the island of conclusions

Fic: The Stone of the Jaguar Kings (Ritchie films)

ariadnes_string — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 20:58:44 GMT

I got tagged yesterday for come_at_once, the 24-hour Sherlock Holmes fandoms tag-team challenge. I had my doubts, but I managed to write a bit of silliness in the 6 or so hours I had available. Sometimes it's actually better for me to write that way, I think.

The prompt was "show and tell."

The Stone of the Jaguar Kings (1301 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Downey films)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Magical Artifacts, irresponsible anthropology, Chair Sex
Summary:

A famous explorer leaves a mysterious stone in Holmes' keeping.

Dear smutswap author

ariadnes_string — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 15:00:46 GMT

placeholder

Chocolate boxing

ariadnes_string — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 21:58:34 GMT

Hi! We are currently in a windowless space waiting for the tornado warning to expire, so I'm catching up by posting this.

I got two delightful gifts from the chocolate_box exchange.

Vicarious Mercy (1206 words) by fadeaccompli
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq & Gem of Sphene, Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq/Mercy of Kalr
Characters: Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq, Mercy of Kalr, Gem of Sphene
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Bureaucracy
Summary:

In which Sphene discovers a way to shorten committee meetings, and Mercy of Kalr does not disagree.

Quantifiable Effects (483 words) by Isis
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Beverley Brook/Peter Grant
Characters: Beverley Brook, Peter Grant
Additional Tags: Pegging, Bondage, Sexual Humor, PWP without Porn
Summary:

After the events of Foxglove Summer, Peter gives Beverley a gift. And vice versa.

And I wrote one gift.

Five currant buns (949 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq/Mercy of Kalr/Seivarden Vendaai
Characters: Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq, Awn Elming
Summary:

There are some songs I remember but never sing.

I kind of want to sign up for smutswap but the fact that I only barely managed to write something for my recipient for this one is making me think twice.

Okay, the warning is about to expire and we seem to have survived!

Fandom Stocking!

ariadnes_string — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 01:13:35 GMT

Last year, I wrote a last minute Rivers of London/X-Men stocking-stuffer for fandom_stocking, and it was so much fun that I decided to sign up for myself this year. So I did, and then completely forgot to post a link to my stocking here. Nevertheless, I got a delightful bunch of cards and recipes and images/vids when the stockings were opened on Friday, including this very hot Peter/Beverly ficlet from darkrosaleen. Thank you to everyone who put stuff in my stocking!

I wrote a couple of ficlets myself. A shameless bit of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation h/c for my Yuletide recipient that I didn't manage to get together for Yuletide itself, and a tiny piece of Seivarden/Breq/Mercy of Kalr.

The Shape We're In (1740 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Benji Dunn/Ethan Hunt
Additional Tags: Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort
Summary:

"I’ve heard of team spirit," Benji says, "but sharing each others' flashbacks, that’s a bit much.”

Wonderment (164 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq/Mercy of Kalr/Seivarden Vendaai
Additional Tags: Non-Sexual Intimacy, Asexual Character
Summary:

Seivarden is ship now, and with her ungloved hands she counts my ribs.

I also tried to post podcast recs to people who requested them, since I listened to a ton of podcasts this fall--so if any one wants podcast recs, let me know!

Happy new year, all!

Chocolate Box gift dear author letter

ariadnes_string — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 15:51:44 GMT

I’m sorry this letter is so late! If you’ve started something, please just go ahead, I’m sure I will love it!

If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:

I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it). I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17—same goes for anything in between.

H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.

If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including guns and knives, as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.

If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.

I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t really like AUs of any stripe, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.

Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.

Things I don't like: mpreg; incest; watersports; a/b/o; non-canonical character deaths; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.

On the theory that one writes what one likes, here's my list of fic on AO3.

Mission Impossible (Movies): Ethan Hunt & Ilsa Faust, Ethan Hunt & William Brandt.
Re-watching Rogue Nation, I loved the chemistry between Ethan and Ilsa—he hashes things out verbally with the other members of the team, but with Ilsa, it's just a raised eyebrow or tiny smile, and things are decided. I liked that the movie doesn't make their relationship romantic. I'd love to see that non-sexual (but maybe just on the verge of sexual) connection explored in fic. I also love the way he’s the damsel so often in the movie—I’d love to see her rescuing him again.
I've always liked Ethan & Will (and Ethan/Will, though that wasn't nominated). Anything exploring their somewhat tortured relationship would be great.

Imperial Radch: Breq & Sphene, Breq/& Seivarden, Breq/&Mercy of Kalr, Justice of Toren| One Esk/Awn.
The thing that made me fall in love with this series was the intense, but (to our eyes) unfamiliar contours of the relationships between Justice of Toren| One Esk and Awn, and between Breq and Seivarden. Love, surely, though mostly one-sided in both cases, but not any of our conventional ideas of love. Any exploration of those relationships pre-canon, or missing scenes, would be great. Also post-canon explorations of Breq and Mercy of Kalr (slashed or not) would be great.

