![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Thanks very much for participating in this exchange and writing for me! Optional details are of course optional, but here are some of my general preferences and thoughts about my requested fandoms, in case you wanted some extra direction. Have fun, and I'm sure I'll love whatever you end up creating!
For your reference: I'm![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Jain on AO3 and ![[pinboard.in profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/c3508662f31c/-/pinboard.in/favicon.ico)
jain on pinboard, though I haven't saved any bookmarks there in...wow, three years.
General likes and dislikes
I like happy (or at least hopeful) endings, friendship, family (including chosen family), loyalty, determination, cooking and/or eating, people being smart, people being competent, platonic bedsharing, non-platonic bedsharing, pining, unrequited love that turns out to be requited, hurt/comfort, kissing, masturbation, mutual masturbation, frottage, intercrural sex, oral sex, talking during sex (not dirty talk, just ordinary conversation), BDSM, watersports, worldbuilding, cultural differences, historical details, case fic, third person POV, and past tense.
I don't want breathplay/asphyxiation, vore/cannibalism, scat, emetophilia/vomit, bloodplay, knifeplay, gunplay, suspension, lifestyle D/s, heavy angst, character-bashing, unexamined misogyny and racism, dialogue-only fic, no dialogue, epithets (e.g. the blond, the taller man, the younger man), the phrases "to his [or her] credit," "had the grace to," and "took him[self] in hand," PWPs, crackfic, road trips, zombies, soulmates, omegaverse, first person POV, second person POV, crossovers, or AUs.
I'd also prefer if you didn't include any non-canonical pairings other than the ones I've requested.
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Cala Athmaza, Deret Beshelar
Slash, please. The slight friction between Cala and Beshelar in the beginning of the book strikes me as ripe for interpretation, particularly in light of how smoothly and competently they work together afterwards. What sort of history do they have that would cause that reaction?
Alternatively, how does their relationship change when they're thrown together for hours every day in Maia's service? Maia's determination to make friends with his servants is charming and endlessly interesting to me, but does it cause any untold tensions or difficulties for Cala and Beshelar? And this is a little out there, but I love the Wisdom Bridge almost as much as Maia does, if you felt like incorporating it into your story somehow.
Havemercy Series - Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett
Kouje, Mamoru
Slash, please. Kouje's and Mamoru's canonical relationship delivers all the loyalty kink, and it has a really lovely progression: the moral conundrums it poses for Kouje, their reliance upon each other, their growing intimacy. What I'd really adore would be more of that, whether it's done with backstory or missing scenes from the book or future fic or some combination of the above.
Specific suggestions: Mamoru getting to meet Kouje's family. How Mamoru actually convinces Kouje to enter a romantic relationship with him. Mamoru making Kouje his consort and the impact that has on Xi'an (and Xi'an's relationship with other nations).
Here are my (not entirely positive) reviews for Havemercy and Shadow Magic, if you're interested. Please don't worry that my criticisms of the books mean that I'm harder to satisfy in this fandom. The books might not be my favorite things ever, but I completely love Kouje and Mamoru and their relationship. Any fic focused on them is going to be my jam.
Imperial Radch series - Ann Leckie
Ekalu, Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq, Mercy of Kalr, Seivarden Vendaai
Ancillary Mercy already gives such good pining and unrequited-love-that-may-be-requited-after-all, but I want more. Seivarden's obviously still uncertain at the end of the book where she stands with both Breq and Mercy of Kalr, and I'd love to see the process by which she realizes and they acknowledge how much she means to them.
A simple continuation of Ekalu as Seivarden's sexual partner throughout all this would be great, though I'll confess to also being intrigued by the possibility of the OT3 becoming an OT4: after all, Ekalu is the sort of lieutenant ships tend to love. (And if you really want to gild the lily, both of those scenarios offer opportunity for some excellent uncertainty and angst on Ekalu's part.)
Besides the lovely poly relationship dynamics, I'm most interested in the sociopolitical future of the (Provisional!) Republic, the continuing redefinition of AIs, and whatever the Presger choose to do next.
My review of Ancillary Justice. A few things I neglected to mention in my signup: I really like what we saw of Seivarden's mental health problems and would welcome more of that. Athoek Station is an absolute doll and I love its canonical interactions with Breq and Seivarden in particular. I'm cool either with the Breq/Mercy of Kalr/Seivarden relationship remaining nonsexual or with its developing a sexual element.
(I don't see Breq as an asexual character so much as I do a character who has a distant relationship with her own body--though she's in the process of developing a closer one--and possibly also a non-human character who isn't attracted to humans. The second interpretation would make sex permanently undesirable to her, of course, but the first interpretation might not. And the second interpretation is only speculation on my part; I'm not wedded to it.)
