Pining Exchange Letter
Dear Pining Exchange writer,
Thank you for writing for me and having a look at this letter. I've got some general likes and dislikes listed below, followed by a list of kinks I like, should you feel inclined to write porn, and a few notes on what I like about pining. The fandom sections have a general section about the ships and then the tropes I've requested - I've added an explanation when I thought I should specify what I had in mind, but most tags are pretty unambiguous imo. This letter is mostly focused on the freeforms I requested, but I've requested all of these fandoms in previous exchanges if you want some more general prompts as well (I've requested almost all the slash ships in this letter for RMSE, except for Vortigern/Uther and Dorian/Cullen; for Corvo/Emily see my Chocolate Box letter).
As a general rule, I enjoy all ratings; I like darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic without a ray of hope are quite my thing. I'm always happy about porn, but it's not a must. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. The fandoms are listed alphabetically. The length of the fandom-specific sections doesn't indicate an order of preference; I just found more fitting freeform tags for some of them.
I use the same name on AO3 and tumblr as here.
Do Not Wants:
Things I like to read about:
Kinks I like to read about:
Pining Likes:
With two exceptions for which I'm open to both requited and unrequited, I'm looking for requited feelings for all my ships. I'd generally like the characters to realise that their feelings are mutual/that whatever kept them apart isn't more important than how much they want to be together, and I'd like them to get together eventually, no matter how long the pining and the slow burn lasted before that. Overall, I'm good with the fic focusing on either character pining for the other, or both. I'm not picky in that regard. For the "both pining" requests, feel free to have "character A/B" in the freeform tags be whoever you prefer, unless I've specified a preference.
I have three favourite kinds of pining:
1) pining while having casual sex (whether as friends with benefits or as antagonistic hookups), with both characters convinced that the other one isn't interested in a serious relationship,
2) both characters are aware the feelings are mutual, but there is a good reason why they feel like they shouldn't act on it - because they're related, because they work together, because they think an actual relationship between them could never work out, because it could get them in trouble, because they don't want to ruin their existing friendship etc.,
3) both characters are attracted to each other, but unaware that their feelings are returned: they think the other character is straight, or just isn't attracted to them specifically, or is maybe attracted to them but doesn't have serious romantic feelings ... related: one character incorrectly assumes the other one must know how they feel, and the fact that the other one doesn't act on it clearly means they're not interested.
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Alexios/Brasidas (both pining, requited feelings)
I mostly have protagonist!Alexios in mind for this (I see the appeal of Deimos!Alexios, but there's so little fic for this ship that I need to satisfy my protagonist!Alexios needs first ;)). I love his sense of humour, I love how cheerful and arrogant he is at times, I love that he likes to help people but will still tell them they're ridiculous dicks afterwards. I played him as fairly pro-Sparta and genuinely wanting to return home, which I think goes rather well with this ship anyway. I love his banter and his immediate connection with Brasidas (that warehouse fight! *heart eyes*), I love how much they just get each other and trust each other - even though Alexios really has reason enough to mistrust just about anyone he runs into. And since it's absolutely tragic the game didn't let us romance Brasidas, that's clearly what fic is for. :D As for Brasidas, I love how smart and cunning he is, how he thinks outside the box while still being a ruthless fighter when the situation calls for it, and how much he genuinely and openly cares about people who are important to him.
I'm up for setting this at any point during the game - around their first meetings in Korinth, when Alexios is in Sparta, or when they're working together later on - or post-game in a verse in which Brasidas didn't die. Because I'm in denial about that and damn historical accuracy. ;) I'm not super into the whole Isu/artefacts aspect of the game, tbh, so I'd totally be up for setting this in an AU in which Greek mythology is simply real and the gods like meddling and that's why there's lots of weird magic and creatures and items around.
While I usually DNW unrequested ships, I'm fine with mentions of 1) Alexios's male canon hookups, 2) Brasidas being married (or widowed) because it's just unlikely that he wouldn't be, although I'd see that more as a practical arrangement than a marriage of love, 3) any erastes/eromenos-style relationships Brasidas might have been in, whether it's him currently having someone under his wing or still being good friends with the guy who, er, "mentored" him years ago. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.
The "we're having amazing casual sex, but he clearly doesn't want anything serious" tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Character A pining after fling while incorrectly assuming B doesn't want more
Pining because they think they're just a fling
The "we're friends and don't want to ruin it/don't think the other one is interested" tags:
Pining while having wounds tended
Pining while sparring
Character pines for someone who thinks nothing of undressing casually in front of them
pining because character(s) worries about ruining their friendship
Mistaking pining for platonic admiration
The "fucking around to get over you and/or make you jealous" tags:
A has lots of casual sex to try to get over pining for B
A sleeps with people who look like B while pining for B
trying to make object of affection jealous while mutually pining (for these three, I'm mostly thinking of Alexios sleeping around, but Brasidas trying to make Alexios jealous would also be great)
Other requested tags:
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
Character A thinks B isn't serious about them despite B's heavy flirting and subsequently pines
Character runs away because it's too painful to stay near object of affections (I'm mostly thinking about Alexios leaving Sparta/avoiding Brasidas, and Brasidas wonders what he's done wrong, and eventually they figure it out)
Pining because a relationship would be socially unacceptable
pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward (these last two are great for when Brasidas almost dies)
Blitz (2011)
Tom Brant/Porter Nash (both pining, requited feelings)
I adore the relationship between Nash and Brant, the banter and dickishness, but there's also a lot of respect and trust, and it's there pretty much from the start (I love how Brant just shows up at Nash's door to tell him about all his problems basically a day after they met). I'd love to see anything that explores how their relationship develops further after the movie or something exploring what was going on between them during the movie.
I'd love both slow burn getting together fic in which they work together for ages and neither of them wants to make the first step (Nash because he knows better than to hit on his apparently straight macho coworker, Brant because he's very uncomfortable and in denial about his feelings/attraction), or rough hookups they never talk about and pretend didn't happen, because they just work together, it's not like there are any feelings involved, right? Both would also go extremely well with some jealousy whenever one of them (probably Nash) actually dates someone else.
Requested tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Conversations with double meanings (especially if they don't have sex yet, but the UST is getting worse and worse)
Undercover as a Couple While Pining
A has lots of casual sex to try to get over pining for B
Pining character reveals their feelings while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.)
A pining because they think B isn't attracted to their gender/sex (Nash thinking that falling for his obviously straight macho coworker is a terrible idea and he needs to get over this)
Pining because of internalized homophobia (Brant being in deep, deep denial about being gay, or maybe being well aware of it, but hating the idea that anyone who knows him might find out; or if you go with them having casual sex, Brant being in denial about actually developing feelings for another man)
Deus Ex
Adam Jensen/Jim Miller (both pining, requited feelings)
Note:
I've played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and I've read Black Light. I don't mind spoilers for any of the other games or comics or whatever else there is, but I'd prefer not to get a fic that requires me to be familiar with those parts of canon.
