AU-Exchange Letter
Dear AU-Exchange writer,
Thank you for writing for me and having a look at this letter. I've got some general likes and dislikes listed, followed by a list of kinks I like, and then some fandom-specific sections. In general, as long as you include a thing or two that I like and don't include my DNWs, I'm sure I will love whatever you write for me. :D
I've kept this letter focused on the AUs I've requested. If you want some additional prompts/ideas, I've requested most of these ships in previous exchanges. I've also requested most of them for Smut Swap before, should you feel inclined to add some porn to your fic (obviously not a must, but always very welcome).
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 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 had more ideas and prompts 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:
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Alexios/Brasidas
I mostly have protagonist!Alexios in mind for these. 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 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. 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.
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 at some point. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.
AC: Alexios grows up in Sparta and becomes Brasidas' eromenos
What it says on the tin. I'm totally fine with underage (down to 12ish which to my knowledge was the usual age when that sort of thing started, but feel free to handwave the exact age if you prefer).
Elements I'd enjoy: Brasidas having to woo Alexios, Alexios (as Nikolaos' son and Leonidas' grandson) having his pick of men wanting to mentor him, Nikolaos and Brasidas interacting, Nikolaos approving of Brasidas, bb!Alexios already showing some impressive abilities, Alexios interacting with Stentor who might be Nikolaos' eromenos, Alexios and Brasidas not wanting to stop their sexual relationship even after Alexios grows "too old" for it, angsting about it if they think the other one will want to stop, slowly growing from mentor/mentee into a more equal relationship ...
AC: Alexios|Kassandra and Deimos are demi-gods
The Greek mythology AU of my heart. I just really need Alexios to be Zeus' son. That's 90% of why I'm requesting this.
Elements I'd enjoy: the bizarre story of how Zeus got Myrrine pregnant (please, I'm begging you), Hera fucking with Alexios and that's why bad shit keeps happening to him, other gods helping him out, Alexios maybe being in denial about this whole demigod business (he's just a normal guy! maybe a bit stronger than other people, but totally normal) until Myrrine tells him the truth, Brasidas worrying that he won't be enough for a literal demi-god, Brasidas getting pulled into all this mythological nonsense (does it turn out Brasidas is more than he appears to be, too?) ...
All: Journey to the Underworld to Resurrect Loved One
Related to the Greek mythology AU, really. Alexios travelling to the Underworld to get Brasidas back (I'd prefer if Brasidas actually appeared for more than two sentences in the fic, though).
Elements I'd enjoy: Alexios making a deal with Hades, Alexios tricking Hades, Alexios getting help from other gods in his quest to the Underworld, Brasidas somehow helping Alexios once Alexios shows up and not just being passive in the whole thing, Alexios and Brasidas having been FWB before Brasidas' death and this finally makes them realise they have more serious feelings for each other, Alexios and Brasidas having been in denial about their feelings/attraction before Brasidas' death and this makes them get on with it, Alexios and Cerberus interacting (he clearly has a knack for magical animals, right?) ...
Crossover
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum (Vampyr) & Peter Grant (RoL)
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum (Vampyr) & Thomas Nightingale (RoL)
Basically looking for a complete crossover-fusion-whateveryouwannacallit where the Vampyr and the Rivers of London verses are one and the same and always have been. I'd be up both for fic set in the 20s/30s featuring young, still mortal Nightingale, or fic set in the present so Peter can appear, too (though I'd prefer if Reid and Nightingale already knew each other from the past).
I also ship Nightingale/Peter, for what it's worth, and I'm fine with Nightingale/OMCs if you write something set before he meets Peter. Hell, if Nightingale had a wild threesome with Reid and McCullum in the 20s, that'd also be very okay with me. I'm not the biggest fan of the Rivers so I'd rather not have them appear in the fic, though feel free to invent any other genii loci you like. I do like Walid a lot, and him interacting with Reid could also be great.
Rivers of London fusion
Obviously, but how exactly does that work? Maybe the reason Nightingale tells Peter in the 21st century that there are no movie vampires is because by then, vampire!hunter!McCullum has pretty much killed them all, in England at least (except for himself and Jonathan)? Maybe the Folly and Priwen had some ~arrangements~ back in the day? Maybe Reid actually knew some Folly members before being turned (same social class, right?), but he had no idea about this whole magic and demi-monde business and only after being turned does he find out about it.
How does McCullum feel about other supernatural creatures? Not a fan either, or is it just vampires he hates? How is Peter going to react to actualfax vampires being real after all? Are he and Reid going to nerd it out over supernatural science stuff, together with Walid maybe? Is Peter going to kick up a fuss about McCullum's rather, er, radical methods of dealing with "monsters"?
Vampyr: Jonathan turns McCullum years after the game events
Which would explain why he's around in the present. ;) I've also requested this tag for Vampyr alone, if you want more details (see below). Maybe knowing there are other immortals around makes McCullum decide to go for it? Maybe he gets injured on some case they and Nightingale are working together? Is he still human when he meets Nightingale or other Folly members for the first time? Does Nightingale maybe object to Jonathan turning McCullum, because that's not part of the "arrangements"?
Deus Ex
Adam Jensen/Jim Miller
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. I'm happy for any other TF29 or SI characters to appear in the story, too. I'd especially love to see Sarif and Miller meet. I love Pritchard and I'm definitely up for turning this into Miller/Adam/Pritchard, if you want (I just didn't request it this time because it's not really an obvious ship for these AUs, but if you can and want to make it work, I'd enjoy the hell out of it).
DX: No Incident but Adam still works for TF-29 in Prague
I always found the worldbuilding in HR, with people having more varied and conflicting opinions about augmentation, more interesting than the over the top "everyone hates Augs!" in MD, so I'd basically like the MD setting minus the Incident. What changes? For Adam, for his coworkers, for their interactions with each other, for the cases they work?
