?" Arthur asked, thinking of his own mother.

"No harm will come to the Queen," Merlin promised, his gaze straightforward and sincere.

Arthur nodded. "Do it. Camelot needs an heir."

Merlin bowed, and left the room.

*****

Gwen frowned as she noticed how pale Merlin had become. "Are you feeling all right?" she asked.

Merlin's eyes flicked down to her slightly rounded stomach and then back up to her face. He smiled, but it was only a shadow of his old, full out grin. "I am well, my lady," he answered. "Perhaps a bit tired. If you will excuse me?"

Gwen nodded and watched as he departed the hall. She missed the old Merlin--the one who laughed and called her Gwen, but she didn't think she would see him again.

*****

The birth was surpisingly quick, and the midwife exclaimed that she'd never seen a babe slide out with such ease before. Gwen simply smiled in relief. Merlin had assured her that everything would be fine, but she couldn't help but think of Igraine... and Uther.

The babe was surprisingly pale, with thin wisps of blonde hair sticking up in small tufts. "You have a son, my lady," the midwife pronounced, handing the new mother her infant.

When he opened his eyes, Gwen's eyes widened as, just for a moment, she caught a hint of gold swirling in the deep blue depths. Something Morgana had once told her suddenly echoed in her mind. 'In magic, there must always be a balance. If there is life, then there must also be death. That is the natural law.'

"Gwen?" Arthur's voice jerked her out of the memory and she looked up to see him smiling down at her. "He's beautiful."

"Where's Merlin?" she asked, fear making her voice break on the name.

Arthur frowned. "I don't know. Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, but Merlin..." Gwen trailed off, unwilling to share her fear. If she was right, it was too late, and if she was wrong, there was no need to worry Arthur. "I just thought he would be here," she finally said.

"You're right. I haven't seen him all day... or perhaps all week." Arthur thought back. He'd seen less and less of Merlin over the past months, but he'd been so busy and excited over Gwen's parturiency, that he hadn't really considered it. "I'll send someone to fetch him," he said.

*****

Arthur stared blankly at the modest gravestone. It didn't seem possible that Merlin could be gone. How could he have forgotten that magic always had a price? Morgana's voice echoed in his memory: "Be careful with Merlin. One day, his inability to deny you anything will be the death of him."

Run by ddayspring is good old fashioned Clex (Smallville), set in the halycon days when Lex and Clark were still rescuing each other and having adventures a la Scooby Doo. When Clark hears that's Lex has been shot, he ditches school to rush to his friend's side and refuses to leave, even when Lex is forced on the run by more attempts on his life. Great fun. Clark works hard to keep Lex alive while Lex tries to determine just who it is that is behind the murder attempts. And, of course, Clark comes to the realization that he's in love with Lex. :-)

Onfindan by astolat is an action/adventure/romance Merlin slash story (Merlin/Arthur). And it's simply beautiful. I've read it five times in the last couple of weeks. (It's on my iPod, so I can read it anywhere.) Merlin and Arthur are exactly what I want them to be, and their voices come through very clearly. As many Merlin stories do, Onfindan deals with Arthur discovering Merlin's secret, but that's only the beginning. As the story progresses, we see more and more glimpses of the men that Arthur and Merlin will become (and that Merlin is head over heels in love with his prince).

(Yes, yes, I've become obsessed with another fandom. And, for once, it's one in which many, many people are currently involved. ...That sentence looks very strange, but it's grammatically correct... If you haven't had a chance to catch Merlin yet, as it's on the BBC, I've read that NBC has picked it up to show this summer in the US.)

A Day to Remember by richefic is a Gen NCIS fic with a strong emphasis on the father/son relationship between Gibbs and DiNozzo. Starts out with Tony having a bad day that only gets worse as it progresses, and he and the rest of the team have to deal with the consequences. Richefic does an excellent job of capturing the voices of the characters. Story is set near the beginning of the series, so Kate is there and McGee is definitely still a rookie agent.