Adam's injuries prior to getting his augs are obviously exempt from my "no permanent injuries" DNW. However, I don't want anyone else to get their limbs ripped off or the like, and I don't want Adam's augs to get permanently disabled or destroyed.
I love Adam so much: that he's a genuinely good guy who wants to help people, that he's snarky and cheeky and irreverent, that (at least post-augs) he's pretty withdrawn and emotionally unavailable and has all these walls built around himself (and I really want someone to get past them). I like angst and suffering and Adam is a well of suffering, and I enjoy it while simultaneously wanting nice things to happen to him (after lots of beautiful suffering). As for Miller, I love that he has a temper and is impatient and often isn't particularly nice, but underneath that gruffness he cares about doing the right thing and he cares about his men. Similar with Pritchard: he's such a prickly jerk, but at the same time he's always ready to drop anything to help Adam. I'd also be happy to see any other TF29 or SI characters appear in the story. I'd especially love to see Sarif and Miller meet.
The "we're having amazing casual sex, but it definitely doesn't mean anything" tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Character A pining after fling while incorrectly assuming B doesn't want more
Pining because they think they're just a rebound (Adam assuming that Jim just wants a hot affair after his bad divorce, nothing more)
The "we know we're into each other and the UST is driving us crazy, but we really shouldn't do this" tags:
Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate
Character pines for their boss
character pines for their subordinate
hierarchical power imbalance makes it impossible for either to make the first step
Pining Character A doesn’t want to act on requited feelings of Character B due to professionalism
Other requested tags:
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
A pining because they think B isn't attracted to their gender/sex (as far as Jim knows, Adam is straight, and even if he can get past Adam being his subordinate, what's the point of hitting on a straight guy?
Undercover as a Couple While Pining
Dishonored
Corvo Attano/Emily Kaldwin
Note:
I'm up for either low chaos or high chaos, or anything in between - though I really like that even the low chaos decisions are often pretty ruthless and awful, so I'm not really looking for either of them being completely saintly and sweet. I do like them as a badass power couple that'll do what's necessary without being over the top evil about it, but again, I'm happy to read different interpretations. :) Equally happy with either of them as the DH2 protagonist, if you write fic set after that. Or with an AU in which they somehow get up to everything in DH2 together.
Since this is my only het request, here's a het-specific DNW: please no femdom or pegging. I also don't particularly enjoy reading about cunnilingus - mentions of it are fine, but I'd rather not have it be the main event or described in lengthy detail. And I hate the word "folds". Underage is perfectly fine down to about 15. I absolutely don't want Corvo being into Emily because she reminds him of her mother, or thinking about how similar they look while they have sex.
I figure Emily would have to initiate anything between them and Corvo would try to resist for a long time before he gives in. But when exactly does all that happen and under what circumstances? Does she kiss him when she's a teenager and just figuring out what she wants? Does she repress or try to ignore it for years? Do they maybe only get together post-DH2 after whichever one of them almost lost the other and suddenly all that "we shouldn't because we're related" stuff doesn't seem as important anymore? Lots of shame and guilt to go with the pining would be great, especially on his side. For this ship, I'd really love it if they were both aware the feelings are mutual, but for the longest time he refuses to let her do anything about that, but she keeps trying, and they both know they're desperately pining for each other.
The "we spend all our time together and the pining/sexual tension during everything we do are unbearable" tags:
Character A bathes Character B while pining (maybe one of them is injured? maybe she orders him to help her/insists on helping him and he can't/doesn't want to refuse his Empress?)
Character A pines while watching Character B sleeps
Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much
A pines for B while carrying them
A pines for B while B swears fealty to A (maybe there's some kind of ceremony when Emily becomes officially old enough to rule on her own? and Corvo officially swears his fealty to her again)
Pining while having wounds tended
The "we know we want each other but we absolutely shouldn't do this" tags:
Character A Admits Feelings Only To Be Rejected (I'm mostly thinking about Emily making a move and Corvo rejecting her because he thinks he has to, but knowing that she wants him too only makes the UST worse and sooner or later he won't be able to say no anymore)
Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate
Conversations with double meanings
Pining because character believes age gap is too big
The "fucking around to make you jealous" tags:
A sleeps with people who look like B while pining for B
trying to make object of affection jealous while mutually pining (for these two, I'm mostly thinking about Emily sleeping with men who look like Corvo to make him jealous and get him to give in, and Corvo eventually deciding that it'd be better if it was him because at least he'd treat her right)
Dragon Age
Cullen Rutherford/Dorian Pavus (either or both pining, requited feelings)
My dearest OTP for them both. <3 I love how much of a guilt- and PTSD-ridden mess Cullen is, that mixture of anger and fucked-up-ness on the one side and the sweetness on the other. I love how passionate Dorian is while still so often hiding his feelings behind his wit and some jokes. I love that their respective issues are a great recipe for intimacy issues and misunderstandings. I'm really into the idea of them being friends who stumble into bed together and have mindblowing kinky sex, and then they both catch feelings while both being convinced that the other one couldn't possibly be interested in an actual relationship (Dorian because he thinks he can't have a loving relationship with a man, Cullen because he thinks he's too much of a mess to inflict on anyone). But I'm also interested in different takes on how they might get together - if you'd rather write long pining while they flirt casually but think the other one isn't actually interested, I'd gladly read that, too! I also love post-canon fic for them, especially if it has Cullen coming to Tevinter for Dorian. Culture clash!
The "we're obviously just friends haha we flirt all the time but he's not really into me, right?" tags:
Character A thinks B isn't serious about them despite B's heavy flirting and subsequently pines (Cullen thinking that Dorian just flirts with everyone, it doesn't mean he's actually attracted to Cullen)
Pining character flirts but pretends they're joking
Conversations with double meanings
pining because character(s) worries about ruining their friendship
Mixed Signals Confuses Characters On Whether Feelings Are Requited
Hit With Intense Pining After Being Given Items By Love Interest (Dorian getting Cullen things to help with his headaches or pretty clothes or the like because he knows Cullen is as vain as him; Cullen getting Dorian things to make the cold winter in the south more bearable - just friendly gestures, right?)
The "pining while having spectacular casual sex" tags:
Character A pining after fling while incorrectly assuming B doesn't want more
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
The "we were in a fight together and you got hurt and the idea of losing you is unbearable" tags:
Pining while having wounds tended
A pines for B while carrying them (Cullen carrying Dorian)
Character A bathes Character B while pining
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward
Other requested tags:
epistolary pining (maybe when Dorian is in Tevinter and neither is sure if their relationship has a future?)
