Yuletide 2019
Nov. 2nd, 2019 12:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tailcoatDear Yuletide author!
This is the Yuletide 2019 letter for Labocat on AO3 - thank you so much for signing up and offering any of these fandoms; I dearly hope we matched on something you're excited about! Along those lines, I do want to say that if nothing below sparks you, please feel free to use any ideas you already have! I'm really easy to please and all of these fandoms are here because I just want to see more writing in them in general, so anything at all is a gift!
General things! This is just broad-view stuff; I'll note where applicable in specific sections if canons/ships can ignore something.
In general: I’m really happy with anything! And by anything, I really do mean just about anything; it’s hard to find something that I absolutely don’t like hard stop. I'm good with all ratings, as well as with all takes on most tropes, whether it be straight or subversive or somehow finagling it to fit a canon that it really shouldn't.
Some tropes I adore that are relevant (non-comprehensive):
- hurt/comfort and whump
- alternate PoVs of scenes
- pre-canon backstory
- curtainfic/established relationship
- casefic
- fake relationship/arranged marriage/accidentally married/accidental confessions
- found family
- enemies/rivals to lovers (also friends to lovers)
- secret relationships/friendships
- reincarnation/fated/soulbonds
- trapped somewhere together
- loyalty
- magically bonded together (either physically or telepathically)
- redemption or corruption
- road trips
- the 90s anime onsen episode
My DNWs are very few and are unlikely to come up in these canons, but just in case: pregnancy/kids, miscommunication as the central source of plot/tension, non-canonical pronouns, and suicidal thoughts/actions from characters further than canon would go.
Really Optional Details That Are Entirely Optional (okay let’s just call them kinks): If you wanted to go a M/E route, and are comfortable writing any of the following, I really enjoy size difference, blindfolds, orgasm denial, sex pollen, messy/sloppy sex, intercrual, oral, semi-public sex (like in a closet or alley), sensory deprivation, breathplay, toys (especially hidden plugs/vibes), marking/possessiveness, overstimulation, body worship, slow, drawn-out sex that can really tie in with the aforementioned body worship, or awkward first times. I also like a lot of things that generally have to be requested and that most people aren’t comfortable with so they are Extra Optional: dubcon, vore/gore, tentacles and xenophilia, oviposition, come inflation, a/b/o, bloodplay, threesomes/moresomes, double penetration, degradation, non-con body mods, and collars.
Also, past letters are fair game to check if I've requested a fandom before! I've requested a few of these before in different exchanges, and while what I ask for may have shifted, I'm still interested for the same reasons and in for similar prompts.
All of my canons have been put up for the Crueltide and Yuleporn challenges - some canon-specific details are at the bottom of each request, but as always, those are non-restrictive and non-comprehensive, just guidelines!
Fate/Grand Order
Characters: Female Protagonist
Where to consume: The game itself is downloadable on both the Android and App Store in English now, but as the English version of the game is two years behind the Japanese, scattered translations and summaries can be found Chaldeum, Cirnopedia, and on the grand order reddit as well.
For the final year, I wanted to request the Protagonist (who I am fine with being named either Ritsuka or Gudako) one last time because what I really do love most is to see conversations or discussions (or even fights) with any of the servants or the support staff about the whole Grand Order and Chaldea shebang and everything they've all been through. I think the protagonist is a really interesting mortal foil in this world of divine and heroic spirits, thrust into the center of it without much preparation. All of the servants have such different backgrounds and motivations, and I think she’s a really interesting sounding board for a lot of the issues they might have with the system or with other servants summoned to Chaldea at the same time or having to visit places they know in situations or times that they don’t. Or even just dealing with the hijinks that always seem to happen in Chaldea! I think she’s also very much a possible source of unease or said hijinks, especially if you take the Riyo characterization to heart. I don't mind what view of the game you take, whether it be the more serious main storyline or the off-the-wall chaos of the events, and along those lines, all similar assumptions about how many servants the protagonist has summoned are welcome.
I am caught up to Lostbelt, so would also welcome discussions of everything that's been going down and the future direction of everything they've uncovered. I would also welcome some heartbreak angst about how the end of the Demon Pillars went down, or just general Chaldea staff day-to-day stuff and discussions. There are so many interesting personalities, and the protagonist really brings them all together and draws them forward, and I love seeing that explored. I'm also quite fine with sticking with just the English timeline and how everything is sort of barreling towards its conclusion. Or even make up your own event! What Christmas event would you want to see? I love the insanity of the Grand Order events and the scale they tend to be - go wild!
