Dear Yuletide writer
Dear Yulewriter,
thank you so much for writing a story for me!
I have four perennial requests, one fandom I'm requesting for the third time, and one I requested last year for the first time. These latest two are related to my current main fandom through the actors, so I may talk about them more on DW, but please don't think that means I want my older repeat requests any less! Regardless of what we matched on, rest assured that you really can't go wrong here. Just the existence of new fic for any of these fandoms and characters will make me incredibly happy.
General Preferences
Fic Likes:
For porn, I usually prefer a little plot to go with it, even if it's just the context of the sex. I enjoy improvised/unnegotiated BDSM and explorations of power dynamics, but for the most part I'm not much into stories where a kink itself is the focus, and entirely vanilla is great, too. I'm generally looking for emotional intensity and a sense of connection, not particular sex acts.
Fic Dislikes/DNWs:
Now for the fandoms and characters I requested, in no particular order:
L'Oréal "Time Engraver" Commercials: The Time Engraver, Worldbuilding
Fandom-specific DNWs: sub or exclusive bottom Time Engraver.
I love these commercials. Despite also being a vehicle for an "O NOES NOT THE WRINKLES" product, they're fantastic little mini-films. Back when the first one came out in 2019, I immediately fell in love with the character and concept of the Time Engraver - the mythology, the way he chats at and about his subjects, the way he relates to the world. All the worldbuilding possibilities of what can be done with a concept like that, and a character who could exist anywhere, interact with anyone.
I would love anything about the Time Engraver and his world, about the people he encounters, about him actually interacting with the world. Something plotty or introspective, more mythic or more grounded, or a romance - gen, het, slash, anything would be great. There's fascinating worldbuilding to play with and expand on: Who/what is the Time Engraver? Is he an anthropomorphic personification of time? One of many aspects of such, each with their own workshop? Something else? Does he interact with other supernatural entities? What powers exactly does he have? Why does he present himself as a craftsman? He's talking at his subjects, but has he ever talked to humans directly? Does he sometimes venture out into the human world - can he? What if one of his subjects wakes up, or otherwise finds out about him? What happens if he develops an interest in a mortal? What if he falls in love?
I've always been fascinated by mortal/immortal relationships, romantic or otherwise, so I'd love to see some of that. Whether with someone who's leading an ordinary life, or someone who's already immersed in the non-mundane, either would be equally fascinating. And for something shippy, I would absolutely love the Time Engraver falling in love with a mortal, and vice versa. Tragedy is sort of baked into the concept of this kind of pairing, and I'm all here for a lot of angst, but would very much prefer a hopeful ending. And for this, reincarnation tropes would be awesome. I would love to see the Time Engraver waiting for his lover's reincarnation, or finding them again and again across time.
For relationships, it could be anyone the Time Engraver meets. From the commercials, I have a particular fondness of the woman who doesn't show emotions in the 2020 commercial and would love to see more of her, and the effect the Time Engraver has on her life. What if she remembers him? What if she seeks him out? I'd also totally be here for a crossover with various characters played by Bai Yu. (Luo Fei? Jiang Yang? The version from the Pizza Hut commercials? Anyone!) For sex scenes, I prefer the Time Engraver topping or domming.
I preferred the first commercial's aesthetic, but find the white aesthetic in the newer one intriguing. I'd also love an exploration of why his workshop looks so different - minimalist, and more like a museum - in the 2020 commercial. And if you'd like to subvert the "O NOES WRINKLES" aspect of the commercial somehow, that would be great too. :)
(If we didn't match on this, but you think short film-style commercials around a sort of anthropomorphic personification of time who transports people into his workshop to engrave wrinkles and lines into their skin sounds up your alley, here are the links: 2019 Time Engraver commercial | 2020 Time Engraver commercial. They're short and well worth a watch!)
绅探 | Detective L (TV): Luo Fei & Huo Wensi
Fandom-specific DNWs: sub or exclusive bottom Huo Wensi.
I adore Luo Fei - he's quick and smart; he's sometimes sweet, sometimes abrasive; he can be a total mess (particularly regarding Captain). And Huo Wensi's calm cleverness and amused reaction to Luo Fei intrigued me from the start, but what particularly hit me was seeing him being beaten up in a prison courtyard while the look on his face said everything was still going exactly according to plan. Together, the two of them absolutely fascinate me.
Dr Huo brings out very intriguing reactions in Luo Fei. Luo Fei is prickly and rude towards him without apparent reason, right from the start. He distances himself during their interactions, standing or sitting off to the side, looking away, or walking right out. He claims not to believe in psychology, but at the same time repeatedly puts considerable stock in Dr Huo's professional opinion, even after Dr Huo is in prison. Luo Fei wants nothing to do with Dr Huo - but doesn't even turn him down when Dr Huo asks him to help him court Xiaoman. And when Luo Fei desperately wants someone to confirm his theory that Captain is faking, he appeals to Dr Huo. I would love anything that plays on this dynamic or explores where it's coming from. What's Dr Huo's take - he's a psychologist; what does he make of Luo Fei's behaviour? Do they have backstory that explains Luo Fei's attitude? Enemies to friends or lovers is one of my all-time favourite tropes; lovers to enemies to lovers would also be delightful in this case. I ship them, and I'm very into love and desire being part of the the tangle of intense emotion/frustration/(dis)trust/obsession/intellectual appreciation between them, but a platonic take is just as welcome. Plot or PWP or character exploration, it's all good.