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
pining characters worries about hurting the character they love if they got together (specifically Cullen worrying that his issues with and fear of mages might lead to him hurting Dorian accidentally)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Vortigern/Uther (Vortigern pining, requited or unrequited feelings)
I loved pretty much everything about this movie, from the amazing soundtrack to the awesome costumes to the hilarious dialogues to the really all around cool characters. But what really made the movie for me was Jude Law's completely over-the-top, wonderfully ruthless but completely tormented, power-hungry Vortigern.
My prompts for Vortigern/Uther stray much darker than for most of my other ships and are mostly dubcon or noncon, so feel free to ignore my usual likes about wanting my ships to be happy together. I'm also perfectly okay with Uther's canonical death. I do love Vortigern coming out on top, so please don't write me an AU in which Uther defeats him or something like that.
I'm mostly looking for Vortigern being completely obsessed with his brother, yearning for his love and approval while also envying him his power and his position, being incredibly jealous of his affections and despising the idea of having to share him... His feelings can be entirely unrequited (Uther loves his brother, but not like that), or requited (they love each other, but Vortigern's jealousy and self-doubts and paranoia are still eating him up), or sort of requited (they used to sleep with each other when they were boys, but then Uther got married and decided they had to stop with this boyish foolishness) ... The fic can be set before canon (either right before or when they were younger), or in an AU in which Vortigern doesn't kill Uther but locks him up, or even after Uther's death and Vortigern is still not over his obsession with his brother, even after killing him (though I'd prefer it if Uther still somehow appeared in the fic, through flashbacks, dreams, nightmares, visions, a ghost haunting him ...).
Requested tags:
Character A pines while watching Character B sleep
Character runs away because it's too painful to stay near object of affections (maybe young Vortigern was glad to spend time with the mages because that might help him get over Uther? it didn't work)
Hit With Intense Pining After Being Given Items By Love Interest (whether it's completely mundane items or stuff like Vortigern obsessing over the crown his brother told him to hold)
Pining while having wounds tended
A sleeps with people who look like B while pining for B Pining
Character Treats Crush Cruelly
Mass Effect
Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard/James Vega (both pining, requited feelings)
Because I'm very frustrated the games didn't let me romance the characters I wanted to romance most. I adore Shepard's relationship with both Garrus and James so much: that undying loyalty, will-follow-you-to-the-end-of-the-galaxy friendship he has with Garrus, and how much renegade Shepard enables Garrus's darker impulses and how much they just get each other; and that more complicated relationship with James, the fact that James massively hero-worshipped Shepard before meeting him, and then babysat him for six months when Shepard was at his lowest, and then in ME3 he really feels like one of the people who keep Shepard grounded, who are aware that he's human and that this war is taking a toll on him, that his hero is fallible.
I strongly prefer renegade Shepard (who is nicer to his companions/friends) - ruthless and efficient, the end justifies the means, snarky and intimidating, willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost to himself or to others. Should it come up, I really prefer him sabotaging the genophage for that reason because Shepard having to kill two of his friends to do what he thinks is right is such a horrifically great moment in the games. I picked the Spacer/Ruthless backgrounds and vanguard as his class, but I'm not fixated on that, if you want to use something else. Ending-wise, I think for fic a handwavey "the Crucible destroyed the Reapers without destroying the geth, and Shepard is alive" works best. I'd also be super interested in a variation of the Control ending, though, in which Shepard doesn't die while uploading part of himself into a God-AI, simply because the mindfuck of co-existing with an all-powerful AI version of yourself must be incredible. In general, I love stoic and/or angry suffering, so feel free to whump Shepard hard as long as there's a happy-ish ending.
I'm very attached to his default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards. I love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them. My other faves are Zaeed, Legion, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor.
The "we're obviously just friends haha we're super close but he's not really into me/I'm not actually into him, right?" tags:
Character A suddenly realizes that they've been pining for B and didn't know it (Garrus or James realising they're into Shepard that way)
Character will follow the object of their pining into danger or towards certain death
Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much
In denial about their attraction to the character they are pining for (because James is totally straight and Garrus is not into humans, right? so they can't be into Shepard)
Mistaking pining for platonic admiration
pining because character(s) worries about ruining their friendship
pining because character isn't sure if interspecies relationship would work out
A attributes B's flirting to cultural differences (these last two mostly for Garrus/Shepard)
Pining while sparring
The "we clearly have feelings for each other but we definitely shouldn't be doing this" tags:
A pining because they think B is uninterested in romance or relationships
Character doesn't want to start a relationship in a long term dangerous situation (for these last two I'm mostly thinking Garrus or James assuming that Shepard isn't interested in romance, at least not during the war, and maybe Shepard is actually not in the right headspace to think about any serious romantic feelings, even if he might be on board with casual sex)
hierarchical power imbalance makes it impossible for either to make the first step
Other requested tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
Character A thinks B rejected advances (whether because of cultural differences or because B assumed the "advances" were just being friendly and didn't catch on)
A pining because they think B is pining for someone else (Garrus or James thinking Shepard is interested in someone else, whether it's the other or any of the other NPCs he's friends with)
pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward
trying to make object of affection jealous while mutually pining
Mass Effect
Male Shepard/Legion (Legion pining, requited or unrequited feelings)
I adore Legion so much, all those little moments of him caring about things and developing emotions he doesn't even remotely understand or know what to do with, and that whole stalker-with-a-crush thing he has going on towards Shepard. I love how incredibly important Shepard is to him, and I also love how he makes Shepard completely rethink everything he thought he knew about the geth. This fic can be set whenever you like, during ME2 or ME3 or after ME3 in a happy verse in which Legion didn't have to die just to make me cry. ;) Maybe post-ME3 fully sentient and individual Legion finally figures out all those feelings he's had for years.
(Repeating what I said in the request above) I strongly prefer renegade Shepard (who is nicer to his companions/friends) - ruthless and efficient, the end justifies the means, snarky and intimidating, willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost to himself or to others. Should it come up, I really prefer him sabotaging the genophage for that reason because Shepard having to kill two of his friends to do what he thinks is right is such a horrifically great moment in the games. I picked the Spacer/Ruthless backgrounds and vanguard as his class, but I'm not fixated on that, if you want to use something else. Ending-wise, I think for fic a handwavey "the Crucible destroyed the Reapers without destroying the geth, and Shepard is alive" works best. I'd also be super interested in a variation of the Control ending, though, in which Shepard doesn't die while uploading part of himself into a God-AI, simply because the mindfuck of co-existing with an all-powerful AI version of yourself must be incredible. For this request, even just canon Control!Shepard who has a completely new understanding of what Legion is and how Legion thinks would be fascinating.
I'm very attached to his default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards. I love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them. My other faves are Zaeed, Legion, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor. Tali is very welcome, too.