Elements I'd enjoy: Adam as the golden boy at the TF-29 office, people constantly complimenting Adam on those augs he never wanted or asking him for advice on getting new augs, Miller and/or Mac maybe considering getting augs because it's hard to keep up otherwise, Adam and Mac clashing for different reasons, Adam maybe having more trouble getting away with shit if he isn't the only augmented agent Miller has at his disposal, Adam quitting his job at SI after HR, TF-29 investigating as much anti-Aug as pro-Aug terrorism, Miller and Adam undercover as a couple but Adam is the hot Aug trophy husband, Miller and Adam undercover as rich dude and Badass Aug Bodyguard in a world where nobody worries about the Aug Bodyguard randomly murdering everyone ...
DX: Miller is not getting divorced yet during MD
This is basically an excuse for my infidelity kink. Though I'd prefer if Jim and Neal already had some trouble with their marriage, just on the level of still thinking "we'll work through this somehow" rather than "it's over and done with, talk to my lawyer".
Elements I'd enjoy: guilty growing attraction on both sides, Jim angsting about wanting to cheat on his husband (and maybe eventually doing it), Adam angsting about playing homewrecker, Adam thinking Jim could never be as happy with him as he is with his family, UST leading to guilty hookups after which they promise it will never happen again (it will), Miller eventually breaking things off with Neal but still not knowing how to ask Adam if they're going to be serious about all this, them being boss and subordinate making the whole thing even more complicated, guilty office sex ...
All: Arranged marriage to prevent extradition or incarceration
New stricter Aug laws pass and being married to a "natural" is the only thing that'll save Adam from getting locked up or thrown out of the country! Oh no! Miller offers because he's divorced now anyway and Adam saved his life and is his best agent and this is really the least he can do for him.
Elements I'd enjoy: lots of UST and pining while living together and having a pretend relationship, both of them thinking the other one couldn't possibly be actually interested in them, Miller not wanting to take advantage when he has so much power over Adam, Adam being lonely and touch-starved, sharing a bed, domesticity that just hurts because they both it's not real, having to play at being a happy couple in love when outside; maybe eventually the super strict Aug laws are struck down and they could get divorced again and that's when they finally both confess that they don't want to? or any other way for them to actually get together
Dragon Age
Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford
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!
DA: Cullen is sent to Tevinter as Inquisition ambassador
Whether post-Trespasser or before that, or just handwave as much of Trespasser as you like so the Inquisition continues to exist as an independent organisation. Whether Dorian and Cullen were already together in the South but thought they had no future together (or thought they were just being FWBs) or whether they had UST and pined but don't actually get together until Cullen comes to Tevinter, both are great.
Elements I'd enjoy: Cullen as a fish out of water, Cullen being surprisingly good at diplomacy when he sets his mind to it, Tevinter high society being fascinated by a proper southern templar, Cullen interacting with the Imperial Chantry or Imperial Templars, Dorian teaching Cullen about Tevinter high society, Dorian having the time of his life dressing Cullen (and Cullen secretly enjoying it because he's vain), Dorian showering Cullen with expensive presents, Dorian having an Andrastian chapel built for Cullen in his (their?) home, foiled assassination attempts and saving each other's life, political scheming, Cullen interacting with Halward (feel free to handwave his death), lots of letter writing before Cullen came to Tevinter because they missed each other ...
DA: Dorian has to use blood magic to save his lover's life
Because making people cross moral lines they'd sworn never to cross is my favourite thing. I'd prefer if this was set in Tevinter, too, simply because I think they'd have to have been together for many years for Dorian to go this far for him.
Elements I'd enjoy: Cullen slowly losing his mind because of the after-effects of his lyrium addiction (as long as Dorian does manage to fix that completely, please; actual long-term memory loss etc. falls under my no-serious-illnesses DNW), or Cullen getting magic-poisoned by an assassin or otherwise injured in some complicated magical way, normal healing magic not being able to help, Dorian slowly despairing because the idea of losing him is killing him, Dorian turning to Halward for help (feel free to handwave his death again), lots of angsting about moral dilemmas, Dorian ultimately deciding that Cullen matters more to him than his principles, Dorian trying to hide the truth from Cullen because he thinks Cullen would despise him for it, Cullen eventually finding out/figuring it out after he was healed but forgiving him (maybe even admitting he would have done the same for Dorian if it was the only way?) ...
Fallout: New Vegas
Caesar & Lucius, Lucius & Vulpes Inculta, Caesar/Arcade Gannon, Lucius/Arcade Gannon
Note: I find pretty much any combination of the above characters, shippy or not, incredibly interesting. So as long as any of them are featured in one of the scenarios below, I'm happy. I don't find Lanius very interesting, but I'm fine with Graham showing up if you go for a scenario in which the Legion won the first time at Hoover Dam. I'd prefer a male Courier, if it comes up (though whether you go with a Legion Courier or a non-Legion Courier who just seriously fucked up and failed to stop the Legion is up to you).
Feel free to go dark and fucked up with these assholes, that's what they're there for, although I'd enjoy it if there was a bit more to them than just doing everything for the evulz. We do get a good look at what goes on in Caesar's head in the game, but the same can hardly be said for Lucius or Vulpes, so I'd enjoy fic that gives them a bit more depth. (I really don't like secretly-not-so-bad Vulpes, though. I know that seems to be a thing in fandom, but it's not my kind of thing. Let him be horrid and evil.)
I'd also enjoy the hell out of some Legion worldbuilding: growing up in the Legion, what life is like back in the Eastern territories, what everyday life is like, what the Mojave would look like if the Legion wins at the end of the game, expanding on worldviews, political/military discussions among the Legion higher-ups, to what extent people like Lucius or Vulpes believe all that Son of Mars stuff, things like education and language use (I'm always here for language geekery like which things they use Latin for and if maybe Latin becomes increasingly a lingua franca when you assimilate a bunch of tribes that speak different English dialects ...)
I don't expect anyone to be in love for these ships (or even for things to be remotely consensual) and I don't need a happy ending for Arcade. However, I'd still prefer if there was more to the fic than just unrelenting misery, and most of my DNWs like no character death and no mutilation etc. still apply - I don't want to read about Arcade's canon death, for example. I'm totally okay with killing off Caesar, though, as long as you somehow get Lanius out of the way first.
FNV: Legion wins at Hoover Dam
Whether as a pre-canon AU in which they win the first battle at Hoover Dam, or a different take on the canon battle (no Courier? no Lanius? Vulpes comes up with some cunning plan?), or really any other scenario that leads to the Legion taking New Vegas.