Title: Rule Number 12
Author: moonprincessnat
Characters: Anthony DiNozzo, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Kate Todd, Timothy McGee, Abby Scuito, and Donald "Ducky" Mallard, though mostly DiNozzo and Gibbs.
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Some violence, case related rape of a young woman (not graphic)
Disclaimer: None of the gang belong to me. *sigh*
Spoilers: None
Summary: (Slight AU) When Detective Anthony DiNozzo rescues a young woman, he soon finds himself embroiled in an NCIS investigation and working alongside Special Agent Gibbs and his team. Question is, can Tony stay alive long enough to help solve the case? (Pre-Slash)
Notes: Written for the ncis_bigbang challenge.
Word Count: around 27,500

Rule Number 12

Lovely cover art was provided by chatona.

Runners by Gil Hale is set in the ATF universe, but with a twist--Vin & Ezra are teens and JD is a ten year old (Gen). Needless to say, the three aren't in the ATF, but rather have been living on the streets when they are caught up in an ATF operation when Vin helps to save Nathan's life. The addition of Vin and Ezra in his life helps to bring out a side in Chris that the rest of the team had feared destroyed for good by the loss of his family. As for Vin and Ezra, they learn that some people can be trusted, something that their life experiences to date had them doubting as a possibility.

Looking Down at Heaven by lamardeuse is an I Spy slash story (Kelly/Scotty). This is based on the TV series from the 60s, not the more recent travesty of a movie, mind you. If you need info about I Spy, lamardeuse has a really nice pimping post: The Wonderfulness of Themselves. As for the story itself, it's a wonderful look into Scotty's head as he faces some hard truths about his partner... and himself. Ah, the boys are in fine form in this one. (I have to admit, I Spy has eaten my brain lately. I'm burning through the first season at an alarming rate. My husband says it's his favorite fandom of mine--mostly because it's the cheapest. Season One DVD set was $13. Oh, and this is a fandom that definitely needs more stories.)

Attended MediaWest 2008 this past Memorial Day weekend. It was quite the experience, and I'm already looking forward to next year. Though, next year, I'll try to attend more panels. I kept getting sucked into the Twilight Zone that is the Fannish Video Room, and hours would pass by before I'd emerge... only to realize I'd missed most of the panels I'd wanted to go to. Although, I can't say I regret seeing the videos, either. I love fan videos. The Buffy/Angel vids made me cry and the Kung Fu: The Legend Continues vids made me wish they'd release the series on DVD. Oh, that, and made me really want to read a Kung Fu: TLC/Starman crossover. If I could ever come up with a workable plot, I'd write it myself, just because I've wanted one for so long...

I did go to the "Live Free or Die Hard: Redefining John McClaine" panel and had great fun discussing John/Matt slash stories with m_lasha, katyabaturinsky, and Sonya. As it's a relatively small fandom, we'd all read the same stories, so conversation was easy. We all decided that we want more John/Matt stories. ;-)

I also attended the "Avengers (Marvel Comics)" panel moderated by crimsonquills. I discovered that my Avengers knowledge was woefully out of date, but Nix was a veritable fount of wisdom on the subject. I'm going to have to track down the Iron Man arc with the sentient armor... (After the panel, I found out my husband had expected the discussion to be about "The Avengers" TV series. Evidently, my asking him to look for "Avengers" comics in our collection the night before hadn't really clicked. Of course, we only had a few issues, and those were all parts of crossovers with X-Men in the 80s or 90s, so they weren't all that helpful.)

The "Buffy Sing a Long" was great fun -- just a room full of fans singing along with the musical episode "Once More with Feeling." Everyone received a goodie bag that included a small stake, glow in the dark fangs, a small stuffed bunny, a "Shut Up, Dawn" badge, and chocolate. Very cool.