I also adore the CEs, especially the ones that bring together groups of characters that usually don't interact, or show them in situations either their original canon or Fate canon wouldn't show. Are they AUs? Theme days around Chaldea? Is there a photo studio somewhere, or do they just Rayshift wherever they need to to have a day out in exploration?
Of the tagset, favored servants/conversation partners are: Nero, Mash, Romani, da Vinci, Merlin, Carmilla, Karna, Mordred, and Bedivere. Otherwise, really, anyone is free game, and I'm really not picky at all!
Crueltide coda: As much as it can be a silly canon, Fate also deals with some pretty dark topics, so I'm really open here. Death and violence and torture and grey morals are staples of the canon, and we've literally got an apocalypse as a central point of the game, and between Kiara and BB, we've got vore and eldritch monsters back on the table too, not to mention all the wild noncon body mods, possessions and basically forced breeding discussions Lostbelt has brought us. A lot of the servants weren't good people in life and aren't terribly great people in the game. I would like to ask no torture porn for the sake of torture porn - otherwise please some introspection on how what they're doing reflects on their legend or reason for obtaining the grail.
Yuleporn coda: Laughs in Fate/. Because I only requested the protagonist, most of what'll be here is the mana system and how that ties into supporting such a large...party, as it were. Other than that, please feel free to do just about anything! CEs can tie in, again, or characters' bond lines as such.
Promare
Characters: Lio Fortia
How to Consume: In select theaters - check for Dec 8 showings!
Hello to the most linearly coherent thing Trigger has ever done, to a film full of gorgeous symbolic geometry, that had me going “do they know - oh yeah, they know” over and over again with its treatment of marginalized groups and their symbolism, and a truly incredible soundtrack and artistic direction. I love everything about the Burnish, from the colors and the way their flames and powers manifest in so many different ways, to the way that society shifted after the fires. I love that there are aliens involved (because it’s Trigger so of course there are), and just everything about it was a delight. They packed so much into a two hour film and I need to know everything more.
Namely, I would love to know more about the years between or the years after. Lio is established as the leader of Mad Burnish - has he been the leader for all 30 years since the Burnish appeared, or did he have to take over from someone at some point? How did he build Mad Burnish? How did he learn all how to control his powers (AND MAKE A BIKE FROM IT) and teach others to do the same? (On a crack note, do the off-hand comments about the existence of all the other Burnish groups - God Burnish, Sitcom Burnish, Odd Burnish, and the rest - hold any weight?)
More things I want very much to know are why is his favorite food kangaroo? We know Gueira and Meis are Australian, so they likely have a hand in it, but did this come from long days on the road, is Lio a terrible cook and so only eats what other people make him? Is the act of cooking associated with safety and staying in one place long enough to do so? Does he transfer that weight onto other things people cook for him later on?
In terms of the years after - what do they get up to afterward? How many times does Lio forget that he isn’t invulnerable to fire anymore? Does his body catch up with his aging? How does Galo’s team absorb him into them?
Crueltide coda: Lio locked up. Powers gone, the freezing mechanisms actually active - how at anyone’s mercy is he? What if he had actually been put into the Prometech engine? Does Kray make Galo watch him use Lio as a way to further break him?
Yuleporn: I ship Lio with Galo mostly - if you want to bring back Burnish powers somehow, or have them together while Lio still has his Burnish, temperature play would be a huge thing here. I’m not terribly firm on which direction anything goes, but if Lio receives, I’d rather him top from the bottom, as it were.
Shades of Magic
Characters: Kell, Holland
How to Consume: Amazon or anywhere you get books!
A note up front! I requested both Kell and Holland, but please feel free to treat it as an or request if you have better ideas for them apart.
Even though I requested characters, I love the worldbuilding potential of this book and would be more than happy to receive something just related to it - there’s so much to be explored in both the magic and the politics the occur from both inter and intra-world dynamics! I love how each character (and each London) has been shaped by their distance from the magic center and what London they occupy and the sort of shifts we get to see when they’re faced with new elements. Each of the Londons has a different relationship with magic due to their distance from the center, but what could have happened if any of the characters were from a different London, or the Londons were in a different order radiating outward? What if Kell and Holland were Antari of other Londons? Have they ever been trapped in a different London during their early days learning their Antari powers? The Antari are a dying breed and Kell was brought quickly to the court - did the royals have people out searching for Antari to bind them to the crown even before they started dying out? Were they in the monasteries instead? Under a guise of "education"? How did the magic system evolve so differently in some of the cities other than London? From what we see in Red London and the cast’s expedition in Gathering, the Antari aren't well understood by any of the other countries, so what happened to cause a split? There's so much to explore!