Elements I'd enjoy: post-victory worldbuilding, Caesar actually getting his Rome and now having to decide what to do with it, Arcade as Caesar's extremely reluctant advisor, Caesar expecting to get a cookie and a gold star for letting the Followers go, Vulpes as spymaster in a Legion-controlled Mojave rather than infiltrating enemy territory ...
FNV: Lucius succeeds Caesar
He'd probably do a better job than Lanius. Lucius kind of fascinates me as someone who's not really a terrible person at heart but still devoted to a terrible system. Someone who might have been a decent person, except he was raised to believe a lot of awful shit and now he's very dutiful about that, because he's the kind of guy to be dutiful and reliable and dependable (as opposed to people like Caesar or Vulpes, who would have been sadistic assholes no matter their upbringing).
Elements I'd enjoy: Lanius getting either killed or assassinated (see below) or falling from grace, Lucius as a somewhat reluctant successor because he never expected or wanted that kind of power, Lucius being a lot more level-headed than Caesar was, Lucius maybe listening to some of Arcade's advice (I mean, not the "abolish slavery because it's wrong" advice, obviously, but maybe on a smaller scale), Vulpes seeing Lucius as an adequate replacement but not worshipping him like he did Caesar (except then maybe over time he does?), Vulpes as his éminence grise, post-war worldbuilding
FNV: Vulpes schemes to have Lanius killed
Basically as a variation of the above - Vulpes realising, maybe after Caesar's almost-death, that the Legion has no future under Lanius and scheming to Set Things Right. Because the only thing he cares about more than doing what Caesar says is protecting the Legion.
Elements I'd enjoy: some angst because Vulpes has always been loyal to Caesar and going against Caesar's wishes seems very wrong to him (someone with absolutely no conscience having qualms of some kind because he's breaking the one principle he has is fascinating to me), having to figure out how to kill Lanius without it being obvious that Vulpes was behind it, Caesar having a fucking fit about Lanius' death, Lucius' reaction to suddenly being Caesar's successor ...
Kraken - China Miéville
Dane Parnell/Billy Harrow
I love Dane and Billy's relationship: how quickly they start trusting each other, how well they work together despite being such different people, Dane teaching Billy about the world of magic and weird shit, saving each other's life, and of course the size kink is a bonus. I find the worldbuilding and the general weirdness of this book fascinating and would love more of that, and I'm also really interested in Dane's whole kraken faith. (I'm much less into body horror than Miéville is, though, so I'd appreciate fic that goes less hard on that. Feel free to break out the tentacles for porn, but I don't need detailed descriptions of people being turned into radios or having their teeth slammed into their throats.)
Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of how the book ended, so basically all my requests are "please to change the ending". Specifically, I'd like for 1) Dane to live, 2) Billy not to be Billy 2.0 after beaming, but just Billy, 3) people not to forget half the plot of the book because that's one of my least favourite tropes. How you make these things happen is totally up to you.
ALL: Canon Character Death Evaded
Because Dane dying felt so unnecessary. I found it especially disappointing that being krakenbit does basically nothing to him except "he's a slightly better fighter now", and he doesn't even do anything fun with that before he dies.
Elements I'd enjoy: being krakenbit gave him some more serious juice in the fight against Grisamentum, being krakenbit makes him survive what Grisamentum did to him/makes him come back from the dead a few hours/days later, Billy manages to do something to save his life (again), Dane does die but somehow comes back to life (thanks, God Kraken!), Dane comes back but maybe a little wrong ...
Kraken: Dane incorporates the ink from the kraken library
I really thought that's where the story was going when we got krakenbit!Dane in one room with all the ink from the library of his faith? And then that wasn't where the story went at all, so I need fic.
Elements I'd enjoy: Dane rebuilding his church, Dane being overwhelmed/changed in some ways by all that knowledge that was suddenly crammed into his brain (but still mostly being himself), Dane getting some snazzy new powers from all that knowledge, Billy being kind of in awe of this new Dane, Billy helping Dane adjust ...
Kraken: the katachronophlogiston isn't used at all
What a mouthful. Honestly, I'm just really not a fan of the "characters don't remember what happened" trope. Consider this my catch-all request for pretty much any other ending for the book that isn't "people forget what happened" or "the world ends" or "Dane dies". As long as Billy and Dane survive and get to be happy together, go wild.
ALL: Ritual Sex Required To Save The World
Just as one suggestion for how to save the world differently. ;D Tentacles optional but totally okay. Pining afterwards and stupidly assuming the other wouldn't actually want to have sex with them except to save the world is excellent.
ALL: Telepathic Soulbond AU
I really love soulbonds (especially the involuntary kind, whether by accident or by some bad guy's design). Maybe this happens as a result of Billy saving Dane's life somehow, or of the ritual sex to save the world, or of some other worldsaving scheme ... Can be full on telepathy with hearing each others's thoughts or just feeling each other's emotions.
Elements I'd enjoy: forced proximity because they can't be apart anymore, shared dreams, rubbing off on each other in various ways (like picking up each other's habits or skills), realising they're both into each other (or maybe they manage to hide it somehow?), worrying the other one isn't too happy about being stuck together, being an even better badass team now, fantastic telepathic sex in inappropriate situations ...
Mass Effect
Male Shepard & Legion, Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian/James Vega, Male Shepard/James Vega
Note: I'm also okay with Male Shepard/Legion, just forgot to nominate it. Shippy or not, both are totally fine. I'm very attached to Shepard's default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards.
I adore Shepard's undying loyalty, will-follow-you-to-the-end-of-the-galaxy friendship with Garrus, and how much renegade Shepard enables Garrus's darker impulses and how much they just get each other; and I adore that more complicated relationship he has 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 love how much Legion challenged everything Shepard knew about the geth, and how utterly monumental meeting and getting to know Shepard was for Legion. I love how much they like each other even when they don't necessarily understand each other (and how much they try to understand each other better).
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. 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 love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them, too. My other faves are Zaeed, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor, Javik.