The dealer room was dangerous to my wallet. I bought a few zines, some photos, a couple of BSG (original) card sets, and an Apple water bottle. Managed to resist the Apple notepads, but it was a close thing.

All in all, I had a really good time. It was the first time I had a chance to have face to face conversations about fan fiction with other people who also read and/or write it. I'm hoping there will be a panel on collaborative writing next year, as it's something I've always wanted to try.

On Faith and Trust Alone by Tessa Rae and Sethra is a Highlander/The Professionals crossover slash story (Duncan/Methos & Bodie/Doyle). Bodie and Doyle are ordered to keep one Duncan MacLeod under protective surveillance as it is believed he is a target for a serial killer (who just happens to be an Immortal). Duncan meets Adam Taylor--AKA Methos-- ten years prior to their meeting in the show and, of course, with Methos involved, things get very interesting very quickly. And, to make it even better, Connor arrives on the scene--he has a personal quarrel with the serial killer.

Title: Asgre s Awydda (Heart's Desire)
Author: Princess Nat (moonprincessnat on LJ)
Fandom: NCIS
Pairing/Characters: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Rating/Category: T (Teen)/Slash
Summary: Tony is missing, but there's a green eyed cat that just won't leave Gibbs alone...
Warnings: Some strong language
Word Count: around 10,000

Asgre s Awydda (Heart's Desire)

This was my response to ithildyn's Highlander Friending Meme:

( LJ Cut )

Hindsight by rageprufrock (that was the name on the email, anyway) is an SGA AU Rodney/John slash story... and the story that dragged me into SGA fandom. I've been avoiding it for years, mostly because the character of Dr. McKay so annoyed me in both the SG-1 episodes he was in and the first few episodes of Atlantis. However, in fan fiction, I discovered that he's much easier to take. Also, I'm completely smitten with John (and Ronan and Teyla are very cool). Anyway, in Hindsight, John is an FBI agent rather than an Air Force pilot. The reasons for this are slowly revealed in the story, so I won't go into it now. But this story completely rocks.

Title: The Stairs, the Paper, and the Cannoli
Author: Princess Nat (moonprincessnat on LJ)
Fandom: The Rundown
Pairing/Characters: Beck/Travis
Rating/Category: PG/Slash
Summary: Travis finds himself in trouble and Beck helps him pick up the pieces, but will the puzzle fit together once he has?
Warnings: some strong language
Notes:: Written for the smallfandomfest fest02, prompt was "taking care of/looking after"
Word Count: 13,273

The Stairs, the Paper, and the Cannoli

A Happy New Year by Nancy is a wonderful Rundown fic (Beck/Travis) set in Nancy's fascinating Romanology universe. (Basically, it's a world in which Rome never fell and slavery never fell out of fashion.) Feeling a bit lonesome, Beck decides to purchase a slave. Of course, being Beck, he goes looking for the trouble slaves and discovers Travis. A battered and broken Travis, but still, Beck feels a connection. This story made me very happy, as I love a protective Beck.

I just played through and finished LOTR: The Third Age in one week. My husband was astounded. Anyway, I really enjoyed the game and wondered if anyone could recommend a similar game for me to play next. I loved the look of the game--the graphics were beautiful-- and, of course, the music was great, as they used pieces from the movie score. And, there weren't huge blocks of text to read through--all the dialog was in the cut scenes. It's the first turn-based combat RPG I've played as a video game, and I really liked it. The action RPGs, such as Champions of Norrath or Justice League Heroes, I prefer to play with someone, as I'm just not very good at real time combat. I get a bit too excited with the button mashing and get killed when I forget to keep an eye on my health bar. Usually, my husband has to finish off the main boss by himself. ;-) So, suggestions?

Just found this site today -- FanworksFinder.com. Seems like a cool site for finding fan-related content. Of course, the more people who add listings, the more stuff people will be able to find. I'm going to add the ones I have, and hopefully other people will, too. Searching for fan fiction can sometimes be difficult, so anything that helps is good. :-)