Nicki's Lair

All my 40,000+ words of SMACKDOWN fic is up at AO3, if anyone is interested in reading/browsing it in an organized fashion.

See, I can copy-paste with one hand! I'll bombard TKO tomorrow, maybe.

Part 1 of the Commentary on Trickster's Pawn , my genderbending Tamora Pierce Tortall-verse AU, is under the cut.
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( I talk about my writing. A lot. )

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Commentary on part 2 is here.

Title: Trickster's Pawn (part 1 of 2)
Rating: R
Length: about 3400 in this part; 5800 overall.
Fandom: Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse (AU)
Characters: Keladry of Mindelan, Owen of Jesslaw. Also Iden, Warric and Buri
Summary: Kel's new friend, Wendy of Jesslaw, isn't exactly what she first seems.

Note: Like Fencing Lessons, this started as a crack!fic idea and became oddly serious. "What if Owen was actually a girl?" turned into a coming of age story about a transgendered character. I hope I handled it well.

I haven't posted a lot of fic directly to this journal lately. I'm posting this one because I want to write a commentary on it, which is more an LJ thing than an AO3 or King's Own thing.

Also note that I'm futzing with ages and Jesslaw family relations a little to fit the story.

Finally, this began life as a series of (closely connected) Smackdown ficlets, which results in some slightly odd chapter breaks.


( Love? I could take it or leave it. But I don't want to be any man's wife. Ever. )

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Part 2 of 2 is here.
Commentary on Part 1 is here.

I just made a deal with myself where I have 30 minutes to write this. So.

( without pretty formatting, because I now have negative 4 minutes to post... )

I wrote 24 Tortall-verse ficlets in the last week! Rather than post them all directly here, I decided to organize them on  AO3 and just provide links. (I do plan to just did put them up at Goldenlake's King's Own fan fiction archive as well.) Unless otherwise noted, these are all Kel/Uline, collections totaling 600 to 1200 words each, and rated T/PG-13. Also, I don't own any of these characters or settings, I'm just playing, transformative works, etc.

Knightly Virtues: Uline of Hannalof made a point of seeking out Page Keladry of Mindelan to offer encouragement and support. What if there was more to it than that? Series of seven ficlets set just after Kel and Uline meet for the first time.

One Small Change: AU in which Alanna's true identity was never publicly revealed. It seems like a small change, but twenty years later, Kel's life is very different as a result. Includes 4 Kel/Uline ficlets, and my lone Kel/Wyldon entry. This AU may show up in my future Smackdown entries, or it could become a series in its own right (depending on whether I can get that Firefly Big Bang done early).

Larger Than Life (R, 120 words): Short, immediate angst. From the outside looking in, Kel can do anything. But even the strongest have demons their loved ones don't always see. (Warning for possibly-triggery depression.)

At Fief Hannalof (R): Kel goes visiting. Six ficlets based on the quasi-canon fact (author-confirmed, but not in an actual book) that Kel's sister married one of Uline's relatives.

Random Ficlets: Mostly fluff, which didn't fit into any of the above. Includes "More than Pretty," in which the Royal Ladies are as useful as they are decorative; "Joining Forces," in which Kel is outnumbered by Uline and Alanna; and 3 other pieces.

For any Tamora Pierce fans who don't know, Goldenlake is hosting a Fanfic Smackdown during the next two months. Sixteen characters -- seven female, nine male -- are competing for the hand and heart of Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan (protagonist of the Protector of the Small books, and the inspiration for my icon, here). See the guidelines for details.

Fics from drabble-length up are eligible, as long as they haven't been posted somewhere before -- each posted fic that deals with the relationship between Kel and a contestant character counts as one point for that contestant. So please join us if you ship Kel with: Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, Baird of Queenscove, Buri Tourakom, Domitan of Masbolle, Faleron of King's Reach, Joren of Stone Mountain, Lalasa Isran, Nealan of Queenscove, Owen of Jesslaw, Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Rikash Moonsword, Sabine of Macayhill, Uline of Hannalof, Vania of Conte, Wyldon of Cavall, and/or Yukimi noh Daiomoru.... or if you previously didn't, but think you could.

The first contest pits Uline of Hannalof against Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau in one arena, and Wyldon of Cavall against Domitan of Masbolle in the other.

( Schedule, and my COMPLETELY unbiased opinions, under the cut. )

Just realized I don't have a "het" tag yet. Ok, now I do, I'll see if I can remember to start using it...

Title: Border Patrol
Rating: PG
Fandom: Tamora Pierce, Tortall universe
Disclaimer: These characters and their universe are not owned by me.
Characters: Kel/Aly
Summary: 360 word fic, written for the tortalltwenty community, prompt "Border." Kel used to volunteer for border patrol, but now she regrets it.


( If wishes were horses... )