Some ideas: Maybe a missing case where Luo Fei and Dr Huo are forced to work more closely together? A missing scene in between - maybe they were lovers once (a bad breakup could explain their weird dynamic!), and they have a relapse. Maybe Dr Huo manipulates Luo Fei into it, or maybe he's carried away himself. (Maybe both.) I also like the parallels between them, right down to them solving cases from the same clues, and would love fic that played into that. Or something about Dr Huo's role as a psychologist, in a case that has nothing to do with his extracurricular affairs? Anything that leads to them having lots of tension, and/or resolving that tension - and regardless of how it goes, some genuine connection. Something twisty and evil on Dr Huo's part that's directed at Luo Fei is definitely welcome, so long as it doesn't end entirely unhappily for either character. Likewise, a redemption story for Dr Huo would be great, but them remaining on opposite sides is also good, so long as there's some genuine mutual connection there.
Also, in most of their scenes, Qin Xiaoman is stuck right in the middle of it all, talking to Dr Huo when Luo Fei won't, and being almost-courted by Dr Huo. She trusts his good intentions, for the most part, but doesn't always accept his conclusions, and I'd love to see how her inclusion might affect any of the scenarios Luo Fei and Huo Wensi might find themselves in.
At the end of the show, Luo Fei is certain that he has outwitted Dr Huo. Has Dr Huo lost control of his own plan? When he detonates the bombs, is it because he has no alternatives left? (Did he expect to survive?) Or is Dr Huo that good an actor, and it's still all going according to his plan, whatever that might be? He has previously demonstrated a willingness to get himself arrested and beaten up in order to achieve his purposes ... And if Captain was faking all this time - what if Dr Huo and Luo Fei end up working together against the real Captain after the bridge, despite everything? Or what about an alternate ending? I always thought the sequence after Dr Huo's escape from prison felt too straightforward and rushed; I would love to see another take on an ending.
For even more of my thoughts on Detective L, I have detailed episode reactions up to episode 18.
(If we didn't match on this and a Sherlock Holmes-style detective in '30s Shanghai sounds like something you'd be interested in, the entire drama is available on Youtube.)
Starfire Series - Various Authors: Zhaarnak'diaano | Zhaarnak'telmasa & Raymond Prescott
I love space battles and military SF, but in the Starfire 'verse I'm most fascinated by the relationship between Terrans and Orions in general (the whole enemies-turned-allies aspect is right up my alley), and between Zhaarnak'telmasa (or Zhaarnak'diaano, early on) and Raymond Prescott in particular. (There are seven Starfire novels in total - I really love Crusade, In Death Ground and The Shiva Option, but I'm not that fond of the later books, and I'd appreciate it if we could set them aside. Since I'm only requesting characters from IDG/TSO, that shouldn't be a problem.)
I love unlikely pairs like Zhaarnak and Prescott, and I love the way they interact, from early uneasy cooperation to the vilkshatha brothers whose closeness is palpable on the page. I love the way they balance and mirror each other - even in an inherently hierarchical context, they constantly switch roles and manage to make a rotating command structure work for them. And the same in other respects - for example, it's generally Zhaarnak who pushes both of them to rush into danger, with Prescott the voice of caution, except when Prescott starts to push, and then Zhaarnak starts playing the voice of caution. I couldn't say which of them I loved more right from the start - Zhaarnak the prideful bigot who overcomes his bigotry because he doesn't let his prejudices blind him to what's happening right in front of his face, or Prescott the lover of Orion culture who can, without any resentment, decide to accept Zhaarnak's command because it's the most practical thing to do. (Prescott actually exemplifies one of my favourite character types - I generally say that my preference is for the control freaks, but that's only because the other type of character I love every bit as much is so vanishingly rare. That's the kind of person whose main trait is adaptability and lack of pridefulness - the kind who can mould themselves around circumstances, do whatever needs to be done without letting pride get in the way, but also without being diminished by it or losing their grounding within themselves.)
Anything that has these two interacting would make me happy. A missing scene from any point in their relationship, futurefic, or even an AU; gen or slash - it's all good. A few ideas: What is it like, early on, for Prescott to serve under Zhaarnak? Does he ever doubt his decision? And Zhaarnak himself finds out about what Prescott did just before the Bugs attack, but we never get to see the scene where he tells Prescott he knows. How does it go? Or during their years of joint fleet command in Zephrain, how do they make their rotating command structure work? What happens the first time they actually disagree? I'd particularly love to see this happen while Zhaarnak is in command. Outsider POV on this might be cool - someone expecting a clash of the titans, and not getting it? (Honestly, I'd be here for outsider POV on every aspect of their relationship, and how unusual it is and how obviously it works even when it really shouldn't.) Or the aftermath of Operation Pesthouse - when did Zhaarnak find out about it? How did their first meeting afterwards go? Some h/c might be in order. Or something set post-TSO - what do they do after the war? How do they manage to keep in touch, once they're no longer working closely together? Something about Prescott meeting (and perhaps fitting into) Zhaarnak's family would be delightful. So would be anything that delves deeper into Orion culture, and what it means for Prescott to actually become part of it with the vilkshatha oath. When Zhaarnak'diaano becomes Zhaarnak'telmasa, he's establishing a new clan, and Prescott is part of it. What role does he play for other clan members? Or how about an AU - what would have happened if they'd met for the first time under different circumstances? What if they'd met as enemies? Seriously, anything!