I'm mostly looking for Legion not quite knowing what he's feeling and why and how and what to do with it. I'm okay for Shepard finding out or not. I'm okay with it being unrequited (though I do want Shepard to care about Legion, even if it's platonically), but I'd also be up for a resolution in which Shepard has some possibly rather confused feelings as well (does it lead to robo sex? I would be 100% here for that).
Requested tags:
AI character confused by their developing romantic feelings
A does not realize that they are in love with B
A keeps an item of B's clothing
Psychic link reveals pining is mutual (Legion did invite Shepard into the consensus ... maybe that means Legion now knows some things about Shepard as well?)
Trying to express their feelings through gift-giving (Legion, once he realises what it is he's feeling, looks up human wooing and mating rituals, and ends up giving Shepard all kinds of gifts - whether "traditional" romantic gifts like red roses that Shepard has no idea what to do with, or gifts Shepard would actually like but might not realise are romantic, like guns)
Vampyr
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum (both pining, requited feelings)
This ship has so many things I love! Antagonism and profound distrust and grudging respect and so much potential to work together reluctantly and grow closer ... I'm easy. :D I did a Not Even Once playthrough and ended up being incredibly frustrated by the game's morality system, where letting awful people go free or saving their life is apparently always the best choice, and I realised that I much prefer a version of Jonathan who's generally a good person and wants to help others, but who can also be rather ruthless and is very willing to get his hands dirty when he thinks someone deserves it. I love that he and Geoffrey are both stubborn people who tend to think they're always right, and I love how much they'll probably always butt heads even once they're closer.
I didn't enjoy the forced romance, so I'd prefer if we could pretend that Jonathan and Elisabeth were simply friends (and tbh thematically I prefer the ending in which she chooses to die to the one where he saves her with the power of love or somesuch). I'd also prefer if Swansea didn't show up (unless it's before his possible in-game death, of course) because I have a hard time justifying turning him in-game. I also prefer Jonathan not turning Geoffrey in-game, simply because I find it more interesting if they have some time to get to know each other better while Geoffrey is still human, but I'm totally up for him turning Geoffrey later on.
A lot of things could work great for them: antagonistic hookups while working together post-canon and then they accidentally catch feelings; complete denial about their attraction (especially on Geoffrey's side); both of them developing feelings while thinking the other one must still hate them; lots of hurt/comfort scenarios in which they only realise/acknowledge their feelings after almost losing the other ...
The "I can't be attracted to you (and even if I am, I'm sure as hell not doing anything about it)!" tags:
In denial about their attraction to the character they are pining for (especially on Geoffrey's side; he must be horrified by the idea of desiring a leech)
A pines for B while thinking B hates them
Pining because a relationship would be socially unacceptable (whether because they're both men or because the Guard would freak out if they knew Geoffrey was friendly with a vampire)
The "we're just working together and having spectacular antagonistic sex, but obviously there are no feelings involved" tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Pining while having wounds tended
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward
Other requested tags:
Character A Admits Feelings Only To Be Rejected (maybe Jonathan as the more emotionally mature one eventually manned up and confessed and Geoffrey did not react well, but he can't stop thinking about it)
Pining character reveals their feelings while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.) (bonus if it's Geoffrey on blood loss after he let Jonathan drink from him)
Trying to express their feelings through gift-giving (I have a thing for Jonathan buying Geoffrey very useful but still extremely expensive gifts he can't say no to)
And that's it! I hope that something in this letter works for you, a prompt you find interesting or a trope you enjoy writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with, no matter which fandom we matched on! :D
Thanks!
linndechir
This entry was originally posted at https://linndechir.dreamwidth.org/67538.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Thank you for writing for me and having a look at this letter. I've got some general likes and dislikes listed below, followed by a list of kinks I like, should you feel inclined to write porn, and a few notes on what I like about pining. The fandom sections have a general section about the ships and then the tropes I've requested - I've added an explanation when I thought I should specify what I had in mind, but most tags are pretty unambiguous imo. This letter is mostly focused on the freeforms I requested, but I've requested all of these fandoms in previous exchanges if you want some more general prompts as well (I've requested almost all the slash ships in this letter for RMSE, except for Vortigern/Uther and Dorian/Cullen; for Corvo/Emily see my Chocolate Box letter).
As a general rule, I enjoy all ratings; I like darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic without a ray of hope are quite my thing. I'm always happy about porn, but it's not a must. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. The fandoms are listed alphabetically. The length of the fandom-specific sections doesn't indicate an order of preference; I just found more fitting freeform tags for some of them.
I use the same name on AO3 and tumblr as here.
Do Not Wants:
- character death of characters I like (random side characters or antagonists dying is fine)
- serious illnesses, permanent injuries (blood and wounds that will heal again are fine)
- completely tragic/bleak endings
- animal death/cruelty
- genderbend of any kind, mpreg, A/B/O, characters being werewolves/vampires/anything than what they are in canon
- non-canon gender identities/sexual orientations (e.g. writing characters as trans or asexual), except for writing characters as gay or bi
- unrequested ships (including canon ships)
- unrequested crossovers or fusions
- complete AUs (canon divergence is fine, but please no high school AUs, coffee shop AUs, in space AUs, groundhog day AUs etc.)
- permanently unrequited love or permanent breakups for my ships (this doesn't apply to unrequited requests, obviously)
- unnecessary epithets, please use characters' names/pronouns unless their name isn't known to the POV character (or unless the characters think of each other by e.g. their title rather than their name)
- 1st and 2nd person fic
- for porn: detailed kink negotiation, safewords for scenes that don't involve consent play (and even then I'm not really into safewords); scat, watersports, coming in pants, crossdressing, feminisation, body modification, infantilisation (daddy kink and calling characters "boy" is fine); femdom, pegging
Things I like to read about:
- first time/getting together: slow burn, pining, UST finally getting resolved, but also antagonistic hate sex or casual hookups that are only later followed by feelings (emotional pining while already having sex is great)
- friends with benefits who think the other one can't possibly be in love with them/want a serious relationship
- developing relationships: relationship conflicts after the characters got together, trying to figure out how to make things work, some things maybe not working at first, temporary breakups, basically anything that doesn't assume that first time sex -> perfect relationship
- porn, especially porn with feelings/porn that says something about their relationship (see list below for kinks I like)
- enemies to lovers, partners to lovers
- reluctant allies grudgingly starting to like each other
- non-verbal expressions of affection, unusual romantic gestures that fit the characters
- familiarity, intimacy, characters getting to know each other better (their habits, their hangups etc.)