MET: Shepard survives Control ending
I really love the Control ending, mostly because it resonates so well with renegade Shep? Who constantly thinks he knows best and browbeats other people into doing what he thinks is right. And now he doesn't need to argue and negotiate anymore, now he can finally protect the galaxy without needing anyone's permission. I don't really care how he survives: does he upload only part of himself into this new Shepard-God-AI, but also continues living as himself? In which case, what connection is there between human!Shep and AI!Shep? Or is there only AI!Shep now? In that case, I'd prefer if he at least occasionally uploaded himself into a body. Messy and fucked up and bittersweet is great, but in general I would like him to still love and want to be around his LI/friends, not go all "I am above such things now".
Elements I'd enjoy: Shepard's human body being in a coma for a while, his friends/LI not knowing if he'll wake up again, weird brain waves that make them worry if he's going to be himself if he wakes up (Reaper code instead of brain waves?), his LI worrying to what extent he's still himself if he has somehow ... changed, worrying if Shepard still loves them (he does), Shepard and Legion suddenly understanding each other so much better and communicating differently, Garrus and Vega interacting while worrying about Shepard (whether you go the OT3 route or not; I just love both of them being really close to Shepard even if one of them is "only" his friend)
MET: Legion lives
I don't really care how. Legion's death was bullshit and I will forever be in denial about it. For this, feel free to go with any kind of handwavey "the Reapers are destroyed without destroying the geth" ending.
Elements I'd enjoy: Legion made a backup of itself, Shepard maybe has to do something to restore it/otherwise "resurrect" Legion, now fully sentient Legion learns more things about humans/gets curious about some things, Legion maybe travelling with Shepard again post-war or Shepard visiting Rannoch (Tali is always welcome to show up), Legion finally making sense of that confusing data about why it cares so much about Shepard (can be entirely platonic, can be shippy); you could also combine this with Control!Shepard feeling like Legion understands him better than anyone else does now ...
Rivers of London
Thomas Nightingale/Peter Grant
I love them both so much, individually and together,, the different aspects of their relationship, how they both help each other in so many ways and rely on each other. I love that they both have their strengths and weaknesses and despite one of them obviously being much more powerful and experienced than the other, they clearly need each other.
I firmly headcanon Nightingale as gay, so please nothing about Nightingale being attracted to women because that just wouldn't work for me (though I don't really ship Nightingale/Mellenby either, sorry, I know it's a popular background ship). I don't ship Peter/Beverley and am generally not a huge fan of the Rivers, so I'd rather they didn't appear. I'm up to date on the books but haven't read the comics and am not really interested in them, so I'd rather not receive fic that requires knowledge of the comics.
I'm incredibly interested in the pre-war Folly, and also in what Nightingale was like when he was younger. I'm always up for weird magic shit, but I have to say that I find the genii loci the least interesting kind of weird magic shit in these books. But go weird on anything else: weird artefacts, haunted places, ghosts, evil practitioners with nefarious plans, any kind of mix between technology and magic, something like genii loci but for more urban places rather than yet another river ...
RoL: Peter becomes Nightingale's apprentice in the 1920s/30s
Not via time travel, just an AU in which Peter was born in the early 20th century and Nightingale still makes him his apprentice. The war and all of Nightingale's friends dying is pretty depressing, though, so I'd prefer if the story mostly stuck to the pre-war era.
Elements I'd enjoy: the Folly being scandalised by Nightingale's choice of apprentice, Nightingale not giving a fuck because he's The Nightingale, Peter (what does he do in this universe, btw? before becoming a magic cop) helping Nightingale with some investigation and getting recruited by him afterwards, Peter and Mellenby getting along (or Peter and any other science-minded wizards), Peter accompanying Nightingale on his Indiana Jones adventures throughout the Empire, undercover shenanigans, 20s/30s jazz bars, snazzy suits, Nightingale teaching Peter about high society stuff in a society that cares way more about that than the present does ...
RoL: Peter time-travels to the pre-war Folly
Because present-day Peter interacting with pre-war Nightingale and the pre-war Folly would be fun, too!
Elements I'd enjoy: Peter being trapped in the past and needing Nightingale's help to get back home, Peter travelling back on purpose to get some information, Peter having to convince past!Nightingale he's not making this up, Peter being amused (and maybe a bit wistful) about seeing young, carefree, happy Nightingale with his friends, Peter helping past!Nightingale with a case, young Nightingale hitting on Peter before he has any idea who he is (or even afterwards), flirting (or even hooking up) with past!Nightingale making Peter realise his feelings for present!Nightingale/making him decide to do something about them when he's back in his own time ...
Vampyr
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum
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 because I have a hard time justifying turning him in-game.
Vampyr: Jonathan turns McCullum years after the game events
I'm not actually a fan of Jonathan turning McCullum in-game, but I'd love for it to happen a few years afterwards, maybe when they've been together for some time?
Elements I'd enjoy: Jonathan angsting about losing him as McCullum grows older, McCullum angsting about turning into the thing he hates most, McCullum not actually asking Jonathan's opinion/permission but just drinking his blood, vampire!McCullum being even more ruthless about hunting other vampires, McCullum hearing Jonathan's thoughts in his head (and maybe finally having to acknowledge that they aren't just sort-of-friends who fuck but much more), McCullum actually looking older than Jonathan now (I just want silver fox McCullum, I'm shallow), McCullum being sad that he eventually has to stop hanging around his Priwen friends because sooner or later they'll notice he stopped ageing, Jonathan and McCullum having various adventures throughout the next decades ...
Vampyr: Jonathan has to turn McCullum to save his life
A variation of the above, but this time less consensual and more born out of necessity (and possibly at a stage in their relationship when they're still far more antagonistic?).
Elements I'd enjoy: pretty much all of the angst above, McCullum being furious that Jonathan didn't let him die, Jonathan refusing to apologise for it (because obviously he always knows best), Jonathan helping McCullum figure out his powers, maybe some temporary breakup, McCullum eventually forgiving Jonathan when he realises how useful his shiny new powers are, realisations of just how much they've grown to care about each other ...
