Entry tags:

yuletide

This year, my story was in the fandom I most hoped to be assigned. Why I most hoped to be assigned it - I mean, okay, obviously I thought I could write a story in it, and I wanted to write a story in it, and all of that. But it is also a true and actual fact that I had, before this Yuletide, written two stories featuring characters played by Val Kilmer. (Basically, the one where Val Kilmer tops Robert Downey, Jr. and the one where Val Kilmer tops Tom Cruise, not that that is challenging or anything.) And I had noticed that any characters portrayed by Val Kilmer tended to, um. Feature in the kind of sex scenes that had my betas saying things like, "Wow, he's really toppy!" and "I love how toppy he is!" (And, once, "Did you mean him to be this toppy? Because I'm just saying, he's really, really toppy. Like, a lot.")

There was one more Val Kilmer movie that I'd seen, and I had to know. Does Val Kilmer just always play the top? Always?

Well, this year I was lucky enough to be assigned the marvelous omorka, who wanted a story that could answer that question. (Uh, for the record, my interest in Kilmer's topability rating was entirely my own, although her prompt fit with it perfectly. I don't want to impugn her good name or anything.) And I got my final data point, though I'm not going to spoil you with the results. Instead, I'm going to say that once again I had a terrific time writing my story (and creepily stalking my recipient's journal for clues about things she might like in a story). It was a Very Fun Yuletide. I'm sad I'm out of Val Kilmer movies to write for Yuletide, to be honest; he's been good to me. And to his various co-stars.

Etch out a Future of Your Own Design (13741 words) by thefourthvine
Fandom: Real Genius (1985), Eureka
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mitch Taylor/Chris Knight, Mitch Taylor/Jordan
Characters: Mitch Taylor, Chris Knight, Jordan
Summary:

Chris keeps in touch.

This story only exists because of an incredible writing support team. (I was writing much faster than usual, and also outside my comfort zone - there were feelings involved - so I needed lots and lots of help.) I would like to thank:

The Supportive Alpha-Readers: Best Beloved, who provided help every time I got stuck, gave me some very key suggestions, and took care of the earthling so his Mama could write smut, and norah, who has no spare time at all these days, but still found the time to alpha-read my story and provide much-needed orientation, advice, and comments. (Her: "It isn't that bad. No, really, it isn't. You just always hate your Yuletide story at this point in the process." Me: "Really? Because this year seems different." Her: "Every. Single. Year. At exactly this point. In exactly this way." Me: "...Oh.")

The Team of Intrepid Betas: cathalin, dine, laurashapiro, mecurtin, and queue. They gave freely of their advice, support, and corrections. They looked for anachronisms. They answered questions like "What kind of underwear did cool dudes wear in 1985?" without blinking (and, I might add, with some highly amusing stories that will, for example, forever change my view of the color lemon yellow). They forced me to fix my feelings arc. They pried semicolons out of my clutching, desperate hands. They made my story so much better. And they were all really, really damned fast. I needed them, and they came through.

And, finally, Special Yuletide Consultant xenacryst. He summarized twenty-five years of internet history in AD&D terminology on 24 hours' notice, and I was so stressed I forgot to thank him (until now).

You are all awesome, and I could not have done it without you.