calliopes_pen

The fic commentary post will be up shortly, but for now, here's the reveal!

Harmless Phantoms On Their Errands Glide (14346 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker
Characters: Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray Harker, Quincey Morris, Abraham Van Helsing, Arthur Holmwood, John Seward
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Journey to the Castle, Kissing in the Snow, Mina tackle hugs Jonathan, Jonathan's skills concern everyone, Quincey has a secret, Ghosts, Found Family, Friendship, Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, Quincey Morris Lives, Seward's bed might be haunted
Summary:

In the wake of the Count’s final defeat, it has begun to snow in earnest. Having nowhere else to go, as night falls our crew is forced to head for the castle for sanctuary from the storm. During the course of the night, they will forge a new destiny for themselves.

Reveals have happened, so I can link to what I wrote. My recipient wanted the addition placed right in with the story, so I edited so that I might slide it into chapter 7, and placed two new lines into chapter 8. It made the word count jump from 62,499 words, right on up to 66,996 words.

There Is A Pleasure In The Pathless Woods (67168 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker, Brides of Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Dracula/Jonathan Harker
Characters: Brides of Dracula, Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Quincey Morris, Dracula, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood
Additional Tags: Vampire Bites, Found Family, Possession, Mind Control, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnosis, Exorcism, Blood, Blood Drinking, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Adventure, Nightmares, Off Panel Stake Through The Heart, Horror, Fog, Journey to the Castle, Happy Ending, Quincey causes property damage, Jonathan fights for his soul, Mina fights to protect Jonathan
Summary:

A lie is unknowingly penned within the heart of Jonathan Harker’s journal, formed by Count Dracula's great mind. Jonathan did not escape the castle unscathed; he was bitten; he was made to drink blood. As the horror mounts following his escape, Mina is ensnared in the growing net that is woven around them all. They must walk this dark road to its completion, with everyone cooperating and joining the battle for their very souls.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, as the corruption begins to consume Jonathan and Mina one piece at a time.

I suspected it was you for the two I received, thisbluespirit, but I wasn’t certain. Thank you again for both stories!

As I do every year, I'll do a round-up post about the writing of this sometime in the next few days.

The Soft Whispers of the Dead (100031 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Dracula (TV 1968)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Count Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker, John Seward/Lucy Weston, Mina Harker/Lucy Weston, Mina Harker/John Seward
Characters: Mina Harker, Jonathan Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, John Seward, Lucy Weston, Count Dracula
Additional Tags: Hypnotism, Exorcisms, Ghosts, Possession, Fog, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, When Ghosts Attack, Vampires, Rats, Minor Character Death, Seward could use a life free of the supernatural, Friendship, Hallucinations, Don't Drink The Cognac, Beware of broken glass, Mina fights vampirism, Jonathan fights for his soul, Blood, Don't forget the salt, gothic horror, Horror
Summary:

Dracula turned to ash with the rising of the sun. Despite this, his power and legacy loom large over those he once controlled. As temptations rise and haunt Jonathan and Mina, they struggle to keep their souls. As the shadows close in, will the soft whispers of the dead save them…or damn them forevermore?

It took three hours to fix that quadruple spacing issue, but I did it. And I got it all uploaded! 100,023 words.

I probably left something out of the notes at the end. Whatever the case, I’ll do a round-up post here on Dreamwidth either tomorrow or the next day about the writing process. Just like I do for the Yuletide stories. I might be posting the deleted scenes, too. Yes, there were a few that for one reason or another didn’t work following the rewrites or I felt the story was long enough without them.

The time for reveals has come. I wrote The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide, which clocks in at 61,506 words. Given it was for Dracula, if they hadn't already guessed it was me behind it, nobody should be surprised.