- pre-canon/background stories, first meetings/first impressions (especially if we didn't see those in canon)
- post-canon fic
- canon divergence
- casefic
- moral dilemmas, characters having to question/go against their principles, situations in which there is no clear right or wrong
- loyalty, devotion, trust, but also trust/commitment issues
- obsessive, codependent, complicated relationships
- unhealthy relationships that should be a trainwreck, but work for the characters involved
- obsessive/intense family relationships
- us-against-the-world
- villains/sociopaths in love, bad guys who would literally burn down the rest of the world for each other
- jealousy, possessiveness
- age differences
- misunderstandings (as long as there's a good reason for them)
- competence, characters being smart and skilled and good at what they do; characters with different skill sets complementing each other
- hurt/comfort (after injuries/exhaustion, not so much with illness)
- angst: self-doubts, guilt, shame, internalised homophobia, nightmares, fears, self-destructive tendencies, alcohol abuse ...
- period-typical attitudes towards sex, sexuality, class, morality, religion etc. (I obviously don't expect 100% historical accuracy, but I like reading about characters from different societies having different values and principles from our own)
- infidelity (not between my requested ships, but one half of my ship cheating on their previous partner with the other half of my ship)
- meaningful name uses (e.g. characters who always call each other by their last name or title switching to using first names)
- outside POVs, different POVs than in canon (more "usual" POVs are great, too)
- sleep-related themes: waking each other from nightmares, falling asleep on each other's shoulder etc.
- soulbonds (but no soulmates, please)
- undercover as enemies (undercover as a couple is fun, too, as long as it actually fits the setting/characters, like spies or cops)
- I like darker elements (violence, murder, noncon/dubcon, manipulation, depression, whatever fits your plot and isn't on my DNW list), but I'd prefer a happy or semi-happy ending. Feel free to make me bawl my eyes out, but please cheer me up again afterwards.
Kinks I like to read about:
- anal, oral, fingering, intercrural, frottage, rimming & felching are all great
- asphyxiation/choking/breathplay (this is my kink holy grail that makes everything else hotter to me; even just throat-touching without choking is great)
- switching
- biting, bruising, marking; possessive sex
- rough/angry sex, hate sex, fighting/sparring leading to sex, adrenaline-fuelled post-battle and "thank fuck we/you're alive" sex
- dressed sex, dressed/naked, clothes kink (suits, uniforms, gloves, boots etc.), neat characters being dishevelled for once, casual characters cleaning up nicely
- D/s (I prefer casually developing kink to minutely negotiated, formalised BDSM; if anything under-negotiated kink is a plus for me)
- kink discovery/exploration
- strength kink; body worship; men's body hair (on chest, arms, thighs, butt; not so much on back and shoulders)
- stubble/beard burn
- hand kink; fisting; finger sucking
- large/thick cocks (not absurdly huge, but bigger than average); size kink
- bondage: leather cuffs, ropes, restraints, chains, collars
- face slapping, spanking, flogging, riding crops
- gun play, knife play, blood play
- consent play
- dirty talk (both the praising and the humiliating/condescending kind), voice/accent kink
- praise kink
- banter, teasing
- hard, desperate kissing with lots of biting
- barebacking (including the ill-advised, unplanned, unnegotiated we-really-shouldn't-have-done-that-but-it-was-so-hot kind - I'm not into serious STD scares, though; if there is an "oh fuck, what did we just do?" aftermath, please have both characters be certain that they're clean)
- come play (licking come off fingers/skin, felching, feeding each other come, kissing after blowjobs/felching ...)
- come as lube, spit as lube (especially the top spitting on the bottom's ass)
- messiness (sweat, come play, dishevelled hair/clothes)
- overstimulation; characters being overwhelmed, begging for more, becoming speechless ...
- shaving (face or body), especially with straight razors/knives
- sex on tables, against walls, on the floor, on a chair, in the shower ... (sex in beds is great, too)
- masturbation/fantasising about the other before getting together
- incest kink
- competence kink, admiration
- kneeling, hand kissing, physical expressions of loyalty/fealty
- scars and their history
- oral fixation (while smoking, drinking, talking ...)
- sharing cigarettes, clothes, food ...
- shame in sexual desires (whether about being attracted to another man at all, being attracted to this specific person for whatever reason, wanting to bottom, wanting to suck dick, wanting to hurt their partner, wanting to be hurt by their partner ...)
Pining Likes:
With two exceptions for which I'm open to both requited and unrequited, I'm looking for requited feelings for all my ships. I'd generally like the characters to realise that their feelings are mutual/that whatever kept them apart isn't more important than how much they want to be together, and I'd like them to get together eventually, no matter how long the pining and the slow burn lasted before that. Overall, I'm good with the fic focusing on either character pining for the other, or both. I'm not picky in that regard. For the "both pining" requests, feel free to have "character A/B" in the freeform tags be whoever you prefer, unless I've specified a preference.
I have three favourite kinds of pining:
1) pining while having casual sex (whether as friends with benefits or as antagonistic hookups), with both characters convinced that the other one isn't interested in a serious relationship,
2) both characters are aware the feelings are mutual, but there is a good reason why they feel like they shouldn't act on it - because they're related, because they work together, because they think an actual relationship between them could never work out, because it could get them in trouble, because they don't want to ruin their existing friendship etc.,
3) both characters are attracted to each other, but unaware that their feelings are returned: they think the other character is straight, or just isn't attracted to them specifically, or is maybe attracted to them but doesn't have serious romantic feelings ... related: one character incorrectly assumes the other one must know how they feel, and the fact that the other one doesn't act on it clearly means they're not interested.
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Alexios/Brasidas (both pining, requited feelings)
I mostly have protagonist!Alexios in mind for this (I see the appeal of Deimos!Alexios, but there's so little fic for this ship that I need to satisfy my protagonist!Alexios needs first ;)). I love his sense of humour, I love how cheerful and arrogant he is at times, I love that he likes to help people but will still tell them they're ridiculous dicks afterwards. I played him as fairly pro-Sparta and genuinely wanting to return home, which I think goes rather well with this ship anyway. I love his banter and his immediate connection with Brasidas (that warehouse fight! *heart eyes*), I love how much they just get each other and trust each other - even though Alexios really has reason enough to mistrust just about anyone he runs into. And since it's absolutely tragic the game didn't let us romance Brasidas, that's clearly what fic is for. :D As for Brasidas, I love how smart and cunning he is, how he thinks outside the box while still being a ruthless fighter when the situation calls for it, and how much he genuinely and openly cares about people who are important to him.
I'm up for setting this at any point during the game - around their first meetings in Korinth, when Alexios is in Sparta, or when they're working together later on - or post-game in a verse in which Brasidas didn't die. Because I'm in denial about that and damn historical accuracy. ;) I'm not super into the whole Isu/artefacts aspect of the game, tbh, so I'd totally be up for setting this in an AU in which Greek mythology is simply real and the gods like meddling and that's why there's lots of weird magic and creatures and items around.