(If we matched on another fandom but you think this might be up your alley anyway, try chapters 24-29 of In Death Ground to see if you like Prescott and Zhaarnak. Their first meeting is almost a stand-alone novella of its own, starting here.
The books are available for free in two omnibus editions: The Stars at War I (Crusade & In Death Ground) and The Stars at War II (The Shiva Option & Insurrection).)
Ring of Swords - Eleanor Arnason: Ettin Gwarha & Sanders Nicholas
When I discovered this book in December 2011, it completely swept me away. I love so many things about it, from the clashing gender dynamics to the canonical slash, from the truly alien hwarhath culture to the possibly-but-probably-not intelligent alien sea creatures Anna studies, from the Shakespeare (Mats's version of Macbeth!) to Nicky's journal and Gwarha's glosses. Most of all I'm fascinated with the culture clash between the humans and the hwarhath, and in particular Nicky's history among them, from being captured 20 years ago to the end of the book and beyond, and how much of it is bound up with Gwarha in particular. So I'm requesting Sanders Nicholas (to use the hwarhath name order), and Ettin Gwarha, and would love any story that gives me these two at any point during their timeline.
Nicky is particularly dear to my heart. He's one of those characters with a rare lack of ego. I often say that my preference is for the control freaks, but that's only because the other type of character I love every bit as much is so vanishingly rare. That's the kind of person whose main trait is adaptability and lack of pridefulness - the kind who can give in, mould themselves around circumstances, pragmatically do whatever needs to be done without letting pride get in the way, but also without being diminished by it or losing their grounding within themselves. Nicky the liar, who twists himself around circumstances and always, always tries to find the right angle, can be every bit as subtle and scheming as other Machiavellian characters I've loved, and he has sarcasm to spare, but if he were a control freak he'd never have survived. And I adore that Gwarha, despite his cultural conditioning and almost despite himself, has come to love and appreciate the twistier traits in Nicky.
I would adore a story that showed some part of how these two arrived at that point, or during the book, or where they go after. Anything about their history together - from Gwarha watching Nicky being tortured, and being the one to tell Nicky it's over, to their established relationship at the beginning of the book, during the events we see, and after. How did they go from first encountering each other under those circumstances to becoming lovers? How did their relationship develop? How does Nick learn to navigate the gender-segregated hwarhath society? (Gwarha POV on this might be cool.) Or a slice-of-life story somewhere during the pre-book or post-book years together? Nicky's first encounter with Gwarha's aunts? Or anything about the two of them learning to understand each other, and each other's background, better. Or more about the inherent inequalities in their relationship, and how they navigate those in public vs. in private. Or something during the negotiations shown in the book? And I'm very curious about their first meeting after Nicky returns to Gwarha toward the end of the book, which the book tragically skipped. I always wanted to see that scene! Where do they go from there? Or more from Nicky's journal, with Gwarha commenting on it? Just something about those two, please. :)
(Also, I'm generally not fond of alien species whose entire civilisation is organised according to cultural clichés of violence as a masculine trait, but I like how the book deconstructs it for the hwarhath at least inside the masculine sphere, and would definitely be interested if you wanted to include some deconstruction for the female sphere as well, so far as that's possible in a story focusing on male characters.)
For more of my general thoughts on the book, this excellent article is spot on in my opinion.
(If we didn't match on this but it sounds interesting to you anyway, you can peek inside the book here at Amazon. It was out of print for a long time, but now it's available again, including in ebook form.)
Nantucket trilogy - S.M. Stirling: Kashtiliash & Raupasha
Ever since I discovered these books back in 2010, I've been fascinated with the culture clash in the Nantucket trilogy - both between people from the present and people from the Bronze age (historical or original), and later with second-generation Nantucketers and everyone else. But what especially caught my imagination was the experience of the "downtimers" whose culture is changing right around them, and who are adapting to the new world.
Kashtiliash, as an actual historical character whose history is radically changed by the arrival of people from the future, he's right at the heart of conflict - and as prince and then king, he's one of the people in a position to shape these changes. Raupasha is propelled right into the centre of events in a different way when the changed history puts her in position to make a significant difference both for her own life, for her people, and for Kashtiliash, whose enemy Tukulti-Ninurta she kills and whose father she saves. I would love a story that has these two interacting, but if you'd rather focus on one of them instead, I'd be equally happy with that.
Kashtiliash is smart and adaptable and open to the new, but never to the point of forgetting the realities of the situation - the problems caused by the changes as much as the good. He sees the inevitability of change, and he's quick to adapt where necessary, but he's also very aware of the imbalance of power between his people and the Nantukhtar, and determined not to let them take too much control from him. For Raupasha and her people, on the other hand, the Nantukhtar and Kenneth Hollard in particular are saviours, opening up an entire world of possibilities as she learns to navigate both the political situation and the strange context of conflicting cultures she finds herself in. Between her feelings for Kenneth and her drive to improve her people's situation, her missteps and successes, she grows into someone capable of having significant impact on their world. I would love to see more of her growth.