And that's it! I hope that something in this letter works for you, dear writer. 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/67982.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, followed by a list of kinks I like, and then some fandom-specific sections. In general, as long as you include a thing or two that I like and don't include my DNWs, I'm sure I will love whatever you write for me. :D
I've kept this letter focused on the AUs I've requested. If you want some additional prompts/ideas, I've requested most of these ships in previous exchanges. I've also requested most of them for Smut Swap before, should you feel inclined to add some porn to your fic (obviously not a must, but always very welcome).
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 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 had more ideas and prompts 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 (unless specifically requested)
- 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 (so 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 my FNV requests)
- 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 (1st is fine for RoL fic from Peter's POV)
- 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)
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 ...)
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Alexios/Brasidas
I mostly have protagonist!Alexios in mind for these. 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 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. 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.
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 at some point. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.
AC: Alexios grows up in Sparta and becomes Brasidas' eromenos
What it says on the tin. I'm totally fine with underage (down to 12ish which to my knowledge was the usual age when that sort of thing started, but feel free to handwave the exact age if you prefer).
Elements I'd enjoy: Brasidas having to woo Alexios, Alexios (as Nikolaos' son and Leonidas' grandson) having his pick of men wanting to mentor him, Nikolaos and Brasidas interacting, Nikolaos approving of Brasidas, bb!Alexios already showing some impressive abilities, Alexios interacting with Stentor who might be Nikolaos' eromenos, Alexios and Brasidas not wanting to stop their sexual relationship even after Alexios grows "too old" for it, angsting about it if they think the other one will want to stop, slowly growing from mentor/mentee into a more equal relationship ...
AC: Alexios|Kassandra and Deimos are demi-gods
The Greek mythology AU of my heart. I just really need Alexios to be Zeus' son. That's 90% of why I'm requesting this.
Elements I'd enjoy: the bizarre story of how Zeus got Myrrine pregnant (please, I'm begging you), Hera fucking with Alexios and that's why bad shit keeps happening to him, other gods helping him out, Alexios maybe being in denial about this whole demigod business (he's just a normal guy! maybe a bit stronger than other people, but totally normal) until Myrrine tells him the truth, Brasidas worrying that he won't be enough for a literal demi-god, Brasidas getting pulled into all this mythological nonsense (does it turn out Brasidas is more than he appears to be, too?) ...
All: Journey to the Underworld to Resurrect Loved One
Related to the Greek mythology AU, really. Alexios travelling to the Underworld to get Brasidas back (I'd prefer if Brasidas actually appeared for more than two sentences in the fic, though).
Elements I'd enjoy: Alexios making a deal with Hades, Alexios tricking Hades, Alexios getting help from other gods in his quest to the Underworld, Brasidas somehow helping Alexios once Alexios shows up and not just being passive in the whole thing, Alexios and Brasidas having been FWB before Brasidas' death and this finally makes them realise they have more serious feelings for each other, Alexios and Brasidas having been in denial about their feelings/attraction before Brasidas' death and this makes them get on with it, Alexios and Cerberus interacting (he clearly has a knack for magical animals, right?) ...
Crossover
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum (Vampyr) & Peter Grant (RoL)
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum (Vampyr) & Thomas Nightingale (RoL)
Basically looking for a complete crossover-fusion-whateveryouwannacallit where the Vampyr and the Rivers of London verses are one and the same and always have been. I'd be up both for fic set in the 20s/30s featuring young, still mortal Nightingale, or fic set in the present so Peter can appear, too (though I'd prefer if Reid and Nightingale already knew each other from the past).
I also ship Nightingale/Peter, for what it's worth, and I'm fine with Nightingale/OMCs if you write something set before he meets Peter. Hell, if Nightingale had a wild threesome with Reid and McCullum in the 20s, that'd also be very okay with me. I'm not the biggest fan of the Rivers so I'd rather not have them appear in the fic, though feel free to invent any other genii loci you like. I do like Walid a lot, and him interacting with Reid could also be great.
Rivers of London fusion
Obviously, but how exactly does that work? Maybe the reason Nightingale tells Peter in the 21st century that there are no movie vampires is because by then, vampire!hunter!McCullum has pretty much killed them all, in England at least (except for himself and Jonathan)? Maybe the Folly and Priwen had some ~arrangements~ back in the day? Maybe Reid actually knew some Folly members before being turned (same social class, right?), but he had no idea about this whole magic and demi-monde business and only after being turned does he find out about it.
How does McCullum feel about other supernatural creatures? Not a fan either, or is it just vampires he hates? How is Peter going to react to actualfax vampires being real after all? Are he and Reid going to nerd it out over supernatural science stuff, together with Walid maybe? Is Peter going to kick up a fuss about McCullum's rather, er, radical methods of dealing with "monsters"?
Vampyr: Jonathan turns McCullum years after the game events
Which would explain why he's around in the present. ;) I've also requested this tag for Vampyr alone, if you want more details (see below). Maybe knowing there are other immortals around makes McCullum decide to go for it? Maybe he gets injured on some case they and Nightingale are working together? Is he still human when he meets Nightingale or other Folly members for the first time? Does Nightingale maybe object to Jonathan turning McCullum, because that's not part of the "arrangements"?
Deus Ex
Adam Jensen/Jim Miller
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. I'm happy for any other TF29 or SI characters to appear in the story, too. I'd especially love to see Sarif and Miller meet. I love Pritchard and I'm definitely up for turning this into Miller/Adam/Pritchard, if you want (I just didn't request it this time because it's not really an obvious ship for these AUs, but if you can and want to make it work, I'd enjoy the hell out of it).
DX: No Incident but Adam still works for TF-29 in Prague
I always found the worldbuilding in HR, with people having more varied and conflicting opinions about augmentation, more interesting than the over the top "everyone hates Augs!" in MD, so I'd basically like the MD setting minus the Incident. What changes? For Adam, for his coworkers, for their interactions with each other, for the cases they work?