Iskryne series - Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette
Isolfr, Skjaldwulf, Vethulf
While I really like the second and third books, I also feel that they flatten the incipient triad formed in A Companion to Wolves in less than ideal ways. Without going AU or getting rid of Thorlot in any way, I'd love to see a deeper exploration of the relationships among Isolfr, Skjaldwulf, and Vethulf. I'd also love to see more of what the three of them actually do between battles; the increased cast of viewpoint characters resulted in a sad (to me) shift in focus away from the daily life of Isolfr and his wolfjarls.
Perhaps something set between The Tempering of Men and An Apprentice to Elves. While the Rhean threat was ever-present, it doesn't seem to have been Franangford's primary concern. What were Isolfr et al. doing in this time, besides raising Alfgyfa? Did the wolfhealls make any progress towards becoming essentially a police force, as was suggested in the second book? How did Isolfr end up with his own bedchamber, and what did Viradechtis, Mar, and Kjaran have to say about it? (And does Isolfr sleep in it rarely or often?)
Or something set after An Apprentice to Elves. How does their relationship change--and how does it stay surprisingly the same--when Isolfr no longer has two wolfjarls? How does Skjaldwulf take to his new profession? Does he bond with another wolf in time, and if so how does Viradechtis respond to it?
My reviews of A Companion to Wolves and The Tempering of Men. I'm not hugely interested in the alfar, but would love pretty much anything else about Franangford, its interactions with neighboring towns and settlements, and/or its relationships with other wolfhealls (especially Nithogsfjoll).
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Keita Mori, Thaniel Steepleton
I adore this book, but wow does the romance fade into the background. A story that focuses more on the relationship between Keita and Thaniel would be wonderful. Twisty narrative or straightforward domestic fluff is equally welcome. Keita's POV would be fascinating and incredible--but also quite a challenge, so I'm only throwing the suggestion out there in case you want a challenge.
Some questions I was left with at the end of the book: Do Thaniel and Grace maintain a correspondence? How does Katsu return to Filigree Street? (If the watches can survive improbable accidents, then so can Katsu. Q.E.D.) What possible purpose was intended for the locust clock that Keita built?
As my prompt suggests, I'm quite fond of Grace; she's kind of an asshole, but an interesting one, and she's not wrong that Keita's powers are both frightening and dangerous. I tend to see him less as a master manipulator than as someone who 1) mostly does his best to act honorably and give other people freedom of choice, and 2) is often hurt by those very powers himself. Still, Grace's (and Matsumoto's, and etc.'s) fear of and discomfort with him isn't unreasonable. And although I think Grace and Thaniel were a bad couple--for reasons that weren't entirely Grace's fault--I like the idea of their staying in touch afterwards. Oh, and I consider Grace/Matsumoto to be canon, if you were wondering about that.
In conclusion, Katsu. ♥
Thanks again, and happy writing!
For your reference: I'm
General likes and dislikes
I like happy (or at least hopeful) endings, friendship, family (including chosen family), loyalty, determination, cooking and/or eating, people being smart, people being competent, platonic bedsharing, non-platonic bedsharing, pining, unrequited love that turns out to be requited, hurt/comfort, kissing, masturbation, mutual masturbation, frottage, intercrural sex, oral sex, talking during sex (not dirty talk, just ordinary conversation), BDSM, watersports, worldbuilding, cultural differences, historical details, case fic, third person POV, and past tense.
I don't want breathplay/asphyxiation, vore/cannibalism, scat, emetophilia/vomit, bloodplay, knifeplay, gunplay, suspension, lifestyle D/s, heavy angst, character-bashing, unexamined misogyny and racism, dialogue-only fic, no dialogue, epithets (e.g. the blond, the taller man, the younger man), the phrases "to his [or her] credit," "had the grace to," and "took him[self] in hand," PWPs, crackfic, road trips, zombies, soulmates, omegaverse, first person POV, second person POV, crossovers, or AUs.
I'd also prefer if you didn't include any non-canonical pairings other than the ones I've requested.
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Cala Athmaza, Deret Beshelar
Slash, please. The slight friction between Cala and Beshelar in the beginning of the book strikes me as ripe for interpretation, particularly in light of how smoothly and competently they work together afterwards. What sort of history do they have that would cause that reaction?
Alternatively, how does their relationship change when they're thrown together for hours every day in Maia's service? Maia's determination to make friends with his servants is charming and endlessly interesting to me, but does it cause any untold tensions or difficulties for Cala and Beshelar? And this is a little out there, but I love the Wisdom Bridge almost as much as Maia does, if you felt like incorporating it into your story somehow.
Havemercy Series - Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett
Kouje, Mamoru
Slash, please. Kouje's and Mamoru's canonical relationship delivers all the loyalty kink, and it has a really lovely progression: the moral conundrums it poses for Kouje, their reliance upon each other, their growing intimacy. What I'd really adore would be more of that, whether it's done with backstory or missing scenes from the book or future fic or some combination of the above.
Specific suggestions: Mamoru getting to meet Kouje's family. How Mamoru actually convinces Kouje to enter a romantic relationship with him. Mamoru making Kouje his consort and the impact that has on Xi'an (and Xi'an's relationship with other nations).