I'd love anything that involves them both, or one of them, dealing with the balancing act between old and new. Perhaps convincing their respective people to go along with their plans? Or something post-series - for example, what happens to the alliance between Babylon and Nantucket once there's no longer a clear common enemy? Or a version in which Babylon's relationship with Nantucket becomes soured at some point. I'd love a canon divergence AU, too, if you can think of something interesting to play with. Anything, so long as it's not simply one side being right and the other wrong (regardless of which).
Both Kashtiliash and Raupasha end up in a relationship with someone from Nantucket, and with siblings at at that. I'd love to see anything about the culture clash in those relationships, perhaps a time when their different cultural context puts extreme strains on them. Or perhaps they find support in each other for the kinds of things that neither can truly talk about to outsiders?
I'd also love something about Kashtiliash's views on women changing, not just through Kathryn Hollard in particular and the Nantukhtar in general, but also through Raupasha. Or something about politics regarding Mitanni, and Raupasha taking an active role in the planning. What if she had become queen of Mitanni after all? Or post-series - would Raupasha, even if she can't be queen, really turn her back on her people and leave? What could she do instead? What if her ideas don't fit with Kenneth's? Or what if Kashtiliash has plans for her that don't agree with Kenneth's - how would Raupasha handle being caught in the middle?
(If we didn't match on this but "modern-day island gets thrown back into the Bronze Age" sounds interesting to you anyway, go check it out! The characters I talk about above are from the second and third book, but the first book is also fabulous, with a black lesbian heroine as the main character. She's not only one of the main action heroes of all three books, but also gets the girl and raises a family with her along the way. You can peek into the first book here, into the second here, and into the third here at Amazon.)
1632 series - Various Authors: John Chandler Simpson
Yes, I'm (once again) requesting two modern-place-thrown-into-the-past series. *g* But my request here is rather different from the one for the Nantucket trilogy. I'm less interested in the general uptime/downtime clash here, maybe because the 17th century is nowhere near as far from modern day as the Bronze age, and also because I don't feel the series always does so well with actual 17th century mentality.
Instead, there's another aspect that captured my interest. In 1632, John Chandler Simpson is pretty much the designated one-note villain - but in the sequel, 1633, he is given much more depth and gets excellent character development, and he becomes fascinating and compelling to me. I'm very interested in the idea of someone turning himself into a villain by going all-out with a strict end-justifies-the-means strategy ... only to fail, and then to discover those means weren't actually necessary after all. Now he's living with the consequences, and that's a theme that very much speaks to me. (He's also an introverted control freak, which is a character type I have always loved.) I also love watching competent characters be competent, and unexpected competence is even better, so Admiral Simpson can be a joy to watch. Which is possibly why I like Simpson so much in David Weber's short story In the Navy - that story exemplifies so many things I like about him. It also hits another of my buttons, characters defying expectation. (See also: Simpson as a SF fan, which never fails to amuse me.) So I would love a story about Simpson that lets him shine without diminishing his faults.
Some ideas: I very much appreciate Simpson's wife, Mary Simpson, who is cut from the same cloth as he and walked that path right into villainy with him in 1632, and like him, now has to deal with the aftermath, and finding a place for herself/themselves in their new circumstances. Their marriage nearly breaks under the strain of it - I'd love to see more about how they get past that. They're a great match, and I'd love to see them interact more - maybe plotting some bit of joint social/political manipulation? Mary helping him navigate society? Or the reconciliation with their son that we never actually got to see in the books. I also enjoy Simpson's interactions with Eddie Cantrell very much, so more of that would be great. More Simpson mentoring a reluctant Eddie? Or something about the other people under his command, particularly the Germans, who obviously have every reason to hate his guts, to start with. Or just Simpson by himself, trying to come to terms with what he did, and wondering what might have happened if he'd succeeded.
(If we didn't match on this but it sounds interesting to you anyway, several of the books are available for free online - I've linked the ones I mentioned in the text above, but here they are again: 1632 | 1633 | In the Navy.)
Ahem. Lengthy as usual. But I hope you'll find something inspiring in there, and most of all, have fun writing! :)
xpost: https://trobadora.dreamwidth.org/1127556.html |
comment(s) @ DW
thank you so much for writing a story for me!
I have four perennial requests, one fandom I'm requesting for the third time, and one I requested last year for the first time. These latest two are related to my current main fandom through the actors, so I may talk about them more on DW, but please don't think that means I want my older repeat requests any less! Regardless of what we matched on, rest assured that you really can't go wrong here. Just the existence of new fic for any of these fandoms and characters will make me incredibly happy.
General Preferences
Fic Likes:
- types of stories: missing scenes, codas, romance, porn (including porny plots/plotty porn), canon-related angst, canon divergence, action-adventure, casefic, futurefic ...