Elements I'd enjoy: Adam as the golden boy at the TF-29 office, people constantly complimenting Adam on those augs he never wanted or asking him for advice on getting new augs, Miller and/or Mac maybe considering getting augs because it's hard to keep up otherwise, Adam and Mac clashing for different reasons, Adam maybe having more trouble getting away with shit if he isn't the only augmented agent Miller has at his disposal, Adam quitting his job at SI after HR, TF-29 investigating as much anti-Aug as pro-Aug terrorism, Miller and Adam undercover as a couple but Adam is the hot Aug trophy husband, Miller and Adam undercover as rich dude and Badass Aug Bodyguard in a world where nobody worries about the Aug Bodyguard randomly murdering everyone ...
DX: Miller is not getting divorced yet during MD
This is basically an excuse for my infidelity kink. Though I'd prefer if Jim and Neal already had some trouble with their marriage, just on the level of still thinking "we'll work through this somehow" rather than "it's over and done with, talk to my lawyer".
Elements I'd enjoy: guilty growing attraction on both sides, Jim angsting about wanting to cheat on his husband (and maybe eventually doing it), Adam angsting about playing homewrecker, Adam thinking Jim could never be as happy with him as he is with his family, UST leading to guilty hookups after which they promise it will never happen again (it will), Miller eventually breaking things off with Neal but still not knowing how to ask Adam if they're going to be serious about all this, them being boss and subordinate making the whole thing even more complicated, guilty office sex ...
All: Arranged marriage to prevent extradition or incarceration
New stricter Aug laws pass and being married to a "natural" is the only thing that'll save Adam from getting locked up or thrown out of the country! Oh no! Miller offers because he's divorced now anyway and Adam saved his life and is his best agent and this is really the least he can do for him.
Elements I'd enjoy: lots of UST and pining while living together and having a pretend relationship, both of them thinking the other one couldn't possibly be actually interested in them, Miller not wanting to take advantage when he has so much power over Adam, Adam being lonely and touch-starved, sharing a bed, domesticity that just hurts because they both it's not real, having to play at being a happy couple in love when outside; maybe eventually the super strict Aug laws are struck down and they could get divorced again and that's when they finally both confess that they don't want to? or any other way for them to actually get together
Dragon Age
Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford
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!
DA: Cullen is sent to Tevinter as Inquisition ambassador
Whether post-Trespasser or before that, or just handwave as much of Trespasser as you like so the Inquisition continues to exist as an independent organisation. Whether Dorian and Cullen were already together in the South but thought they had no future together (or thought they were just being FWBs) or whether they had UST and pined but don't actually get together until Cullen comes to Tevinter, both are great.
Elements I'd enjoy: Cullen as a fish out of water, Cullen being surprisingly good at diplomacy when he sets his mind to it, Tevinter high society being fascinated by a proper southern templar, Cullen interacting with the Imperial Chantry or Imperial Templars, Dorian teaching Cullen about Tevinter high society, Dorian having the time of his life dressing Cullen (and Cullen secretly enjoying it because he's vain), Dorian showering Cullen with expensive presents, Dorian having an Andrastian chapel built for Cullen in his (their?) home, foiled assassination attempts and saving each other's life, political scheming, Cullen interacting with Halward (feel free to handwave his death), lots of letter writing before Cullen came to Tevinter because they missed each other ...
DA: Dorian has to use blood magic to save his lover's life
Because making people cross moral lines they'd sworn never to cross is my favourite thing. I'd prefer if this was set in Tevinter, too, simply because I think they'd have to have been together for many years for Dorian to go this far for him.
Elements I'd enjoy: Cullen slowly losing his mind because of the after-effects of his lyrium addiction (as long as Dorian does manage to fix that completely, please; actual long-term memory loss etc. falls under my no-serious-illnesses DNW), or Cullen getting magic-poisoned by an assassin or otherwise injured in some complicated magical way, normal healing magic not being able to help, Dorian slowly despairing because the idea of losing him is killing him, Dorian turning to Halward for help (feel free to handwave his death again), lots of angsting about moral dilemmas, Dorian ultimately deciding that Cullen matters more to him than his principles, Dorian trying to hide the truth from Cullen because he thinks Cullen would despise him for it, Cullen eventually finding out/figuring it out after he was healed but forgiving him (maybe even admitting he would have done the same for Dorian if it was the only way?) ...
Fallout: New Vegas
Caesar & Lucius, Lucius & Vulpes Inculta, Caesar/Arcade Gannon, Lucius/Arcade Gannon
Note: I find pretty much any combination of the above characters, shippy or not, incredibly interesting. So as long as any of them are featured in one of the scenarios below, I'm happy. I don't find Lanius very interesting, but I'm fine with Graham showing up if you go for a scenario in which the Legion won the first time at Hoover Dam. I'd prefer a male Courier, if it comes up (though whether you go with a Legion Courier or a non-Legion Courier who just seriously fucked up and failed to stop the Legion is up to you).
Feel free to go dark and fucked up with these assholes, that's what they're there for, although I'd enjoy it if there was a bit more to them than just doing everything for the evulz. We do get a good look at what goes on in Caesar's head in the game, but the same can hardly be said for Lucius or Vulpes, so I'd enjoy fic that gives them a bit more depth. (I really don't like secretly-not-so-bad Vulpes, though. I know that seems to be a thing in fandom, but it's not my kind of thing. Let him be horrid and evil.)
I'd also enjoy the hell out of some Legion worldbuilding: growing up in the Legion, what life is like back in the Eastern territories, what everyday life is like, what the Mojave would look like if the Legion wins at the end of the game, expanding on worldviews, political/military discussions among the Legion higher-ups, to what extent people like Lucius or Vulpes believe all that Son of Mars stuff, things like education and language use (I'm always here for language geekery like which things they use Latin for and if maybe Latin becomes increasingly a lingua franca when you assimilate a bunch of tribes that speak different English dialects ...)
I don't expect anyone to be in love for these ships (or even for things to be remotely consensual) and I don't need a happy ending for Arcade. However, I'd still prefer if there was more to the fic than just unrelenting misery, and most of my DNWs like no character death and no mutilation etc. still apply - I don't want to read about Arcade's canon death, for example. I'm totally okay with killing off Caesar, though, as long as you somehow get Lanius out of the way first.
FNV: Legion wins at Hoover Dam
Whether as a pre-canon AU in which they win the first battle at Hoover Dam, or a different take on the canon battle (no Courier? no Lanius? Vulpes comes up with some cunning plan?), or really any other scenario that leads to the Legion taking New Vegas.