I do ship Kell and Holland, so I would love anything with the two of them, especially a fix-it where they get to keep their Antari powers or continue living as the opposite sides of Antari coins in different Londons. Any sort of missing scene between them at any point during the books would be welcome, or any time they ran into each other beforehand! Beforehand is especially alluring because I love the idea of all the different ways their interactions could have gone under the power shift from Vortalis to the Danes, and how much was apparent even in just Holland's interactions with Kell. (I also love the loyalty between Holland and Vortalis, so if you want to play with that, please feel free!) I love Holland teaching Kell spells he hadn't known before, and the difference in how they both interact with and treat Osaron. As much as I can get behind the “who you were in the past doesn’t matter, it’s who you are now” mentality, I am still deeply curious as to Kell’s origins and how the magic chooses an Antari and how it could parallel - even from the very beginning, be the polar opposite of - Holland’s magical growth.
I’ll also admit to being really into the bloodplay possibilities of Antari magic - the Danes drinking Holland’s blood in front of Kell was what catapulted me to Twitter to start to recruit friends to read the book. What if Kell had accepted the glass? Or if Athos hadn’t offered him anything else? What if they’d forced Holland to stay and watch while Kell drank it? Does Antari blood have a certain allure/affect on other Antari? The compulsive brand on Holland is also really alluring and I am very okay with him being coerced into doing things he normally wouldn’t do in regards to Kell.
Crueltide coda: As I mentioned, I'm extremely interested in the bloodplay or magical compulsion torture potential in the magic system. The Danes fill an easy noncon/dubcon niche here, but I am equally okay with any other character giving or receiving; Osaron would be good for non-con body takeover, for example.
Yuleporn coda: I half want to just c&p my Crueltide coda back in here, but bloodplay in a nice way, or even just letting Holland have some good memories, either before or while everything goes wrong, or loyalty kink for Holland and Vortalis!
Society of Gentlemen
Characters: Silas Mason, Dominic Frey
How to Consume: Series of books/extras
Mostly I just want more of everything having to do with Silas and Dom. Their book was far and away my favorite in the series and quite possibly my favorite of anything Charles has written, and even not as a couple, my favorite character list is Silas, Dom, and Cyprian, in that order (so boy did I eat up some of the interactions in A Gentleman's Position). I just love their relationship and all the different ways it takes on the "love across a divide" trope. I love their loyalty to and trust in each other, even before they even realize it themselves, and how their deep respect for the other is present in everything they do and say, especially their arguments. I love their love for books, their shared love for books and their continued arguments about books that they both love but have wildly different interpretations on. I love that their arguments and different positions inform and strengthen their relationship, rather than divide.
I love them in bed as much as out of it, I won't deny, especially because of how much the power dynamic flips (and how that flip enhances the new dynamics) but the love never leaves, and while most of my dreams came true with that threesome with Jon after the knighting, Charles then tantalized further with how Will is with words and just. Look. I would honestly love anything smutty from any point in their relationship, but perhaps once things have calmed down. Also we never really got the orgasm denial scene or the handcuffed-to-the-bed scene and I am a simple creature.
Otherwise I really do just love them together and as characters, and especially now that the immediate danger is over and the air is cleared and friendships are reforged, I love the interactions they have with the other Ricardians and crew. Especially with Cyprian, Zoe, Jon, and Will, how both Silas and Dom have interacted with them informally now. But especially Cyprian, with how he plots with both of them. I would absolutely be happy with a full-cast piece with Dom and Silas at the center; even the basic epistolary part of A Private Miscellany had me clutching my chest in glee. The core Ricardians basically know who is with who at this point - do they ever have an actual dinner all together at Arrandene (and how much of a disaster is it)?
For just the two of them, maybe how Silas' new bookshop is going - how did the initial book selection go? Does Dom visit as a customer, now that "formal" introductions have been made and how does that go? We got a hint that they meet on both Wednesdays and Saturdays now???? Silas' legal pamphlets are being circulated and paid attention to - how do they celebrate, either in or out of bed? Who was the first to offer up an opinion on what they'd read recently, and how did those first few discussions go?
Really I just adore everything about these two and their relationships with each other and the other characters, so have them at the center and whatever you do I'll love.