- themes: strange bedfellows; unlikely heroes; unlikely allies or friends or lovers; trust or friendship or alliances being tested; conflicting loyalties; making difficult choices; overcoming seemingly insurmountable differences or difficulties; willingness to sacrifice; against-all-odds relationships (particularly ones that shouldn't work out but somehow do) ...
- tropes: enemies to friends/lovers; found/chosen family; (mutual) protectiveness, (unexpected) gestures of loyalty; amnesia; time travel do-over; forced to work together/rely on each other; trapped together; h/c (especially if stoic characters remain stoic throughout); (unexpected) competence; redemption ...
For porn, I usually prefer a little plot to go with it, even if it's just the context of the sex. I enjoy improvised/unnegotiated BDSM and explorations of power dynamics, but for the most part I'm not much into stories where a kink itself is the focus, and entirely vanilla is great, too. I'm generally looking for emotional intensity and a sense of connection, not particular sex acts.
Fic Dislikes/DNWs:
- permanent death of requested characters; partner betrayal; unrequested pairings for requested characters; humiliation; noncon; woobification; mundane AUs and other unrequested changes to the canon setting or premise; unrequited pining; fake dating; soulmates (except in the zhiji sense); A/B/O; mpreg; nonhuman characters becoming human/immortals becoming mortal; unmitigated fluff; permanent separation of requested ships; unhappy endings (ambiguous ones are fine)
- first or second person (I'm generally too picky about that - with an exception for imitating the canon voice, where applicable)
- A lot of characters I love are introverted control freaks, sometimes with a dark edge and/or a Machiavellian mindset. If such a character appears in your fic, please don't 'cure' them of (or punish them for) those traits.
- I also have a huge embarrassment squick, so fish-out-of-water scenarios are usually not my thing.
Now for the fandoms and characters I requested, in no particular order:
L'Oréal "Time Engraver" Commercials: The Time Engraver, Worldbuilding
Fandom-specific DNWs: sub or exclusive bottom Time Engraver.
I love these commercials. Despite also being a vehicle for an "O NOES NOT THE WRINKLES" product, they're fantastic little mini-films. Back when the first one came out in 2019, I immediately fell in love with the character and concept of the Time Engraver - the mythology, the way he chats at and about his subjects, the way he relates to the world. All the worldbuilding possibilities of what can be done with a concept like that, and a character who could exist anywhere, interact with anyone.
I would love anything about the Time Engraver and his world, about the people he encounters, about him actually interacting with the world. Something plotty or introspective, more mythic or more grounded, or a romance - gen, het, slash, anything would be great. There's fascinating worldbuilding to play with and expand on: Who/what is the Time Engraver? Is he an anthropomorphic personification of time? One of many aspects of such, each with their own workshop? Something else? Does he interact with other supernatural entities? What powers exactly does he have? Why does he present himself as a craftsman? He's talking at his subjects, but has he ever talked to humans directly? Does he sometimes venture out into the human world - can he? What if one of his subjects wakes up, or otherwise finds out about him? What happens if he develops an interest in a mortal? What if he falls in love?
I've always been fascinated by mortal/immortal relationships, romantic or otherwise, so I'd love to see some of that. Whether with someone who's leading an ordinary life, or someone who's already immersed in the non-mundane, either would be equally fascinating. And for something shippy, I would absolutely love the Time Engraver falling in love with a mortal, and vice versa. Tragedy is sort of baked into the concept of this kind of pairing, and I'm all here for a lot of angst, but would very much prefer a hopeful ending. And for this, reincarnation tropes would be awesome. I would love to see the Time Engraver waiting for his lover's reincarnation, or finding them again and again across time.
For relationships, it could be anyone the Time Engraver meets. From the commercials, I have a particular fondness of the woman who doesn't show emotions in the 2020 commercial and would love to see more of her, and the effect the Time Engraver has on her life. What if she remembers him? What if she seeks him out? I'd also totally be here for a crossover with various characters played by Bai Yu. (Luo Fei? Jiang Yang? The version from the Pizza Hut commercials? Anyone!) For sex scenes, I prefer the Time Engraver topping or domming.
I preferred the first commercial's aesthetic, but find the white aesthetic in the newer one intriguing. I'd also love an exploration of why his workshop looks so different - minimalist, and more like a museum - in the 2020 commercial. And if you'd like to subvert the "O NOES WRINKLES" aspect of the commercial somehow, that would be great too. :)
(If we didn't match on this, but you think short film-style commercials around a sort of anthropomorphic personification of time who transports people into his workshop to engrave wrinkles and lines into their skin sounds up your alley, here are the links: 2019 Time Engraver commercial | 2020 Time Engraver commercial. They're short and well worth a watch!)
绅探 | Detective L (TV): Luo Fei & Huo Wensi
Fandom-specific DNWs: sub or exclusive bottom Huo Wensi.
I adore Luo Fei - he's quick and smart; he's sometimes sweet, sometimes abrasive; he can be a total mess (particularly regarding Captain). And Huo Wensi's calm cleverness and amused reaction to Luo Fei intrigued me from the start, but what particularly hit me was seeing him being beaten up in a prison courtyard while the look on his face said everything was still going exactly according to plan. Together, the two of them absolutely fascinate me.