Elements I'd enjoy: post-victory worldbuilding, Caesar actually getting his Rome and now having to decide what to do with it, Arcade as Caesar's extremely reluctant advisor, Caesar expecting to get a cookie and a gold star for letting the Followers go, Vulpes as spymaster in a Legion-controlled Mojave rather than infiltrating enemy territory ...
FNV: Lucius succeeds Caesar
He'd probably do a better job than Lanius. Lucius kind of fascinates me as someone who's not really a terrible person at heart but still devoted to a terrible system. Someone who might have been a decent person, except he was raised to believe a lot of awful shit and now he's very dutiful about that, because he's the kind of guy to be dutiful and reliable and dependable (as opposed to people like Caesar or Vulpes, who would have been sadistic assholes no matter their upbringing).
Elements I'd enjoy: Lanius getting either killed or assassinated (see below) or falling from grace, Lucius as a somewhat reluctant successor because he never expected or wanted that kind of power, Lucius being a lot more level-headed than Caesar was, Lucius maybe listening to some of Arcade's advice (I mean, not the "abolish slavery because it's wrong" advice, obviously, but maybe on a smaller scale), Vulpes seeing Lucius as an adequate replacement but not worshipping him like he did Caesar (except then maybe over time he does?), Vulpes as his éminence grise, post-war worldbuilding
FNV: Vulpes schemes to have Lanius killed
Basically as a variation of the above - Vulpes realising, maybe after Caesar's almost-death, that the Legion has no future under Lanius and scheming to Set Things Right. Because the only thing he cares about more than doing what Caesar says is protecting the Legion.
Elements I'd enjoy: some angst because Vulpes has always been loyal to Caesar and going against Caesar's wishes seems very wrong to him (someone with absolutely no conscience having qualms of some kind because he's breaking the one principle he has is fascinating to me), having to figure out how to kill Lanius without it being obvious that Vulpes was behind it, Caesar having a fucking fit about Lanius' death, Lucius' reaction to suddenly being Caesar's successor ...
Kraken - China Miéville
Dane Parnell/Billy Harrow
I love Dane and Billy's relationship: how quickly they start trusting each other, how well they work together despite being such different people, Dane teaching Billy about the world of magic and weird shit, saving each other's life, and of course the size kink is a bonus. I find the worldbuilding and the general weirdness of this book fascinating and would love more of that, and I'm also really interested in Dane's whole kraken faith. (I'm much less into body horror than Miéville is, though, so I'd appreciate fic that goes less hard on that. Feel free to break out the tentacles for porn, but I don't need detailed descriptions of people being turned into radios or having their teeth slammed into their throats.)
Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of how the book ended, so basically all my requests are "please to change the ending". Specifically, I'd like for 1) Dane to live, 2) Billy not to be Billy 2.0 after beaming, but just Billy, 3) people not to forget half the plot of the book because that's one of my least favourite tropes. How you make these things happen is totally up to you.
ALL: Canon Character Death Evaded
Because Dane dying felt so unnecessary. I found it especially disappointing that being krakenbit does basically nothing to him except "he's a slightly better fighter now", and he doesn't even do anything fun with that before he dies.
Elements I'd enjoy: being krakenbit gave him some more serious juice in the fight against Grisamentum, being krakenbit makes him survive what Grisamentum did to him/makes him come back from the dead a few hours/days later, Billy manages to do something to save his life (again), Dane does die but somehow comes back to life (thanks, God Kraken!), Dane comes back but maybe a little wrong ...
Kraken: Dane incorporates the ink from the kraken library
I really thought that's where the story was going when we got krakenbit!Dane in one room with all the ink from the library of his faith? And then that wasn't where the story went at all, so I need fic.
Elements I'd enjoy: Dane rebuilding his church, Dane being overwhelmed/changed in some ways by all that knowledge that was suddenly crammed into his brain (but still mostly being himself), Dane getting some snazzy new powers from all that knowledge, Billy being kind of in awe of this new Dane, Billy helping Dane adjust ...
Kraken: the katachronophlogiston isn't used at all
What a mouthful. Honestly, I'm just really not a fan of the "characters don't remember what happened" trope. Consider this my catch-all request for pretty much any other ending for the book that isn't "people forget what happened" or "the world ends" or "Dane dies". As long as Billy and Dane survive and get to be happy together, go wild.
ALL: Ritual Sex Required To Save The World
Just as one suggestion for how to save the world differently. ;D Tentacles optional but totally okay. Pining afterwards and stupidly assuming the other wouldn't actually want to have sex with them except to save the world is excellent.
ALL: Telepathic Soulbond AU
I really love soulbonds (especially the involuntary kind, whether by accident or by some bad guy's design). Maybe this happens as a result of Billy saving Dane's life somehow, or of the ritual sex to save the world, or of some other worldsaving scheme ... Can be full on telepathy with hearing each others's thoughts or just feeling each other's emotions.
Elements I'd enjoy: forced proximity because they can't be apart anymore, shared dreams, rubbing off on each other in various ways (like picking up each other's habits or skills), realising they're both into each other (or maybe they manage to hide it somehow?), worrying the other one isn't too happy about being stuck together, being an even better badass team now, fantastic telepathic sex in inappropriate situations ...
Mass Effect
Male Shepard & Legion, Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian/James Vega, Male Shepard/James Vega
Note: I'm also okay with Male Shepard/Legion, just forgot to nominate it. Shippy or not, both are totally fine. I'm very attached to Shepard's default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards.
I adore Shepard's undying loyalty, will-follow-you-to-the-end-of-the-galaxy friendship with Garrus, and how much renegade Shepard enables Garrus's darker impulses and how much they just get each other; and I adore that more complicated relationship he has 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 love how much Legion challenged everything Shepard knew about the geth, and how utterly monumental meeting and getting to know Shepard was for Legion. I love how much they like each other even when they don't necessarily understand each other (and how much they try to understand each other better).
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. 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 love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them, too. My other faves are Zaeed, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor, Javik.