Crueltide coda: I thought long and hard about even including this, but the line "Have to be cruel to be kind" made up my mind for me. This is one where a happy ending or at the very least hopeful is a must, but maybe some of the early sessions were rough on one or both of them, as they're finding their way, or was there ever a time Dominic did have to use "Mason" during a scene? What if Silas had ended up in jail again?
Yuleporn coda: Everything about their dynamic delights me, so it's hard to go wrong!
人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Characters: Luò Bīnghé, Original Luò Bīnghé, Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū
How to Consume: BC Novels
So we read MDZS for book club and I fell hard and then I devoured SVSSS almost immediately afterward and fell even harder. I love everything about it, from the premise that a reader gets to go in and can change the plot of a book that he’s been hatereading, that along the way, without even really intending it, changes everyone’s lives for the better, to the system itself and all of its snarky helpful (helpful to only Luo Binghe!!!) tips and asides (if you want to have the system in, please, please feel free).
I love Shen Qingqiu a lot, someone who never expected to end up here, and while at first is just out to save his own skin, ends up truly caring about not just Luo Binghe but everyone around him (even the hidden characters he didn’t know anything about!) and throwing himself into the role of good Shizun. I love that even though everyone is seriously confused at the sudden change of heart, they all also come around and end up entirely ready to defend and support Shen Qingqiu, even when that comes along with supporting Luo Binghe alongside him by the end. He’s found a place where he fits by the end, even if that place is a bamboo hut on a peak with a sticky disciple, some devoted brothers, and a whole sect of followers who don’t even know how he’s changed their lives.
Mainly Luo Binghe - I love their relationship a lot, how unshakeable Luo Binghe’s faith in Shen Qingqiu is, and how Shen Qingqiu tries to be strict with him and utterly fails at it in the end, even as he tries to continue to be cool and aloof and just ends up patting Luo Binghe’s head instead. I love that Shen Qinqiu’s intervention tips Luo Binghe from entirely Dark Demon Lord to this so eager to please puppy with yandere tendencies, and oh my god, I still think about the moment when Shen Qingqiu realizes he probably could’ve just asked Luo Binghe to walk down to the Demon Realm instead of shoving him in and Luo Binghe would’ve nodded happily and done it for Shizun. They’re so gone for each other and don’t realize just how far gone and it’s amazing.
Enter Original Luo Binghe - I fully admit to clapping like a damn seal at the Bing-ge vs Bing-mei extra and admit that it inspired this section entirely. I love the idea that Bing-ge and Bing-mei really aren’t all that different, that all the tendencies of the one are still present somewhat in the other, even if they never had the opportunity to be expressed in the same way. I love Bing-ge being jealous of Bing-mei for having Shizun’s attentions, and at not knowing whether he really wants to destroy this version of Shizun or see what being praised might feel like and why he didn’t get this supportive version of Shizun who pats his head and indulges him.
I am here for all of the hijinks that might ensue from Original Binghe’s jealousy, be it fights, kidnapping Shen Qingqiu, trying to prove that he’s the superior husband choice (by showing Luo Binghe how to properly please someone, aka that he’s failing rather badly - USE LUBE FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE), maybe being appalled that Luo Binghe usually cooks and cleans for Shizun but then throws himself into a competition, whatever way you want to express them competing (or even collaborating to drive Shen Qingqiu out of his mind, either with frustration or desire), please go for it! I am also here for some Luo Binghe/Luo Binghe if you want to go down that route, because as a reader, Shen Qingqiu is well used to being a voyeur and he is weak to those puppy eyes and tears.
Crueltide coda: I mean, Luo Binghe is still a demon and still very much has yandere tendencies (he kept a corpse around for five years, come on), so please feel free to run with that. Maybe Original Binghe has more of an effect on bringing out Binghe’s sadistic side than expected, or maybe Original Binghe has longer with Shizun than even he had hoped for before Binghe bursts in. Or battle of wills with demon blood, or really anything you can do with the body control it gives the wielder.
Yuleporn coda: Lube is my favorite canon divergence, closely followed by Shen Qingqiu actively enjoying sex. That said, I do not need them to be held to the top/bottom roles the novel set for them, please feel free to have Shen Qingqiu top Luo Binghe, maybe also with Original Binghe’s guidance. Maybe Original Binghe gets entirely stuck in their world and decides he’s going to start a harem there too, with just Binghe and Shizun, and then all the harem duties that come with that. I am also very here for double penetration or spit roasting, in whatever direction or combination you see fit to do that in!