Dr Huo brings out very intriguing reactions in Luo Fei. Luo Fei is prickly and rude towards him without apparent reason, right from the start. He distances himself during their interactions, standing or sitting off to the side, looking away, or walking right out. He claims not to believe in psychology, but at the same time repeatedly puts considerable stock in Dr Huo's professional opinion, even after Dr Huo is in prison. Luo Fei wants nothing to do with Dr Huo - but doesn't even turn him down when Dr Huo asks him to help him court Xiaoman. And when Luo Fei desperately wants someone to confirm his theory that Captain is faking, he appeals to Dr Huo. I would love anything that plays on this dynamic or explores where it's coming from. What's Dr Huo's take - he's a psychologist; what does he make of Luo Fei's behaviour? Do they have backstory that explains Luo Fei's attitude? Enemies to friends or lovers is one of my all-time favourite tropes; lovers to enemies to lovers would also be delightful in this case. I ship them, and I'm very into love and desire being part of the the tangle of intense emotion/frustration/(dis)trust/obsession/intellectual appreciation between them, but a platonic take is just as welcome. Plot or PWP or character exploration, it's all good.
Some ideas: Maybe a missing case where Luo Fei and Dr Huo are forced to work more closely together? A missing scene in between - maybe they were lovers once (a bad breakup could explain their weird dynamic!), and they have a relapse. Maybe Dr Huo manipulates Luo Fei into it, or maybe he's carried away himself. (Maybe both.) I also like the parallels between them, right down to them solving cases from the same clues, and would love fic that played into that. Or something about Dr Huo's role as a psychologist, in a case that has nothing to do with his extracurricular affairs? Anything that leads to them having lots of tension, and/or resolving that tension - and regardless of how it goes, some genuine connection. Something twisty and evil on Dr Huo's part that's directed at Luo Fei is definitely welcome, so long as it doesn't end entirely unhappily for either character. Likewise, a redemption story for Dr Huo would be great, but them remaining on opposite sides is also good, so long as there's some genuine mutual connection there.
Also, in most of their scenes, Qin Xiaoman is stuck right in the middle of it all, talking to Dr Huo when Luo Fei won't, and being almost-courted by Dr Huo. She trusts his good intentions, for the most part, but doesn't always accept his conclusions, and I'd love to see how her inclusion might affect any of the scenarios Luo Fei and Huo Wensi might find themselves in.
At the end of the show, Luo Fei is certain that he has outwitted Dr Huo. Has Dr Huo lost control of his own plan? When he detonates the bombs, is it because he has no alternatives left? (Did he expect to survive?) Or is Dr Huo that good an actor, and it's still all going according to his plan, whatever that might be? He has previously demonstrated a willingness to get himself arrested and beaten up in order to achieve his purposes ... And if Captain was faking all this time - what if Dr Huo and Luo Fei end up working together against the real Captain after the bridge, despite everything? Or what about an alternate ending? I always thought the sequence after Dr Huo's escape from prison felt too straightforward and rushed; I would love to see another take on an ending.
For even more of my thoughts on Detective L, I have detailed episode reactions up to episode 18.
(If we didn't match on this and a Sherlock Holmes-style detective in '30s Shanghai sounds like something you'd be interested in, the entire drama is available on Youtube.)
Starfire Series - Various Authors: Zhaarnak'diaano | Zhaarnak'telmasa & Raymond Prescott
I love space battles and military SF, but in the Starfire 'verse I'm most fascinated by the relationship between Terrans and Orions in general (the whole enemies-turned-allies aspect is right up my alley), and between Zhaarnak'telmasa (or Zhaarnak'diaano, early on) and Raymond Prescott in particular. (There are seven Starfire novels in total - I really love Crusade, In Death Ground and The Shiva Option, but I'm not that fond of the later books, and I'd appreciate it if we could set them aside. Since I'm only requesting characters from IDG/TSO, that shouldn't be a problem.)
I love unlikely pairs like Zhaarnak and Prescott, and I love the way they interact, from early uneasy cooperation to the vilkshatha brothers whose closeness is palpable on the page. I love the way they balance and mirror each other - even in an inherently hierarchical context, they constantly switch roles and manage to make a rotating command structure work for them. And the same in other respects - for example, it's generally Zhaarnak who pushes both of them to rush into danger, with Prescott the voice of caution, except when Prescott starts to push, and then Zhaarnak starts playing the voice of caution. I couldn't say which of them I loved more right from the start - Zhaarnak the prideful bigot who overcomes his bigotry because he doesn't let his prejudices blind him to what's happening right in front of his face, or Prescott the lover of Orion culture who can, without any resentment, decide to accept Zhaarnak's command because it's the most practical thing to do. (Prescott actually exemplifies one of my favourite character types - I generally say that my preference is for the control freaks, but that's only because the other type of character I love every bit as much is so vanishingly rare. That's the kind of person whose main trait is adaptability and lack of pridefulness - the kind who can mould themselves around circumstances, do whatever needs to be done without letting pride get in the way, but also without being diminished by it or losing their grounding within themselves.)