MET: Shepard survives Control ending
I really love the Control ending, mostly because it resonates so well with renegade Shep? Who constantly thinks he knows best and browbeats other people into doing what he thinks is right. And now he doesn't need to argue and negotiate anymore, now he can finally protect the galaxy without needing anyone's permission. I don't really care how he survives: does he upload only part of himself into this new Shepard-God-AI, but also continues living as himself? In which case, what connection is there between human!Shep and AI!Shep? Or is there only AI!Shep now? In that case, I'd prefer if he at least occasionally uploaded himself into a body. Messy and fucked up and bittersweet is great, but in general I would like him to still love and want to be around his LI/friends, not go all "I am above such things now".
Elements I'd enjoy: Shepard's human body being in a coma for a while, his friends/LI not knowing if he'll wake up again, weird brain waves that make them worry if he's going to be himself if he wakes up (Reaper code instead of brain waves?), his LI worrying to what extent he's still himself if he has somehow ... changed, worrying if Shepard still loves them (he does), Shepard and Legion suddenly understanding each other so much better and communicating differently, Garrus and Vega interacting while worrying about Shepard (whether you go the OT3 route or not; I just love both of them being really close to Shepard even if one of them is "only" his friend)
MET: Legion lives
I don't really care how. Legion's death was bullshit and I will forever be in denial about it. For this, feel free to go with any kind of handwavey "the Reapers are destroyed without destroying the geth" ending.
Elements I'd enjoy: Legion made a backup of itself, Shepard maybe has to do something to restore it/otherwise "resurrect" Legion, now fully sentient Legion learns more things about humans/gets curious about some things, Legion maybe travelling with Shepard again post-war or Shepard visiting Rannoch (Tali is always welcome to show up), Legion finally making sense of that confusing data about why it cares so much about Shepard (can be entirely platonic, can be shippy); you could also combine this with Control!Shepard feeling like Legion understands him better than anyone else does now ...
Rivers of London
Thomas Nightingale/Peter Grant
I love them both so much, individually and together,, the different aspects of their relationship, how they both help each other in so many ways and rely on each other. I love that they both have their strengths and weaknesses and despite one of them obviously being much more powerful and experienced than the other, they clearly need each other.
I firmly headcanon Nightingale as gay, so please nothing about Nightingale being attracted to women because that just wouldn't work for me (though I don't really ship Nightingale/Mellenby either, sorry, I know it's a popular background ship). I don't ship Peter/Beverley and am generally not a huge fan of the Rivers, so I'd rather they didn't appear. I'm up to date on the books but haven't read the comics and am not really interested in them, so I'd rather not receive fic that requires knowledge of the comics.
I'm incredibly interested in the pre-war Folly, and also in what Nightingale was like when he was younger. I'm always up for weird magic shit, but I have to say that I find the genii loci the least interesting kind of weird magic shit in these books. But go weird on anything else: weird artefacts, haunted places, ghosts, evil practitioners with nefarious plans, any kind of mix between technology and magic, something like genii loci but for more urban places rather than yet another river ...
RoL: Peter becomes Nightingale's apprentice in the 1920s/30s
Not via time travel, just an AU in which Peter was born in the early 20th century and Nightingale still makes him his apprentice. The war and all of Nightingale's friends dying is pretty depressing, though, so I'd prefer if the story mostly stuck to the pre-war era.
Elements I'd enjoy: the Folly being scandalised by Nightingale's choice of apprentice, Nightingale not giving a fuck because he's The Nightingale, Peter (what does he do in this universe, btw? before becoming a magic cop) helping Nightingale with some investigation and getting recruited by him afterwards, Peter and Mellenby getting along (or Peter and any other science-minded wizards), Peter accompanying Nightingale on his Indiana Jones adventures throughout the Empire, undercover shenanigans, 20s/30s jazz bars, snazzy suits, Nightingale teaching Peter about high society stuff in a society that cares way more about that than the present does ...
RoL: Peter time-travels to the pre-war Folly
Because present-day Peter interacting with pre-war Nightingale and the pre-war Folly would be fun, too!
Elements I'd enjoy: Peter being trapped in the past and needing Nightingale's help to get back home, Peter travelling back on purpose to get some information, Peter having to convince past!Nightingale he's not making this up, Peter being amused (and maybe a bit wistful) about seeing young, carefree, happy Nightingale with his friends, Peter helping past!Nightingale with a case, young Nightingale hitting on Peter before he has any idea who he is (or even afterwards), flirting (or even hooking up) with past!Nightingale making Peter realise his feelings for present!Nightingale/making him decide to do something about them when he's back in his own time ...
Vampyr
Jonathan Reid/Geoffrey McCullum
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 because I have a hard time justifying turning him in-game.
Vampyr: Jonathan turns McCullum years after the game events
I'm not actually a fan of Jonathan turning McCullum in-game, but I'd love for it to happen a few years afterwards, maybe when they've been together for some time?
Elements I'd enjoy: Jonathan angsting about losing him as McCullum grows older, McCullum angsting about turning into the thing he hates most, McCullum not actually asking Jonathan's opinion/permission but just drinking his blood, vampire!McCullum being even more ruthless about hunting other vampires, McCullum hearing Jonathan's thoughts in his head (and maybe finally having to acknowledge that they aren't just sort-of-friends who fuck but much more), McCullum actually looking older than Jonathan now (I just want silver fox McCullum, I'm shallow), McCullum being sad that he eventually has to stop hanging around his Priwen friends because sooner or later they'll notice he stopped ageing, Jonathan and McCullum having various adventures throughout the next decades ...
Vampyr: Jonathan has to turn McCullum to save his life
A variation of the above, but this time less consensual and more born out of necessity (and possibly at a stage in their relationship when they're still far more antagonistic?).
Elements I'd enjoy: pretty much all of the angst above, McCullum being furious that Jonathan didn't let him die, Jonathan refusing to apologise for it (because obviously he always knows best), Jonathan helping McCullum figure out his powers, maybe some temporary breakup, McCullum eventually forgiving Jonathan when he realises how useful his shiny new powers are, realisations of just how much they've grown to care about each other ...
And that's it! I hope that something in this letter works for you, dear writer. 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/67982.html. Please comment there using OpenID.