This is the Yuletide 2019 letter for Labocat on AO3 - thank you so much for signing up and offering any of these fandoms; I dearly hope we matched on something you're excited about! Along those lines, I do want to say that if nothing below sparks you, please feel free to use any ideas you already have! I'm really easy to please and all of these fandoms are here because I just want to see more writing in them in general, so anything at all is a gift!
General things! This is just broad-view stuff; I'll note where applicable in specific sections if canons/ships can ignore something.
In general: I’m really happy with anything! And by anything, I really do mean just about anything; it’s hard to find something that I absolutely don’t like hard stop. I'm good with all ratings, as well as with all takes on most tropes, whether it be straight or subversive or somehow finagling it to fit a canon that it really shouldn't.
Some tropes I adore that are relevant (non-comprehensive):
- hurt/comfort and whump
- alternate PoVs of scenes
- pre-canon backstory
- curtainfic/established relationship
- casefic
- fake relationship/arranged marriage/accidentally married/accidental confessions
- found family
- enemies/rivals to lovers (also friends to lovers)
- secret relationships/friendships
- reincarnation/fated/soulbonds
- trapped somewhere together
- loyalty
- magically bonded together (either physically or telepathically)
- redemption or corruption
- road trips
- the 90s anime onsen episode
My DNWs are very few and are unlikely to come up in these canons, but just in case: pregnancy/kids, miscommunication as the central source of plot/tension, non-canonical pronouns, and suicidal thoughts/actions from characters further than canon would go.
Really Optional Details That Are Entirely Optional (okay let’s just call them kinks): If you wanted to go a M/E route, and are comfortable writing any of the following, I really enjoy size difference, blindfolds, orgasm denial, sex pollen, messy/sloppy sex, intercrual, oral, semi-public sex (like in a closet or alley), sensory deprivation, breathplay, toys (especially hidden plugs/vibes), marking/possessiveness, overstimulation, body worship, slow, drawn-out sex that can really tie in with the aforementioned body worship, or awkward first times. I also like a lot of things that generally have to be requested and that most people aren’t comfortable with so they are Extra Optional: dubcon, vore/gore, tentacles and xenophilia, oviposition, come inflation, a/b/o, bloodplay, threesomes/moresomes, double penetration, degradation, non-con body mods, and collars.
Also, past letters are fair game to check if I've requested a fandom before! I've requested a few of these before in different exchanges, and while what I ask for may have shifted, I'm still interested for the same reasons and in for similar prompts.
All of my canons have been put up for the Crueltide and Yuleporn challenges - some canon-specific details are at the bottom of each request, but as always, those are non-restrictive and non-comprehensive, just guidelines!
Characters: Female Protagonist
Where to consume: The game itself is downloadable on both the Android and App Store in English now, but as the English version of the game is two years behind the Japanese, scattered translations and summaries can be found Chaldeum, Cirnopedia, and on the grand order reddit as well.
For the final year, I wanted to request the Protagonist (who I am fine with being named either Ritsuka or Gudako) one last time because what I really do love most is to see conversations or discussions (or even fights) with any of the servants or the support staff about the whole Grand Order and Chaldea shebang and everything they've all been through. I think the protagonist is a really interesting mortal foil in this world of divine and heroic spirits, thrust into the center of it without much preparation. All of the servants have such different backgrounds and motivations, and I think she’s a really interesting sounding board for a lot of the issues they might have with the system or with other servants summoned to Chaldea at the same time or having to visit places they know in situations or times that they don’t. Or even just dealing with the hijinks that always seem to happen in Chaldea! I think she’s also very much a possible source of unease or said hijinks, especially if you take the Riyo characterization to heart. I don't mind what view of the game you take, whether it be the more serious main storyline or the off-the-wall chaos of the events, and along those lines, all similar assumptions about how many servants the protagonist has summoned are welcome.
I am caught up to Lostbelt, so would also welcome discussions of everything that's been going down and the future direction of everything they've uncovered. I would also welcome some heartbreak angst about how the end of the Demon Pillars went down, or just general Chaldea staff day-to-day stuff and discussions. There are so many interesting personalities, and the protagonist really brings them all together and draws them forward, and I love seeing that explored. I'm also quite fine with sticking with just the English timeline and how everything is sort of barreling towards its conclusion. Or even make up your own event! What Christmas event would you want to see? I love the insanity of the Grand Order events and the scale they tend to be - go wild!
