"Oh my God, I'm back again!" *coughs* to ask you:

Do you wanna write a fanfic? As they say in the film, "The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!" It's that brilliant time of year again where we all feel festive (or have festive feelings foist upon us). Fairy lights, foil decorations, foliage inside the house; it's all there waiting for us.

So, do you like writing fic? Do you like reading fic? Do you like going to various places and saying to other fandom peeps, "Omg I love your work!"*

Then this is the fic exchange for you! Today's post is the sign up post. Under the cut will be a list of questions. All you have to do is send me either a DM or an ask with your completed questionnaire then wait for your match!

Last year was a really good laugh. We all had fun, and there was a lovely bunch of new fics available to read (which is always a good thing in that dead time between Christmas and New Year's).

Schedule!

Sign up: 26th Nov - 5th Dec

Matches sent out by 7th Dec

Touching base post: 20th Dec**

Collection open for posting: 26th Dec

Collection reveal: 31st Dec

This is open to anyone in the Sanctuary fandom, regardless of character/shipping preferences. When it comes to fic length, the minimum is 300 words. I don't really wanna give a max (because I know how the muse can get sometimes), but if we cap it around the 2k words mark that should be cool.***

I'll be posting a link to this around the place (and reblogging again this evening for the later crew), and you are more than welcome to message/contact me with any questions, queries or concerns.

Under the cut: the questions!

My 100th Sanctuary fic on AO3!

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: F/M

Fandom: Sanctuary (Canada TV 2008)

Relationship: Montague John Druitt/Helen Magnus

Characters: Helen Magnus Montague John Druitt

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotion, Radiation Sickness, Soft, Episode: s03e09 Vigilante, Between Episodes, Literal Sleeping Together, Tenderness, So many emotions

Summary:

With her rapidly approaching mortality looming over Helen, she needs one bloody moment where she isn't reminded of it, where she can be scared and tired and in pain.

AU in which John isn't corrupted right away after the source blood. Here, he and Helen have been married for a few months, and Helen is about seven months pregnant with Ashley.

John is only awake at this hour because he'd had his sleep disturbed by the absence of his wife, but as he steps into the kitchen, he wonders if he isn't still dreaming. Because the sight before him is more than unlikely.

Helen stands by the counter, stirring something in a large glass bowl, her posture made awkward by the swell of her stomach. Whatever she's working on smells wonderful, delicious and chocolatey, but that's not the most intriguing part of this tableau.

He chuckles softly, not wanting to startle her. Her eyes sparkle as she looks up at him, but he can't help but tease a little. "Helen Magnus, baking? Never thought I'd see the day."

Even with what few lamps she's lit, he can see the pretty blush spread over her cheeks. "The baby wants sweets," she says. "I felt bad waking the staff. Besides, it's just chemistry, isn't it?"

"I suppose," he agrees, eyeing the sticky concoction in the bowl. Helen turns toward the stove, which he can tell is lit by the temperature of the room, and he reaches out for a taste, but--

"Touch that and I will hit you with a spoon," his wife threatens. "Haven't I explained foodborne illness to you enough times already? There's raw eggs in there, wait until it's baked."

John decides his wisest move right now is to stand back and watch as Helen transfers the substance into a shallow pan and slides it into the oven. "And do you... know how long that will be?"

"I'm going to check it every ten minutes," she decides. "If I'm right, we should end up with something between a fudge and a cake."

"I've got you something, darling," she tells him, holding out a tattered paper package. He grins, taking it from her with one hand and pulling her close with the other.

"Could it possibly-" He presses his lips to hers briefly, like punctuation. "Be-" She smiles into this kiss, and they break apart with a grin. "A book?"

"I've spent the past three months trying to rehome the Loch Ness Monster, and you think your souvenir is a book?"

"Well, I can certainly hope."

She laughs, strong and clear, full of the sunshine she soaks in on her adventures (he wonders, sometimes, if he radiates the artificial lights he spends so much time under, if he smells of old books when they kiss; she does not seem to mind, in any case, and he loves her all the more for it). "Actually, I've brought two. I found one, and the other-" She hesitates, biting her lip, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Nikola found."

"I don't want that one," he says flatly, but it's hard to stay even the slightest bit annoyed when his wife is finally back in his arms.

"Really, John-" She starts with a sigh, then pauses. Considers. Gives him a smile that, historically, spells trouble for him (and oh, how he loves it). "Very well, then; I'll simply toss it."

He pauses. Considers. She watches him like she can see the tug of war in his head, his dislike of Nikola warring with his urge to protect every book from the bin. Finally, he exhales, shoulders sagging.

"It had better be riveting," he mutters.

"He assures me it is."

"And dare I ask what happened to the package?"

She draws back to study it. The paper is torn at the edges, and there's a rather odd stain across the front. She swallows. "There was a... Slight incident with an army of gremlins on the way back. Nothing to worry about; no one was injured."

Helen Magnus || Shall we begin?

“sanctuary for all” is not an empty motto