While I usually DNW unrequested ships, I'm fine with mentions of 1) Alexios's male canon hookups, 2) Brasidas being married (or widowed) because it's just unlikely that he wouldn't be, although I'd see that more as a practical arrangement than a marriage of love, 3) any erastes/eromenos-style relationships Brasidas might have been in, whether it's him currently having someone under his wing or still being good friends with the guy who, er, "mentored" him years ago. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.
The "we're having amazing casual sex, but he clearly doesn't want anything serious" tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Character A pining after fling while incorrectly assuming B doesn't want more
Pining because they think they're just a fling
The "we're friends and don't want to ruin it/don't think the other one is interested" tags:
Pining while having wounds tended
Pining while sparring
Character pines for someone who thinks nothing of undressing casually in front of them
pining because character(s) worries about ruining their friendship
Mistaking pining for platonic admiration
The "fucking around to get over you and/or make you jealous" tags:
A has lots of casual sex to try to get over pining for B
A sleeps with people who look like B while pining for B
trying to make object of affection jealous while mutually pining (for these three, I'm mostly thinking of Alexios sleeping around, but Brasidas trying to make Alexios jealous would also be great)
Other requested tags:
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
Character A thinks B isn't serious about them despite B's heavy flirting and subsequently pines
Character runs away because it's too painful to stay near object of affections (I'm mostly thinking about Alexios leaving Sparta/avoiding Brasidas, and Brasidas wonders what he's done wrong, and eventually they figure it out)
Pining because a relationship would be socially unacceptable
pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward (these last two are great for when Brasidas almost dies)
Blitz (2011)
Tom Brant/Porter Nash (both pining, requited feelings)
I adore the relationship between Nash and Brant, the banter and dickishness, but there's also a lot of respect and trust, and it's there pretty much from the start (I love how Brant just shows up at Nash's door to tell him about all his problems basically a day after they met). I'd love to see anything that explores how their relationship develops further after the movie or something exploring what was going on between them during the movie.
I'd love both slow burn getting together fic in which they work together for ages and neither of them wants to make the first step (Nash because he knows better than to hit on his apparently straight macho coworker, Brant because he's very uncomfortable and in denial about his feelings/attraction), or rough hookups they never talk about and pretend didn't happen, because they just work together, it's not like there are any feelings involved, right? Both would also go extremely well with some jealousy whenever one of them (probably Nash) actually dates someone else.
Requested tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Conversations with double meanings (especially if they don't have sex yet, but the UST is getting worse and worse)
Undercover as a Couple While Pining
A has lots of casual sex to try to get over pining for B
Pining character reveals their feelings while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.)
A pining because they think B isn't attracted to their gender/sex (Nash thinking that falling for his obviously straight macho coworker is a terrible idea and he needs to get over this)
Pining because of internalized homophobia (Brant being in deep, deep denial about being gay, or maybe being well aware of it, but hating the idea that anyone who knows him might find out; or if you go with them having casual sex, Brant being in denial about actually developing feelings for another man)
Deus Ex
Adam Jensen/Jim Miller (both pining, requited feelings)
Note:
I've played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and I've read Black Light. I don't mind spoilers for any of the other games or comics or whatever else there is, but I'd prefer not to get a fic that requires me to be familiar with those parts of canon.
Adam's injuries prior to getting his augs are obviously exempt from my "no permanent injuries" DNW. However, I don't want anyone else to get their limbs ripped off or the like, and I don't want Adam's augs to get permanently disabled or destroyed.
I love Adam so much: that he's a genuinely good guy who wants to help people, that he's snarky and cheeky and irreverent, that (at least post-augs) he's pretty withdrawn and emotionally unavailable and has all these walls built around himself (and I really want someone to get past them). I like angst and suffering and Adam is a well of suffering, and I enjoy it while simultaneously wanting nice things to happen to him (after lots of beautiful suffering). As for Miller, I love that he has a temper and is impatient and often isn't particularly nice, but underneath that gruffness he cares about doing the right thing and he cares about his men. Similar with Pritchard: he's such a prickly jerk, but at the same time he's always ready to drop anything to help Adam. I'd also be happy to see any other TF29 or SI characters appear in the story. I'd especially love to see Sarif and Miller meet.
The "we're having amazing casual sex, but it definitely doesn't mean anything" tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Character A pining after fling while incorrectly assuming B doesn't want more
Pining because they think they're just a rebound (Adam assuming that Jim just wants a hot affair after his bad divorce, nothing more)
The "we know we're into each other and the UST is driving us crazy, but we really shouldn't do this" tags:
Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate
Character pines for their boss
character pines for their subordinate
hierarchical power imbalance makes it impossible for either to make the first step
Pining Character A doesn’t want to act on requited feelings of Character B due to professionalism
Other requested tags:
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
A pining because they think B isn't attracted to their gender/sex (as far as Jim knows, Adam is straight, and even if he can get past Adam being his subordinate, what's the point of hitting on a straight guy?
Undercover as a Couple While Pining
Dishonored
Corvo Attano/Emily Kaldwin
Note:
I'm up for either low chaos or high chaos, or anything in between - though I really like that even the low chaos decisions are often pretty ruthless and awful, so I'm not really looking for either of them being completely saintly and sweet. I do like them as a badass power couple that'll do what's necessary without being over the top evil about it, but again, I'm happy to read different interpretations. :) Equally happy with either of them as the DH2 protagonist, if you write fic set after that. Or with an AU in which they somehow get up to everything in DH2 together.
Since this is my only het request, here's a het-specific DNW: please no femdom or pegging. I also don't particularly enjoy reading about cunnilingus - mentions of it are fine, but I'd rather not have it be the main event or described in lengthy detail. And I hate the word "folds". Underage is perfectly fine down to about 15. I absolutely don't want Corvo being into Emily because she reminds him of her mother, or thinking about how similar they look while they have sex.
I figure Emily would have to initiate anything between them and Corvo would try to resist for a long time before he gives in. But when exactly does all that happen and under what circumstances? Does she kiss him when she's a teenager and just figuring out what she wants? Does she repress or try to ignore it for years? Do they maybe only get together post-DH2 after whichever one of them almost lost the other and suddenly all that "we shouldn't because we're related" stuff doesn't seem as important anymore? Lots of shame and guilt to go with the pining would be great, especially on his side. For this ship, I'd really love it if they were both aware the feelings are mutual, but for the longest time he refuses to let her do anything about that, but she keeps trying, and they both know they're desperately pining for each other.
The "we spend all our time together and the pining/sexual tension during everything we do are unbearable" tags:
Character A bathes Character B while pining (maybe one of them is injured? maybe she orders him to help her/insists on helping him and he can't/doesn't want to refuse his Empress?)