I also adore the CEs, especially the ones that bring together groups of characters that usually don't interact, or show them in situations either their original canon or Fate canon wouldn't show. Are they AUs? Theme days around Chaldea? Is there a photo studio somewhere, or do they just Rayshift wherever they need to to have a day out in exploration?
Of the tagset, favored servants/conversation partners are: Nero, Mash, Romani, da Vinci, Merlin, Carmilla, Karna, Mordred, and Bedivere. Otherwise, really, anyone is free game, and I'm really not picky at all!
Crueltide coda: As much as it can be a silly canon, Fate also deals with some pretty dark topics, so I'm really open here. Death and violence and torture and grey morals are staples of the canon, and we've literally got an apocalypse as a central point of the game, and between Kiara and BB, we've got vore and eldritch monsters back on the table too, not to mention all the wild noncon body mods, possessions and basically forced breeding discussions Lostbelt has brought us. A lot of the servants weren't good people in life and aren't terribly great people in the game. I would like to ask no torture porn for the sake of torture porn - otherwise please some introspection on how what they're doing reflects on their legend or reason for obtaining the grail.
Yuleporn coda: Laughs in Fate/. Because I only requested the protagonist, most of what'll be here is the mana system and how that ties into supporting such a large...party, as it were. Other than that, please feel free to do just about anything! CEs can tie in, again, or characters' bond lines as such.
Characters: Lio Fortia
How to Consume: In select theaters - check for Dec 8 showings!
Hello to the most linearly coherent thing Trigger has ever done, to a film full of gorgeous symbolic geometry, that had me going “do they know - oh yeah, they know” over and over again with its treatment of marginalized groups and their symbolism, and a truly incredible soundtrack and artistic direction. I love everything about the Burnish, from the colors and the way their flames and powers manifest in so many different ways, to the way that society shifted after the fires. I love that there are aliens involved (because it’s Trigger so of course there are), and just everything about it was a delight. They packed so much into a two hour film and I need to know everything more.
Namely, I would love to know more about the years between or the years after. Lio is established as the leader of Mad Burnish - has he been the leader for all 30 years since the Burnish appeared, or did he have to take over from someone at some point? How did he build Mad Burnish? How did he learn all how to control his powers (AND MAKE A BIKE FROM IT) and teach others to do the same? (On a crack note, do the off-hand comments about the existence of all the other Burnish groups - God Burnish, Sitcom Burnish, Odd Burnish, and the rest - hold any weight?)
More things I want very much to know are why is his favorite food kangaroo? We know Gueira and Meis are Australian, so they likely have a hand in it, but did this come from long days on the road, is Lio a terrible cook and so only eats what other people make him? Is the act of cooking associated with safety and staying in one place long enough to do so? Does he transfer that weight onto other things people cook for him later on?
In terms of the years after - what do they get up to afterward? How many times does Lio forget that he isn’t invulnerable to fire anymore? Does his body catch up with his aging? How does Galo’s team absorb him into them?
Crueltide coda: Lio locked up. Powers gone, the freezing mechanisms actually active - how at anyone’s mercy is he? What if he had actually been put into the Prometech engine? Does Kray make Galo watch him use Lio as a way to further break him?
Yuleporn: I ship Lio with Galo mostly - if you want to bring back Burnish powers somehow, or have them together while Lio still has his Burnish, temperature play would be a huge thing here. I’m not terribly firm on which direction anything goes, but if Lio receives, I’d rather him top from the bottom, as it were.
Characters: Kell, Holland
How to Consume: Amazon or anywhere you get books!
A note up front! I requested both Kell and Holland, but please feel free to treat it as an or request if you have better ideas for them apart.
Even though I requested characters, I love the worldbuilding potential of this book and would be more than happy to receive something just related to it - there’s so much to be explored in both the magic and the politics the occur from both inter and intra-world dynamics! I love how each character (and each London) has been shaped by their distance from the magic center and what London they occupy and the sort of shifts we get to see when they’re faced with new elements. Each of the Londons has a different relationship with magic due to their distance from the center, but what could have happened if any of the characters were from a different London, or the Londons were in a different order radiating outward? What if Kell and Holland were Antari of other Londons? Have they ever been trapped in a different London during their early days learning their Antari powers? The Antari are a dying breed and Kell was brought quickly to the court - did the royals have people out searching for Antari to bind them to the crown even before they started dying out? Were they in the monasteries instead? Under a guise of "education"? How did the magic system evolve so differently in some of the cities other than London? From what we see in Red London and the cast’s expedition in Gathering, the Antari aren't well understood by any of the other countries, so what happened to cause a split? There's so much to explore!