Here are my (not entirely positive) reviews for Havemercy and Shadow Magic, if you're interested. Please don't worry that my criticisms of the books mean that I'm harder to satisfy in this fandom. The books might not be my favorite things ever, but I completely love Kouje and Mamoru and their relationship. Any fic focused on them is going to be my jam.
Imperial Radch series - Ann Leckie
Ekalu, Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq, Mercy of Kalr, Seivarden Vendaai
Ancillary Mercy already gives such good pining and unrequited-love-that-may-be-requited-after-all, but I want more. Seivarden's obviously still uncertain at the end of the book where she stands with both Breq and Mercy of Kalr, and I'd love to see the process by which she realizes and they acknowledge how much she means to them.
A simple continuation of Ekalu as Seivarden's sexual partner throughout all this would be great, though I'll confess to also being intrigued by the possibility of the OT3 becoming an OT4: after all, Ekalu is the sort of lieutenant ships tend to love. (And if you really want to gild the lily, both of those scenarios offer opportunity for some excellent uncertainty and angst on Ekalu's part.)
Besides the lovely poly relationship dynamics, I'm most interested in the sociopolitical future of the (Provisional!) Republic, the continuing redefinition of AIs, and whatever the Presger choose to do next.
My review of Ancillary Justice. A few things I neglected to mention in my signup: I really like what we saw of Seivarden's mental health problems and would welcome more of that. Athoek Station is an absolute doll and I love its canonical interactions with Breq and Seivarden in particular. I'm cool either with the Breq/Mercy of Kalr/Seivarden relationship remaining nonsexual or with its developing a sexual element.
(I don't see Breq as an asexual character so much as I do a character who has a distant relationship with her own body--though she's in the process of developing a closer one--and possibly also a non-human character who isn't attracted to humans. The second interpretation would make sex permanently undesirable to her, of course, but the first interpretation might not. And the second interpretation is only speculation on my part; I'm not wedded to it.)
Iskryne series - Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette
Isolfr, Skjaldwulf, Vethulf
While I really like the second and third books, I also feel that they flatten the incipient triad formed in A Companion to Wolves in less than ideal ways. Without going AU or getting rid of Thorlot in any way, I'd love to see a deeper exploration of the relationships among Isolfr, Skjaldwulf, and Vethulf. I'd also love to see more of what the three of them actually do between battles; the increased cast of viewpoint characters resulted in a sad (to me) shift in focus away from the daily life of Isolfr and his wolfjarls.
Perhaps something set between The Tempering of Men and An Apprentice to Elves. While the Rhean threat was ever-present, it doesn't seem to have been Franangford's primary concern. What were Isolfr et al. doing in this time, besides raising Alfgyfa? Did the wolfhealls make any progress towards becoming essentially a police force, as was suggested in the second book? How did Isolfr end up with his own bedchamber, and what did Viradechtis, Mar, and Kjaran have to say about it? (And does Isolfr sleep in it rarely or often?)
Or something set after An Apprentice to Elves. How does their relationship change--and how does it stay surprisingly the same--when Isolfr no longer has two wolfjarls? How does Skjaldwulf take to his new profession? Does he bond with another wolf in time, and if so how does Viradechtis respond to it?
My reviews of A Companion to Wolves and The Tempering of Men. I'm not hugely interested in the alfar, but would love pretty much anything else about Franangford, its interactions with neighboring towns and settlements, and/or its relationships with other wolfhealls (especially Nithogsfjoll).
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Keita Mori, Thaniel Steepleton
I adore this book, but wow does the romance fade into the background. A story that focuses more on the relationship between Keita and Thaniel would be wonderful. Twisty narrative or straightforward domestic fluff is equally welcome. Keita's POV would be fascinating and incredible--but also quite a challenge, so I'm only throwing the suggestion out there in case you want a challenge.
Some questions I was left with at the end of the book: Do Thaniel and Grace maintain a correspondence? How does Katsu return to Filigree Street? (If the watches can survive improbable accidents, then so can Katsu. Q.E.D.) What possible purpose was intended for the locust clock that Keita built?
As my prompt suggests, I'm quite fond of Grace; she's kind of an asshole, but an interesting one, and she's not wrong that Keita's powers are both frightening and dangerous. I tend to see him less as a master manipulator than as someone who 1) mostly does his best to act honorably and give other people freedom of choice, and 2) is often hurt by those very powers himself. Still, Grace's (and Matsumoto's, and etc.'s) fear of and discomfort with him isn't unreasonable. And although I think Grace and Thaniel were a bad couple--for reasons that weren't entirely Grace's fault--I like the idea of their staying in touch afterwards. Oh, and I consider Grace/Matsumoto to be canon, if you were wondering about that.
In conclusion, Katsu. ♥
Thanks again, and happy writing!
Tags:
From:
no subject
From:
no subject