Character A pines while watching Character B sleeps
Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much
A pines for B while carrying them
A pines for B while B swears fealty to A (maybe there's some kind of ceremony when Emily becomes officially old enough to rule on her own? and Corvo officially swears his fealty to her again)
Pining while having wounds tended
The "we know we want each other but we absolutely shouldn't do this" tags:
Character A Admits Feelings Only To Be Rejected (I'm mostly thinking about Emily making a move and Corvo rejecting her because he thinks he has to, but knowing that she wants him too only makes the UST worse and sooner or later he won't be able to say no anymore)
Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate
Conversations with double meanings
Pining because character believes age gap is too big
The "fucking around to make you jealous" tags:
A sleeps with people who look like B while pining for B
trying to make object of affection jealous while mutually pining (for these two, I'm mostly thinking about Emily sleeping with men who look like Corvo to make him jealous and get him to give in, and Corvo eventually deciding that it'd be better if it was him because at least he'd treat her right)
Dragon Age
Cullen Rutherford/Dorian Pavus (either or both pining, requited feelings)
My dearest OTP for them both. <3 I love how much of a guilt- and PTSD-ridden mess Cullen is, that mixture of anger and fucked-up-ness on the one side and the sweetness on the other. I love how passionate Dorian is while still so often hiding his feelings behind his wit and some jokes. I love that their respective issues are a great recipe for intimacy issues and misunderstandings. I'm really into the idea of them being friends who stumble into bed together and have mindblowing kinky sex, and then they both catch feelings while both being convinced that the other one couldn't possibly be interested in an actual relationship (Dorian because he thinks he can't have a loving relationship with a man, Cullen because he thinks he's too much of a mess to inflict on anyone). But I'm also interested in different takes on how they might get together - if you'd rather write long pining while they flirt casually but think the other one isn't actually interested, I'd gladly read that, too! I also love post-canon fic for them, especially if it has Cullen coming to Tevinter for Dorian. Culture clash!
The "we're obviously just friends haha we flirt all the time but he's not really into me, right?" tags:
Character A thinks B isn't serious about them despite B's heavy flirting and subsequently pines (Cullen thinking that Dorian just flirts with everyone, it doesn't mean he's actually attracted to Cullen)
Pining character flirts but pretends they're joking
Conversations with double meanings
pining because character(s) worries about ruining their friendship
Mixed Signals Confuses Characters On Whether Feelings Are Requited
Hit With Intense Pining After Being Given Items By Love Interest (Dorian getting Cullen things to help with his headaches or pretty clothes or the like because he knows Cullen is as vain as him; Cullen getting Dorian things to make the cold winter in the south more bearable - just friendly gestures, right?)
The "pining while having spectacular casual sex" tags:
Character A pining after fling while incorrectly assuming B doesn't want more
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
The "we were in a fight together and you got hurt and the idea of losing you is unbearable" tags:
Pining while having wounds tended
A pines for B while carrying them (Cullen carrying Dorian)
Character A bathes Character B while pining
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward
Other requested tags:
epistolary pining (maybe when Dorian is in Tevinter and neither is sure if their relationship has a future?)
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
pining characters worries about hurting the character they love if they got together (specifically Cullen worrying that his issues with and fear of mages might lead to him hurting Dorian accidentally)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Vortigern/Uther (Vortigern pining, requited or unrequited feelings)
I loved pretty much everything about this movie, from the amazing soundtrack to the awesome costumes to the hilarious dialogues to the really all around cool characters. But what really made the movie for me was Jude Law's completely over-the-top, wonderfully ruthless but completely tormented, power-hungry Vortigern.
My prompts for Vortigern/Uther stray much darker than for most of my other ships and are mostly dubcon or noncon, so feel free to ignore my usual likes about wanting my ships to be happy together. I'm also perfectly okay with Uther's canonical death. I do love Vortigern coming out on top, so please don't write me an AU in which Uther defeats him or something like that.
I'm mostly looking for Vortigern being completely obsessed with his brother, yearning for his love and approval while also envying him his power and his position, being incredibly jealous of his affections and despising the idea of having to share him... His feelings can be entirely unrequited (Uther loves his brother, but not like that), or requited (they love each other, but Vortigern's jealousy and self-doubts and paranoia are still eating him up), or sort of requited (they used to sleep with each other when they were boys, but then Uther got married and decided they had to stop with this boyish foolishness) ... The fic can be set before canon (either right before or when they were younger), or in an AU in which Vortigern doesn't kill Uther but locks him up, or even after Uther's death and Vortigern is still not over his obsession with his brother, even after killing him (though I'd prefer it if Uther still somehow appeared in the fic, through flashbacks, dreams, nightmares, visions, a ghost haunting him ...).
Requested tags:
Character A pines while watching Character B sleep
Character runs away because it's too painful to stay near object of affections (maybe young Vortigern was glad to spend time with the mages because that might help him get over Uther? it didn't work)
Hit With Intense Pining After Being Given Items By Love Interest (whether it's completely mundane items or stuff like Vortigern obsessing over the crown his brother told him to hold)
Pining while having wounds tended
A sleeps with people who look like B while pining for B Pining
Character Treats Crush Cruelly
Mass Effect
Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard/James Vega (both pining, requited feelings)
Because I'm very frustrated the games didn't let me romance the characters I wanted to romance most. I adore Shepard's relationship with both Garrus and James so much: that undying loyalty, will-follow-you-to-the-end-of-the-galaxy friendship he has with Garrus, and how much renegade Shepard enables Garrus's darker impulses and how much they just get each other; and that more complicated relationship with James, the fact that James massively hero-worshipped Shepard before meeting him, and then babysat him for six months when Shepard was at his lowest, and then in ME3 he really feels like one of the people who keep Shepard grounded, who are aware that he's human and that this war is taking a toll on him, that his hero is fallible.
I strongly prefer renegade Shepard (who is nicer to his companions/friends) - ruthless and efficient, the end justifies the means, snarky and intimidating, willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost to himself or to others. Should it come up, I really prefer him sabotaging the genophage for that reason because Shepard having to kill two of his friends to do what he thinks is right is such a horrifically great moment in the games. I picked the Spacer/Ruthless backgrounds and vanguard as his class, but I'm not fixated on that, if you want to use something else. Ending-wise, I think for fic a handwavey "the Crucible destroyed the Reapers without destroying the geth, and Shepard is alive" works best. I'd also be super interested in a variation of the Control ending, though, in which Shepard doesn't die while uploading part of himself into a God-AI, simply because the mindfuck of co-existing with an all-powerful AI version of yourself must be incredible. In general, I love stoic and/or angry suffering, so feel free to whump Shepard hard as long as there's a happy-ish ending.
I'm very attached to his default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards. I love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them. My other faves are Zaeed, Legion, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor.