The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide (61692 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 8/8
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Mina Harker/Lucy Westenra, Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker, Count Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Jonathan Harker/Lucy Westenra
Characters: Mina Harker, Dracula, Lucy Westenra, Abraham Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, John Seward, R.M. Renfield, Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmwood
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Fog, Vampires, Mind Control, Blood Drinking, Character Death, Vampire Turning, Stake through the heart, Friendship, Horror, Gothic, Suspense, Animal Transformation, Rats, Van Helsing Is Thwarted At Almost Every Turn, Possession, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Love, Bats
Summary:

What if Lucy didn’t return to her crypt when she was confronted with Van Helsing and crew? What if she went away with Dracula, and thus avoided the stake? What if Lucy targeted another to get closer to Mina, with Dracula’s assistance? Mina finds herself making a dark choice as her husband wanders into the night, and the ripples of those choices change everything.

The notes and deleted scenes will be posted later, and then linked back to the end notes over on Ao3. I don’t know if I need to cross-post this to hidden_passages, seeing as I was recced in the Yuletide related post over there.

Wrap The Cloak Of Night Around His Shoulders (58042 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dracula (TV 1968)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mina Harker/John Seward, Count Dracula/Jonathan Harker
Characters: John Seward, Mina Harker, Jonathan Harker, Lucy Weston, Count Dracula, Abraham Van Helsing
Additional Tags: When Vampires Attack, Exorcisms, Hypnotism, Possession, Bats, Temptation, Friendship, Mind Control, Jonathan runs away with Dracula, Van Helsing is clever, Mina protects Lucy, Seward needs a blood transfusion and blanket right about now, There's something in the basement, Vampire Bites, Hurt/Comfort, Character Turned Into Vampire, Elements of Lucy/Mina, staking, Vampirism Causes Irreconcilable Differences, Suspense, Nightmares, Fog, Journey to the Castle, Happy Ending, Blood Drinking, Adventure, Alternate Universe
Summary:

What if Seward and Van Helsing told Mina about the danger Lucy was in sooner? What if Lucy wasn’t bitten a final time that night, because Mina was in the house? This gives them a reprieve. Everything changes for the better and for the worse. Each takes a more active role in their fate as they fight to keep Dracula away from Lucy, and the darkness closes in around them.

Yes, thisbluespirit. I guessed you may have written at least one (The Poison Tree) of the stories I received, but I didn’t guess that it was both of them. So thank you so much.

This story clocked in at a whopping 114 pages in Microsoft Word, for a grand total (no matter what Ao3 says—it might register the scene breaks) of 57,748 words. This is, by far, the longest thing I have ever written. The outline alone was 10 pages. I printed it, so I could have access to it at all times that I was away from the computer. I did not print the story, but I’m still genuinely amused that you did.*

I should have made it into separate chapters, but I didn’t even think of it at the time after all the edits were completed. Sorry about that. I do see in retrospect where a few chapter breaks could be, as one scene in particular was nearly 10,000 words.

I really must thank you, by the way, specifically for this post. The Picspam came in handy. So did the gif set in another post where you showed Seward fainting, and these promo shots in color. I might have used the fainting gifs for reference.

I can’t post the story to Livejournal, just like I couldn’t post it there last year, since it exceeds the word count limit. This year, I’m almost certain that I cannot post it to Dreamwidth, either, for that very reason. So…if someone ever feels the desire to comment on the story, you can do so in this post, or the cross-post on LJ, or just go to Ao3 by way of the link in this post if one happens to have an account there.

*Tomorrow or the next day, I plan another post about trivia from the writing process. I’ll try to make notes of all the random references sprinkled throughout the story that I alluded to in my author’s notes. There are a couple extra deleted moments that you can decide if you do or do not wish to see after they're described.

Edit: Or I could (and did) just post it today, since I gathered everything sooner than expected.

