Fourth book of the year

I'm currently reading The Bookman Histories, an eBook omnibus of three different books by Lavie Tidhar. It's very Alternative History, not quite the Steampunk it was said to be although there are plenty of gears. I'm enjoying ot!

Secret Santa Fic: It Seemed Like a Good Idea (part one)

Okay, I lied to you all. I thought if I told you that I was DONE with my Secret Santa, you wouldn't be able to figure out which one I'd written. Now that the stories have been revealed, I can tell you that I'm NOT done. I promised to have the second half of the story done by the end of the month but I've taken some time off from the writing to let some of the ideas finish percolating.

So, long story short, this is first of the be_compromised Secret Santa fics.

Title: It Seemed Like A Good Idea (part one)
A Gift For: franztastisch
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4334
Warnings: deception and lies
Pairings: Clint/Natasha, implied Tony/Pepper and Jane/Thor
Summary/Prompt Used: Rock Star AU (and there will be dancing!) - No one knows anything about Natalie Rushman that the musician doesn’t want them to know. Every reporter wants the real story but none of them have figured out how to break through her security. It’s a good thing that Clint knows how to drive a touring bus because it’s gotten him that much closer to the group of important people that surround the singer. Now all he has to do is keep from falling in love.
Authors Notes: Many, many thanks to hufflepuffsneak and Aster for the beta help and hand holding.

Here at AO3

Secret Santa Fic: Meet Me in the Aftermath

And here is the second story. This one was fun to research because I got to look up Google Maps and try to figure out fun things along the way. If you ever want to go on a cross-country trip across the States, just let me know and I'll map out a fun trip for you! *grins*

Title: Meet Me in the Aftermath
A Gift For: allisnow
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5345
Warnings: angst, reference to canonical death
Pairings: Clint/Natasha
Summary/Prompt Used: This is the story of the road trip Natasha and Clint took across the country after helping save the world from being overrun with ugly creatures from space. It’s also the story of how Clint came to terms with the fact that he was responsible for the death of a friend. It is, thankfully, not a story of how Tony came to own the Bellagio. We shall save that for another adventure.
Authors Notes: So many thanks to hufflepuffsneak for looking over this multiple times while I had countless meltdowns and holding my hand until I wasn’t quite so wibbly-wobbly. A huge thanks to Aster for helping get this idea off the ground and then sweeping in to fix my tense errors (of which there were legion) when it was done. If you are familiar with FRIENDS, you will notice a few references from “The One With Joey’s Big Break” and “The One in Vegas”. The title is taken from the Lifehouse song “Aftermath”.

This is also dedicated to Beth - who hasn't stopped gushing about this since I sent it to her.

Here at AO3
Here at LJ

A Gift for Me: Pas De Deux

And now you're asking yourself, "But what did you get from YOUR secret Santa?"

Well, let me tell you! I got the Ballet Dancer/Bodyguard fic from hiddencait I've been wanting since, well, since I found out that Natasha had dance in her background! Color me ECSTATIC!

Title: Pas De Deux
Author: hiddencait
Rating: T
Warnings: Past/off-screen noncon and forced prostitution, language, some violence
Pairings: Clint/Natasha, Thor/Jane
Summary/Prompt Used: It wasn’t that Clint didn’t like her, but damned if the dancer wasn’t way too much of a diva for his taste. And really, he didn’t have to like her. He just had to keep her alive.
Authors Notes: A huge thanks to fringedweller for a super-last minute beta. Also giving credit where credit is due – Tasha’s backstory was inspired by Mercedes Lackey’s Reserved for the Cat, and the fight scene in the hallway was totally out of love for all of River Tam’s fight scenes in Serenity. Browncoats forever yall!

On LJ