Anything that has these two interacting would make me happy. A missing scene from any point in their relationship, futurefic, or even an AU; gen or slash - it's all good. A few ideas: What is it like, early on, for Prescott to serve under Zhaarnak? Does he ever doubt his decision? And Zhaarnak himself finds out about what Prescott did just before the Bugs attack, but we never get to see the scene where he tells Prescott he knows. How does it go? Or during their years of joint fleet command in Zephrain, how do they make their rotating command structure work? What happens the first time they actually disagree? I'd particularly love to see this happen while Zhaarnak is in command. Outsider POV on this might be cool - someone expecting a clash of the titans, and not getting it? (Honestly, I'd be here for outsider POV on every aspect of their relationship, and how unusual it is and how obviously it works even when it really shouldn't.) Or the aftermath of Operation Pesthouse - when did Zhaarnak find out about it? How did their first meeting afterwards go? Some h/c might be in order. Or something set post-TSO - what do they do after the war? How do they manage to keep in touch, once they're no longer working closely together? Something about Prescott meeting (and perhaps fitting into) Zhaarnak's family would be delightful. So would be anything that delves deeper into Orion culture, and what it means for Prescott to actually become part of it with the vilkshatha oath. When Zhaarnak'diaano becomes Zhaarnak'telmasa, he's establishing a new clan, and Prescott is part of it. What role does he play for other clan members? Or how about an AU - what would have happened if they'd met for the first time under different circumstances? What if they'd met as enemies? Seriously, anything!
(If we matched on another fandom but you think this might be up your alley anyway, try chapters 24-29 of In Death Ground to see if you like Prescott and Zhaarnak. Their first meeting is almost a stand-alone novella of its own, starting here.
The books are available for free in two omnibus editions: The Stars at War I (Crusade & In Death Ground) and The Stars at War II (The Shiva Option & Insurrection).)
Ring of Swords - Eleanor Arnason: Ettin Gwarha & Sanders Nicholas
When I discovered this book in December 2011, it completely swept me away. I love so many things about it, from the clashing gender dynamics to the canonical slash, from the truly alien hwarhath culture to the possibly-but-probably-not intelligent alien sea creatures Anna studies, from the Shakespeare (Mats's version of Macbeth!) to Nicky's journal and Gwarha's glosses. Most of all I'm fascinated with the culture clash between the humans and the hwarhath, and in particular Nicky's history among them, from being captured 20 years ago to the end of the book and beyond, and how much of it is bound up with Gwarha in particular. So I'm requesting Sanders Nicholas (to use the hwarhath name order), and Ettin Gwarha, and would love any story that gives me these two at any point during their timeline.
Nicky is particularly dear to my heart. He's one of those characters with a rare lack of ego. I often say that my preference is for the control freaks, but that's only because the other type of character I love every bit as much is so vanishingly rare. That's the kind of person whose main trait is adaptability and lack of pridefulness - the kind who can give in, mould themselves around circumstances, pragmatically do whatever needs to be done without letting pride get in the way, but also without being diminished by it or losing their grounding within themselves. Nicky the liar, who twists himself around circumstances and always, always tries to find the right angle, can be every bit as subtle and scheming as other Machiavellian characters I've loved, and he has sarcasm to spare, but if he were a control freak he'd never have survived. And I adore that Gwarha, despite his cultural conditioning and almost despite himself, has come to love and appreciate the twistier traits in Nicky.
I would adore a story that showed some part of how these two arrived at that point, or during the book, or where they go after. Anything about their history together - from Gwarha watching Nicky being tortured, and being the one to tell Nicky it's over, to their established relationship at the beginning of the book, during the events we see, and after. How did they go from first encountering each other under those circumstances to becoming lovers? How did their relationship develop? How does Nick learn to navigate the gender-segregated hwarhath society? (Gwarha POV on this might be cool.) Or a slice-of-life story somewhere during the pre-book or post-book years together? Nicky's first encounter with Gwarha's aunts? Or anything about the two of them learning to understand each other, and each other's background, better. Or more about the inherent inequalities in their relationship, and how they navigate those in public vs. in private. Or something during the negotiations shown in the book? And I'm very curious about their first meeting after Nicky returns to Gwarha toward the end of the book, which the book tragically skipped. I always wanted to see that scene! Where do they go from there? Or more from Nicky's journal, with Gwarha commenting on it? Just something about those two, please. :)
(Also, I'm generally not fond of alien species whose entire civilisation is organised according to cultural clichés of violence as a masculine trait, but I like how the book deconstructs it for the hwarhath at least inside the masculine sphere, and would definitely be interested if you wanted to include some deconstruction for the female sphere as well, so far as that's possible in a story focusing on male characters.)
For more of my general thoughts on the book, this excellent article is spot on in my opinion.
(If we didn't match on this but it sounds interesting to you anyway, you can peek inside the book here at Amazon. It was out of print for a long time, but now it's available again, including in ebook form.)
Nantucket trilogy - S.M. Stirling: Kashtiliash & Raupasha
Ever since I discovered these books back in 2010, I've been fascinated with the culture clash in the Nantucket trilogy - both between people from the present and people from the Bronze age (historical or original), and later with second-generation Nantucketers and everyone else. But what especially caught my imagination was the experience of the "downtimers" whose culture is changing right around them, and who are adapting to the new world.