Let The Shadows Become Your Shroud (33060 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Crimson Peak (2015)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Edith Cushing/Thomas Sharpe, Edith Cushing/Alan McMichael
Characters: Edith Cushing, Thomas Sharpe, Lucille Sharpe, Alan McMichael
Additional Tags: Horror, Gothic Romance, Alan shouldn't play with ouija boards, Possession, Ghosts, Vague References of Past Canon Abuse, Friendship, Exorcisms, Supernatural Elements, Blood, Hurt/Comfort, Mind Control, When Ghost Moths Attack, extremely vague reference to canon incest, When Ghost Hunts Go A Bit Wrong, Precarious mental state eroded further in death, Mental Maze
Summary:

Two years after the events of the film, Alan and Edith are married. Now that Allerdale Hall has collapsed into the clay, Lucille’s ghost is free to seek revenge against them…but Thomas knows what his sister is planning and will provide them with aid no matter how dangerous things become.

No matter how terrifying it becomes for the living, as souls are imperiled by the grasp of the dead.

So this was the assignment where I went above and beyond what I ever expected to write. I am just beyond thrilled that my recipient enjoyed it. The commentary post on the writing process will come later, either today or tomorrow.

Quick question for my friends list—are there any Crimson Peak groups on Livejournal or Dreamwidth? I haven’t spotted any yet. I know there are at least two on Tumblr after a Google search, but I don’t use that.

Give Your Soul To The Night (21788 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Fright Night (1985)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Charley Brewster/Jerry Dandrige, Charley Brewster/Amy Peterson
Characters: Charley Brewster, Peter Vincent, Jerry Dandrige, Billy Cole, Amy Peterson, Ed Thompson
Additional Tags: Vampire Bites, Vampire Turning, Evil Wins, Alternate Universe, Never Bite Billy, Blood Drinking, Everybody Lives, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, We Need More Coffins
Summary: Charley and Peter don’t save the day, and Jerry offers Charley a choice. Charley takes him up on the offer to become a vampire, despite Peter’s warnings. While the change is painful, the bite is exquisite, and Charley comes to enjoy...well, everything, really.

This would be the fanfic I wrote for Yuletide. I’ll post something about the process of writing this long story either later today or tomorrow. Given the length of this fanfic, it’s probably too long to actually post the whole thing to Dreamwidth.

Anyone know of any (LJ or Dreamwidth) Fright Night groups that aren't long dead?

Blood Begets A Curse Anew (14248 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Legend (1985)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Lili/Darkness
Characters: Darkness (Legend), Lili (Legend), Brown Tom, Blix, Pox, Honeythorn Gump, Jack (Legend)
Additional Tags: Character Death, Alternate Universe, Torture, Animal Sacrifice, Suffering, Evil Wins, Horror, Unhappy Ending, Fractured Fairy Tale
Summary: Jack doesn’t come to Lili’s rescue, and she goes through with the sacrifice. But there are repercussions, as nature darkly fills the void of the slain unicorn with a new creature.

Please heed all of the warnings in the Additional Tags section, as well as the main warnings section.

I'll post something about the process of writing it later.

Title: The Nosferatu Effect
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: PG
Pairing: None
Fandom: My Best Friend Is A Vampire
Word Count: 3206
Author’s Notes: This fanfic was written for apocalypsos/Trollprincess, for yuletide. The following is the prompt: “It's over twenty years since the events of the film. Has Jeremy finally gotten around to reading that book? Has he become a better vampire? And what happens when he runs into the Professor after all this time?” A huge thanks go out to seandc, persiflage_1, and liliaeth for beta reading. The title is a reference to both the shadow effect the two played with, as well as how vampire hunters have just seen too many movies featuring evil vampires.
Summary: Twenty-five years after the events of the movie, the Professor and Jeremy have a peaceful reunion in the cemetery where the former was turned, to share a few bottles of blood and catch up on things.

( Jeremy, ‘the Professor’ was an affectation—a title I bestowed upon myself to strike fear in my foes and appear…threatening. It was more of a nickname that Grimsdyke ran with. )

Title: Capes Not Included
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: PG
Fandom: Doctor Who
Written For: shengirl
Word Count: 2923
Special Thanks To: seandc and miiro for beta reading.
Summary: During a bit of down time from the perils of alien invasions, Jack, the Doctor, and Rose decide whether or not to go to a planet where they could have temporary superpowers.
Author’s Notes: Written for qldfloodauction, for shengirl, and extremely late due to life, and a computer issue resulting in it eating each and every note and portion of fanfic I had written related to this. Various things dragged it all back from the abyss, and I was finally able to complete it. So many apologies to you for the long wait, and I hope you like it. The prompt was Superheroes, with a helping of OT3 friendship comedy for the Tenth Doctor, Jack, and Rose.