I do ship Kell and Holland, so I would love anything with the two of them, especially a fix-it where they get to keep their Antari powers or continue living as the opposite sides of Antari coins in different Londons. Any sort of missing scene between them at any point during the books would be welcome, or any time they ran into each other beforehand! Beforehand is especially alluring because I love the idea of all the different ways their interactions could have gone under the power shift from Vortalis to the Danes, and how much was apparent even in just Holland's interactions with Kell. (I also love the loyalty between Holland and Vortalis, so if you want to play with that, please feel free!) I love Holland teaching Kell spells he hadn't known before, and the difference in how they both interact with and treat Osaron. As much as I can get behind the “who you were in the past doesn’t matter, it’s who you are now” mentality, I am still deeply curious as to Kell’s origins and how the magic chooses an Antari and how it could parallel - even from the very beginning, be the polar opposite of - Holland’s magical growth.
I’ll also admit to being really into the bloodplay possibilities of Antari magic - the Danes drinking Holland’s blood in front of Kell was what catapulted me to Twitter to start to recruit friends to read the book. What if Kell had accepted the glass? Or if Athos hadn’t offered him anything else? What if they’d forced Holland to stay and watch while Kell drank it? Does Antari blood have a certain allure/affect on other Antari? The compulsive brand on Holland is also really alluring and I am very okay with him being coerced into doing things he normally wouldn’t do in regards to Kell.
Crueltide coda: As I mentioned, I'm extremely interested in the bloodplay or magical compulsion torture potential in the magic system. The Danes fill an easy noncon/dubcon niche here, but I am equally okay with any other character giving or receiving; Osaron would be good for non-con body takeover, for example.
Yuleporn coda: I half want to just c&p my Crueltide coda back in here, but bloodplay in a nice way, or even just letting Holland have some good memories, either before or while everything goes wrong, or loyalty kink for Holland and Vortalis!
Characters: Silas Mason, Dominic Frey
How to Consume: Series of books/extras
Mostly I just want more of everything having to do with Silas and Dom. Their book was far and away my favorite in the series and quite possibly my favorite of anything Charles has written, and even not as a couple, my favorite character list is Silas, Dom, and Cyprian, in that order (so boy did I eat up some of the interactions in A Gentleman's Position). I just love their relationship and all the different ways it takes on the "love across a divide" trope. I love their loyalty to and trust in each other, even before they even realize it themselves, and how their deep respect for the other is present in everything they do and say, especially their arguments. I love their love for books, their shared love for books and their continued arguments about books that they both love but have wildly different interpretations on. I love that their arguments and different positions inform and strengthen their relationship, rather than divide.
I love them in bed as much as out of it, I won't deny, especially because of how much the power dynamic flips (and how that flip enhances the new dynamics) but the love never leaves, and while most of my dreams came true with that threesome with Jon after the knighting, Charles then tantalized further with how Will is with words and just. Look. I would honestly love anything smutty from any point in their relationship, but perhaps once things have calmed down. Also we never really got the orgasm denial scene or the handcuffed-to-the-bed scene and I am a simple creature.
Otherwise I really do just love them together and as characters, and especially now that the immediate danger is over and the air is cleared and friendships are reforged, I love the interactions they have with the other Ricardians and crew. Especially with Cyprian, Zoe, Jon, and Will, how both Silas and Dom have interacted with them informally now. But especially Cyprian, with how he plots with both of them. I would absolutely be happy with a full-cast piece with Dom and Silas at the center; even the basic epistolary part of A Private Miscellany had me clutching my chest in glee. The core Ricardians basically know who is with who at this point - do they ever have an actual dinner all together at Arrandene (and how much of a disaster is it)?
For just the two of them, maybe how Silas' new bookshop is going - how did the initial book selection go? Does Dom visit as a customer, now that "formal" introductions have been made and how does that go? We got a hint that they meet on both Wednesdays and Saturdays now???? Silas' legal pamphlets are being circulated and paid attention to - how do they celebrate, either in or out of bed? Who was the first to offer up an opinion on what they'd read recently, and how did those first few discussions go?
Really I just adore everything about these two and their relationships with each other and the other characters, so have them at the center and whatever you do I'll love.