Kashtiliash, as an actual historical character whose history is radically changed by the arrival of people from the future, he's right at the heart of conflict - and as prince and then king, he's one of the people in a position to shape these changes. Raupasha is propelled right into the centre of events in a different way when the changed history puts her in position to make a significant difference both for her own life, for her people, and for Kashtiliash, whose enemy Tukulti-Ninurta she kills and whose father she saves. I would love a story that has these two interacting, but if you'd rather focus on one of them instead, I'd be equally happy with that.
Kashtiliash is smart and adaptable and open to the new, but never to the point of forgetting the realities of the situation - the problems caused by the changes as much as the good. He sees the inevitability of change, and he's quick to adapt where necessary, but he's also very aware of the imbalance of power between his people and the Nantukhtar, and determined not to let them take too much control from him. For Raupasha and her people, on the other hand, the Nantukhtar and Kenneth Hollard in particular are saviours, opening up an entire world of possibilities as she learns to navigate both the political situation and the strange context of conflicting cultures she finds herself in. Between her feelings for Kenneth and her drive to improve her people's situation, her missteps and successes, she grows into someone capable of having significant impact on their world. I would love to see more of her growth.
I'd love anything that involves them both, or one of them, dealing with the balancing act between old and new. Perhaps convincing their respective people to go along with their plans? Or something post-series - for example, what happens to the alliance between Babylon and Nantucket once there's no longer a clear common enemy? Or a version in which Babylon's relationship with Nantucket becomes soured at some point. I'd love a canon divergence AU, too, if you can think of something interesting to play with. Anything, so long as it's not simply one side being right and the other wrong (regardless of which).
Both Kashtiliash and Raupasha end up in a relationship with someone from Nantucket, and with siblings at at that. I'd love to see anything about the culture clash in those relationships, perhaps a time when their different cultural context puts extreme strains on them. Or perhaps they find support in each other for the kinds of things that neither can truly talk about to outsiders?
I'd also love something about Kashtiliash's views on women changing, not just through Kathryn Hollard in particular and the Nantukhtar in general, but also through Raupasha. Or something about politics regarding Mitanni, and Raupasha taking an active role in the planning. What if she had become queen of Mitanni after all? Or post-series - would Raupasha, even if she can't be queen, really turn her back on her people and leave? What could she do instead? What if her ideas don't fit with Kenneth's? Or what if Kashtiliash has plans for her that don't agree with Kenneth's - how would Raupasha handle being caught in the middle?
(If we didn't match on this but "modern-day island gets thrown back into the Bronze Age" sounds interesting to you anyway, go check it out! The characters I talk about above are from the second and third book, but the first book is also fabulous, with a black lesbian heroine as the main character. She's not only one of the main action heroes of all three books, but also gets the girl and raises a family with her along the way. You can peek into the first book here, into the second here, and into the third here at Amazon.)
1632 series - Various Authors: John Chandler Simpson
Yes, I'm (once again) requesting two modern-place-thrown-into-the-past series. *g* But my request here is rather different from the one for the Nantucket trilogy. I'm less interested in the general uptime/downtime clash here, maybe because the 17th century is nowhere near as far from modern day as the Bronze age, and also because I don't feel the series always does so well with actual 17th century mentality.
Instead, there's another aspect that captured my interest. In 1632, John Chandler Simpson is pretty much the designated one-note villain - but in the sequel, 1633, he is given much more depth and gets excellent character development, and he becomes fascinating and compelling to me. I'm very interested in the idea of someone turning himself into a villain by going all-out with a strict end-justifies-the-means strategy ... only to fail, and then to discover those means weren't actually necessary after all. Now he's living with the consequences, and that's a theme that very much speaks to me. (He's also an introverted control freak, which is a character type I have always loved.) I also love watching competent characters be competent, and unexpected competence is even better, so Admiral Simpson can be a joy to watch. Which is possibly why I like Simpson so much in David Weber's short story In the Navy - that story exemplifies so many things I like about him. It also hits another of my buttons, characters defying expectation. (See also: Simpson as a SF fan, which never fails to amuse me.) So I would love a story about Simpson that lets him shine without diminishing his faults.
Some ideas: I very much appreciate Simpson's wife, Mary Simpson, who is cut from the same cloth as he and walked that path right into villainy with him in 1632, and like him, now has to deal with the aftermath, and finding a place for herself/themselves in their new circumstances. Their marriage nearly breaks under the strain of it - I'd love to see more about how they get past that. They're a great match, and I'd love to see them interact more - maybe plotting some bit of joint social/political manipulation? Mary helping him navigate society? Or the reconciliation with their son that we never actually got to see in the books. I also enjoy Simpson's interactions with Eddie Cantrell very much, so more of that would be great. More Simpson mentoring a reluctant Eddie? Or something about the other people under his command, particularly the Germans, who obviously have every reason to hate his guts, to start with. Or just Simpson by himself, trying to come to terms with what he did, and wondering what might have happened if he'd succeeded.
(If we didn't match on this but it sounds interesting to you anyway, several of the books are available for free online - I've linked the ones I mentioned in the text above, but here they are again: 1632 | 1633 | In the Navy.)
Ahem. Lengthy as usual. But I hope you'll find something inspiring in there, and most of all, have fun writing! :)
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