I have one fic desire that’s a little outside what people usually write in this fandom: I’d love to see Breq and Seivarden have to visit a culture where gender divisions are the norm (their biological bodies are mentioned in the first pages of Ancillary Justice, though Leckie never brings it up again). I’d like them to stay true to their Radch gender identities, but to see them have to deal with the strangeness of gender divisions. I understand if that’s not something you have any interest in, though!

Rivers of London: Beverly Brook/Peter Grant, Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale, Nightingale/Caffrey.
I’d be quite happy with the Peter/Beverly PWP in this fandom! I like Peter and Nightingale working as partners, as much as mentor/mentee, drawing on their different areas of expertise to get things done. And I’ve never thought about Nightingale/Caffrey, but when I saw the pairing in the tag set, I got curious, so, yeah, just show me how you think that relationship would work!

UnREAL: Rachel & Quinn, Rachel & Adam, Rachel/Adam.
I’m fascinatated by the messed-up, co-dependent relationship between Quinn and Rachel—any aspect of that you want to explore, no matter how disturbing, is fine with me. Rachel & Adam, too, whether you want to make the relationship sexual or not. What is it that attracts them to one another? A post-series encounter of some kind would be really interesting.

Many thanks, dear writer! I hope you find something you can have fun with!

Yuletide Reveal

ariadnes_string — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 15:12:21 GMT

I wrote two stories for Yuletide.

My main assignment was for Spy--a movie I loved, though the fic-writing was a bit out of my usual wheelhouse. Fun though!

Full Disclosure (1770 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Spy (2015)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Susan Cooper/Rick Ford, Susan Cooper/Bradley Fine/Rick Ford
Additional Tags: Misses Clause Challenge
Summary:

Fine finds out, under less than ideal conditions.

I picked up a post-deadline pinch hit in Imperial Radch--the third fic I've written for this fandom.

The Story of a Tea Set (1355 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Gem of Sphene, Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq, Minask Nenkur
Additional Tags: Pre-Series
Summary:

Sphene remembers a beautiful object given, destroyed, and remade.

As usual, the pinch hit got better response than the main assignment--which says something about my creative capacities, I'm sure.

Also as usual, due to family, family, family commitments, I have read very little in the collection aside from my three wonderful gifts. I will try to remedy that this week!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Yuletide!

ariadnes_string — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 00:04:59 GMT

I moved, then had family visiting for the holidays, then traveled, and so I have been very remiss about sharing the absolutely lovely gifts I got for Yuletide--all three of them!

I have always loved the Riddlemaster Trilogy, but I've always been wary of requesting fic for it--worried it wouldn't live up to my feelings about the books. But there was gorgeous fic for it in last year's Yuletide, so I took a chance and requested it. And, oh my goodness, what a good decision that turned out to be. I received not one but two fics in the fandom, both post-series fic that focus on the consequences of the events of the novels for the two main characters, Morgon and Raederle, and on their somewhat idiosyncratic love for each other. Both stories give us very grown-up, nuanced, versions of the characters, and beautiful details about their (new) world. These are just beautiful, moving, thoughtful stories--read them if you love the books!

Tuning (3313 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Riddle-Master Trilogy - Patricia A. McKillip
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Morgon of Hed/Raederle of An
Characters: Morgon of Hed, Raederle of An
Additional Tags: Post-Series
Summary:

Morgon and Raederle drift across the realm, and the earth's harp is tuned to the dawn of another new age.

I love the way this story works the connection between magic and the natural world, and its overall concern with the value of peace.

Like Petals from the Bough (3841 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Riddle-Master Trilogy - Patricia A. McKillip
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Morgon of Hed/Raederle of An
Characters: Raederle of An, Morgon of Hed, Nun (Riddle-Master Trilogy), minor OC characters - Character
Additional Tags: Grief, Loss, dealing with eternal life
Summary:

Raederle deals (or doesn't) with the fact that she is not dying.

I love the way this fic, like the novels, considers how you can love someone but need to go away from them for a while. Its consideration of grief is also very moving. As the author's note says, not a happy story, but in the best possible way.

AND THEN--someone wrote me Limetown fic! As in Limetown the podcast (you can now listen to the whole first season--it's like Serial meets the X-Files, or maybe Lost). This story is about how one of the other, barely heard from, characters might have thought about the events of the first season, and is very nicely done!

Thank You for Listening (2962 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Limetown (Podcast)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Lia Haddock, Mark Greene (Limetown)
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Post-Season/Series 01, Yuletide Treat
Summary:

"The thing was, when Lia had first pitched the idea of doing a series on Limetown, it hadn’t seemed dangerous." Producer Mark Greene's take on the events of Season One of Limetown.

So much gratitude to all the writers for making these tiny fandoms come to life!

(and now that I'm back, I'm going to try to read some more in the archive!)

Gifts and fics

ariadnes_string — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 13:59:08 GMT

I received two lovely Imperial Radch fics for the trickortreatex exchange. One is spooky and one is sweet, and both are by the same author! I have just gotten around to reading Ancillary Mercy, so the timing was perfect. Definitely check them out if you enjoy the books.