( Some days you were in the mood for watching a warrior ricochet bullets off her bracelets, while saving hostages from a burning building. Some days you weren't. )

Title: Don’t Lose Your Marbles
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: G
Fandom: Doctor Who
Summary: The Doctor’s lost his precious Gallifreyan Marbles. Will he find them again?
Word Count: 815
Author’s Notes: Thanks to persiflage_1 for beta reading. This was written for the help_haiti auction. The prompt was “platonic Doctor and Donna, misplacing something.” Preferably a bit of fluff.

( When the Doctor loses his marbles, he gets Donna to help him find them. )

Title: By The Ticking Of The Clock
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Doctor Who
Summary: Donna actually realizes something is wrong with the metacrisis before she gets to the breaking point. After asking for Jack and the Doctor’s help, the Doctor spots something in her mind that leads them to believe she might be a fob watched Time Lord. The race is on to find it before her meltdown. Doctor/Donna, with Doctor/Donna/Jack strongly hinted at for the next time they meet.
Word Count: 3725 words
Author’s Notes: This was written for the help_haiti Auction. Huge thanks go out to seandc and persiflage_1 for beta reading. The prompt was the following: “Donna is Gallifreyan and Ten helps her through rituals to become a Time Lady.” It changed a bit, so I hope you enjoy it.

( “I think I’ll keep my own human name. That one was a bit embarrassing. Do I have to come up with a title at some point? The Temp From Chiswick doesn’t work all that well.” )

Cross-posted to doctor_donna, here.

Title: A Slap Is Worth A Thousand Words
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Doctor Who
Summary: With the end of Journey’s End, comes an intervention. The Doctor must confront his tendency to run away from those he loves.
Word Count: 5189
Author’s Notes: This was written for the Support Stacie Auction. wendymr and the Shadow Proclamation won me, and my prompt was the following: “The final 10 minutes of Journey’s End: Jack, Rose, Donna and the Duplicate Doctor gang up on Ten to make him change his mind about running away from everyone. OT3 conclusion, with or without the Duplicate and Donna on the scene, would be lovely.”

Thanks to persiflage_1 for beta reading and the suggestion of the song the TARDIS plays Martha. Thanks to seandc for beta reading, and a number of other suggestions.

( It began not with a scream, but with a single Noble slap to the cheek. Had the Doctor seen Donna’s face moments before, he would have known to take three steps back and run. )

Cross-posted to doctor_donna here, and betterwiththree over here.

Title: Picnic Perils
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: G
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 398 words
Author’s Notes: This was written for wendymr, as an incentive drabble for the Support Stacie Auction—thanks to seandc for a quick beta read of it. The prompt: “Ten/Rose/Jack, prompt life-saving.” It veered off into humor. Yes, the picnic basket is bigger on the inside. I’m working on the drabble for yamx right now.

( Click here to read it. )

Title: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again
Author: calliopes_pen
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 3416 words
Summary: When the Doctor hits the wrong button while working on the TARDIS, past selves come for a brief visit.
Beta Readers: seandc and evilawyer_fic.
Notes: This was written for the OT3 Ficathon. The prompt I chose was “Lost in time: Jack and Rose get lost in time and learn about regeneration the confusing way, stumbling about at least one other version of their lover. Do not want: Any version of the Doctor after 9.” It was written for herk227, and since it’s the Ninth Doctor, it’s sometime during season 1—to be exact, it’s shortly before the incident on the Game Station.

( It had begun just like any other day on the TARDIS... )

Cross-posted to dwfiction here, and better_with_3 over here.