The "we're obviously just friends haha we're super close but he's not really into me/I'm not actually into him, right?" tags:
Character A suddenly realizes that they've been pining for B and didn't know it (Garrus or James realising they're into Shepard that way)
Character will follow the object of their pining into danger or towards certain death
Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much
In denial about their attraction to the character they are pining for (because James is totally straight and Garrus is not into humans, right? so they can't be into Shepard)
Mistaking pining for platonic admiration
pining because character(s) worries about ruining their friendship
pining because character isn't sure if interspecies relationship would work out
A attributes B's flirting to cultural differences (these last two mostly for Garrus/Shepard)
Pining while sparring
The "we clearly have feelings for each other but we definitely shouldn't be doing this" tags:
A pining because they think B is uninterested in romance or relationships
Character doesn't want to start a relationship in a long term dangerous situation (for these last two I'm mostly thinking Garrus or James assuming that Shepard isn't interested in romance, at least not during the war, and maybe Shepard is actually not in the right headspace to think about any serious romantic feelings, even if he might be on board with casual sex)
hierarchical power imbalance makes it impossible for either to make the first step
Other requested tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Character A incorrectly assumes that Character B knows that A is pining for them
Character A thinks B rejected advances (whether because of cultural differences or because B assumed the "advances" were just being friendly and didn't catch on)
A pining because they think B is pining for someone else (Garrus or James thinking Shepard is interested in someone else, whether it's the other or any of the other NPCs he's friends with)
pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward
trying to make object of affection jealous while mutually pining
Mass Effect
Male Shepard/Legion (Legion pining, requited or unrequited feelings)
I adore Legion so much, all those little moments of him caring about things and developing emotions he doesn't even remotely understand or know what to do with, and that whole stalker-with-a-crush thing he has going on towards Shepard. I love how incredibly important Shepard is to him, and I also love how he makes Shepard completely rethink everything he thought he knew about the geth. This fic can be set whenever you like, during ME2 or ME3 or after ME3 in a happy verse in which Legion didn't have to die just to make me cry. ;) Maybe post-ME3 fully sentient and individual Legion finally figures out all those feelings he's had for years.
(Repeating what I said in the request above) I strongly prefer renegade Shepard (who is nicer to his companions/friends) - ruthless and efficient, the end justifies the means, snarky and intimidating, willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost to himself or to others. Should it come up, I really prefer him sabotaging the genophage for that reason because Shepard having to kill two of his friends to do what he thinks is right is such a horrifically great moment in the games. I picked the Spacer/Ruthless backgrounds and vanguard as his class, but I'm not fixated on that, if you want to use something else. Ending-wise, I think for fic a handwavey "the Crucible destroyed the Reapers without destroying the geth, and Shepard is alive" works best. I'd also be super interested in a variation of the Control ending, though, in which Shepard doesn't die while uploading part of himself into a God-AI, simply because the mindfuck of co-existing with an all-powerful AI version of yourself must be incredible. For this request, even just canon Control!Shepard who has a completely new understanding of what Legion is and how Legion thinks would be fascinating.
I'm very attached to his default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards. I love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them. My other faves are Zaeed, Legion, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor. Tali is very welcome, too.
I'm mostly looking for Legion not quite knowing what he's feeling and why and how and what to do with it. I'm okay for Shepard finding out or not. I'm okay with it being unrequited (though I do want Shepard to care about Legion, even if it's platonically), but I'd also be up for a resolution in which Shepard has some possibly rather confused feelings as well (does it lead to robo sex? I would be 100% here for that).
Requested tags:
AI character confused by their developing romantic feelings
A does not realize that they are in love with B
A keeps an item of B's clothing
Psychic link reveals pining is mutual (Legion did invite Shepard into the consensus ... maybe that means Legion now knows some things about Shepard as well?)
Trying to express their feelings through gift-giving (Legion, once he realises what it is he's feeling, looks up human wooing and mating rituals, and ends up giving Shepard all kinds of gifts - whether "traditional" romantic gifts like red roses that Shepard has no idea what to do with, or gifts Shepard would actually like but might not realise are romantic, like guns)
Vampyr
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum (both pining, requited feelings)
This ship has so many things I love! Antagonism and profound distrust and grudging respect and so much potential to work together reluctantly and grow closer ... I'm easy. :D I did a Not Even Once playthrough and ended up being incredibly frustrated by the game's morality system, where letting awful people go free or saving their life is apparently always the best choice, and I realised that I much prefer a version of Jonathan who's generally a good person and wants to help others, but who can also be rather ruthless and is very willing to get his hands dirty when he thinks someone deserves it. I love that he and Geoffrey are both stubborn people who tend to think they're always right, and I love how much they'll probably always butt heads even once they're closer.
I didn't enjoy the forced romance, so I'd prefer if we could pretend that Jonathan and Elisabeth were simply friends (and tbh thematically I prefer the ending in which she chooses to die to the one where he saves her with the power of love or somesuch). I'd also prefer if Swansea didn't show up (unless it's before his possible in-game death, of course) because I have a hard time justifying turning him in-game. I also prefer Jonathan not turning Geoffrey in-game, simply because I find it more interesting if they have some time to get to know each other better while Geoffrey is still human, but I'm totally up for him turning Geoffrey later on.
A lot of things could work great for them: antagonistic hookups while working together post-canon and then they accidentally catch feelings; complete denial about their attraction (especially on Geoffrey's side); both of them developing feelings while thinking the other one must still hate them; lots of hurt/comfort scenarios in which they only realise/acknowledge their feelings after almost losing the other ...
The "I can't be attracted to you (and even if I am, I'm sure as hell not doing anything about it)!" tags:
In denial about their attraction to the character they are pining for (especially on Geoffrey's side; he must be horrified by the idea of desiring a leech)
A pines for B while thinking B hates them
Pining because a relationship would be socially unacceptable (whether because they're both men or because the Guard would freak out if they knew Geoffrey was friendly with a vampire)
The "we're just working together and having spectacular antagonistic sex, but obviously there are no feelings involved" tags:
Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement
Pining while having wounds tended
Revealed Feelings While Mortally Injured/No Hope but Whoops! They Were Rescued Now It's Awkward
Other requested tags:
Character A Admits Feelings Only To Be Rejected (maybe Jonathan as the more emotionally mature one eventually manned up and confessed and Geoffrey did not react well, but he can't stop thinking about it)
Pining character reveals their feelings while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.) (bonus if it's Geoffrey on blood loss after he let Jonathan drink from him)
Trying to express their feelings through gift-giving (I have a thing for Jonathan buying Geoffrey very useful but still extremely expensive gifts he can't say no to)
And that's it! I hope that something in this letter works for you, a prompt you find interesting or a trope you enjoy writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with, no matter which fandom we matched on! :D
Thanks!
linndechir
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