Crueltide coda: I thought long and hard about even including this, but the line "Have to be cruel to be kind" made up my mind for me. This is one where a happy ending or at the very least hopeful is a must, but maybe some of the early sessions were rough on one or both of them, as they're finding their way, or was there ever a time Dominic did have to use "Mason" during a scene? What if Silas had ended up in jail again?
Yuleporn coda: Everything about their dynamic delights me, so it's hard to go wrong!
Characters: Luò Bīnghé, Original Luò Bīnghé, Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū
How to Consume: BC Novels
So we read MDZS for book club and I fell hard and then I devoured SVSSS almost immediately afterward and fell even harder. I love everything about it, from the premise that a reader gets to go in and can change the plot of a book that he’s been hatereading, that along the way, without even really intending it, changes everyone’s lives for the better, to the system itself and all of its snarky helpful (helpful to only Luo Binghe!!!) tips and asides (if you want to have the system in, please, please feel free).
I love Shen Qingqiu a lot, someone who never expected to end up here, and while at first is just out to save his own skin, ends up truly caring about not just Luo Binghe but everyone around him (even the hidden characters he didn’t know anything about!) and throwing himself into the role of good Shizun. I love that even though everyone is seriously confused at the sudden change of heart, they all also come around and end up entirely ready to defend and support Shen Qingqiu, even when that comes along with supporting Luo Binghe alongside him by the end. He’s found a place where he fits by the end, even if that place is a bamboo hut on a peak with a sticky disciple, some devoted brothers, and a whole sect of followers who don’t even know how he’s changed their lives.
Mainly Luo Binghe - I love their relationship a lot, how unshakeable Luo Binghe’s faith in Shen Qingqiu is, and how Shen Qingqiu tries to be strict with him and utterly fails at it in the end, even as he tries to continue to be cool and aloof and just ends up patting Luo Binghe’s head instead. I love that Shen Qinqiu’s intervention tips Luo Binghe from entirely Dark Demon Lord to this so eager to please puppy with yandere tendencies, and oh my god, I still think about the moment when Shen Qingqiu realizes he probably could’ve just asked Luo Binghe to walk down to the Demon Realm instead of shoving him in and Luo Binghe would’ve nodded happily and done it for Shizun. They’re so gone for each other and don’t realize just how far gone and it’s amazing.
Enter Original Luo Binghe - I fully admit to clapping like a damn seal at the Bing-ge vs Bing-mei extra and admit that it inspired this section entirely. I love the idea that Bing-ge and Bing-mei really aren’t all that different, that all the tendencies of the one are still present somewhat in the other, even if they never had the opportunity to be expressed in the same way. I love Bing-ge being jealous of Bing-mei for having Shizun’s attentions, and at not knowing whether he really wants to destroy this version of Shizun or see what being praised might feel like and why he didn’t get this supportive version of Shizun who pats his head and indulges him.
I am here for all of the hijinks that might ensue from Original Binghe’s jealousy, be it fights, kidnapping Shen Qingqiu, trying to prove that he’s the superior husband choice (by showing Luo Binghe how to properly please someone, aka that he’s failing rather badly - USE LUBE FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE), maybe being appalled that Luo Binghe usually cooks and cleans for Shizun but then throws himself into a competition, whatever way you want to express them competing (or even collaborating to drive Shen Qingqiu out of his mind, either with frustration or desire), please go for it! I am also here for some Luo Binghe/Luo Binghe if you want to go down that route, because as a reader, Shen Qingqiu is well used to being a voyeur and he is weak to those puppy eyes and tears.
Crueltide coda: I mean, Luo Binghe is still a demon and still very much has yandere tendencies (he kept a corpse around for five years, come on), so please feel free to run with that. Maybe Original Binghe has more of an effect on bringing out Binghe’s sadistic side than expected, or maybe Original Binghe has longer with Shizun than even he had hoped for before Binghe bursts in. Or battle of wills with demon blood, or really anything you can do with the body control it gives the wielder.
Yuleporn coda: Lube is my favorite canon divergence, closely followed by Shen Qingqiu actively enjoying sex. That said, I do not need them to be held to the top/bottom roles the novel set for them, please feel free to have Shen Qingqiu top Luo Binghe, maybe also with Original Binghe’s guidance. Maybe Original Binghe gets entirely stuck in their world and decides he’s going to start a harem there too, with just Binghe and Shizun, and then all the harem duties that come with that. I am also very here for double penetration or spit roasting, in whatever direction or combination you see fit to do that in!