A House Divided (2709 words) by Hokuto
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Seivarden Vendaai, Mercy of Kalr, Lieutenant Ekalu, Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq
Additional Tags: trick - Freeform, Creepy, Artificial Intelligence, Music, Background Relationships
Summary:

... cannot stand.

Morning Tea (340 words) by Hokuto
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq, Seivarden Vendaai
Additional Tags: Fluff, Sickfic, extra treat
Summary:

Tea is good for what ails you.

I dropped out of the Fandom Growth Exchange, but somehow still managed to get a fabulous treat as a gift. Killjoys is a total happy place to for me, and this fic has the characters and their feelings for each other down perfectly. Plus action and h/c!

Bind Them Tight (2080 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Killjoys (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dutch & Johnny Jaqobis, Dutch & D'avin Jaqobis
Characters: Dutch (Killjoys), Johnny Jaqobis, D'avin Jaqobis, Pawter Simms, Pree (Killjoys)
Summary:

The warrant really isn't all.

I also wrote two stories for trickortreatex, one my assignment and one a pinch hit.

It Ain't All Lon Chaney walking with the Queen (3127 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Peter Grant, Toby (Rivers of London), Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: Wolves, Werewolves
Summary:

Peter has always had a soft spot for dogs.

This was my assignment, and I was more or less happy with the way it turned out. I wish that I had managed to get it done with enough time to revise more and to have it beta'd, though. The pacing of it still bugs me, and I think with more time I could have worked some suspense or slightly scary bits into a basically sweet fic. Also of note: this is the third story focusing on animals and the second dog/wolf story I have written this year. Hmmm.

Carve My Name (409 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Kingdom (TV 2014)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alvey Kulina/Ryan Wheeler
Additional Tags: Knives, Knifeplay
Summary:

“Sometimes,” said Alvey, “I want to give you my own tattoo, right here.” He drew the tip of his knife down Ryan’s sternum, hard enough to matter, but not hard enough to draw blood.

And this one, well, sometimes it's good to write something fast! I can't let myself think too much about knife play and how much I enjoy writing it...

Dear Yuletide Author

ariadnes_string — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 10:48:31 GMT

Dear Yuletide Author:

First of all, thank you so much for writing a story for me! Any fic with any of these characters will make me happy, so please just write what seems fun and interesting to you! I don’t expect you to get every character I requested into your fic—any (or all) of them would fine . I saw this phrase in someone’s letter a while ago, and it perfectly expressed my feelings: If you come to a place where you think you can either write a good story or make me happy, write a good story. ( and if that’s your phrase—thank you!).

If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:

I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it. I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17—same goes for anything in between.

H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.

If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including guns and knives, as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.

If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.

I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t really like AUs of any stripe, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.

Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.

Things I don't like: mpreg; incest; watersports; alpha/omega stuff; non-canonical character deaths; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.

Also: I love fic exploring spirituality and religious practices of all kinds, including Christianity, but my enjoyment of fic about the cozier cultural aspects of Christmas is pretty limited (which is a roundabout way of saying, no Christmas!fic, please—though if you want to write me some Chanukah fic, especially for canonically Jewish characters, that would be great).

On the theory that one writes what one likes, here's my list of fic on AO3.

Requests, in alphabetical order

Hamilton – Miranda (Alexander, Angelica, Eliza, Jefferson)

I’m in love with the soundtrack to Hamilton, but haven’t seen it on stage (and likely won’t for a few years!). I’d like fic that keeps the combination of period details/diction and current references/diction in the musical, but I’m not looking for AUs of either historical fact or setting (no high schools or coffee shops). Epistolary fic would be amazing. I’m particularly fascinated by Angelica, and anything that explored her relationship with Alexander (without tipping it into infidelity), or, better still, with Jefferson in Paris (which apparently really happened), would be amazing. I also really like the relationship between Alexander and Eliza, so any slice of life, happy or sad, would be great. I’d also be interested in fic about Eliza’s life after Alexander’s death, perhaps involving Angelica.

Killjoys (Johnny, Dutch, D’Avin, Alvis).
This show was such a happy place for me this summer. I love all the characters, and, really, anything you want to write about them is great. I am not into incest, so don’t want Johnny/D’Avin; I also like Dutch and Johnny as friends, so would rather not read about them as a couple. Other than that, all ships are fine with me! Show me Dutch’s history with Alvis, or Alvis and Johnny getting to know each other better (Alvis introducing Johnny to the masochistic rites of the scarbacks would be awesome, especially the practices are spiritual as well as sexual). I’m happy with Dutch and D’Avin as a couple, so if you want to explore that relationship, go for it! And Dutch is fascinating in every way, so if you want to write a story about her past, that would be great. Trope fic is perfect for this fandom: stranded! Pretending to be a couple! Cursed object! AMTDI! Anyway, as you can see, I’m not picky here, just have fun with it!

Limetown (podcast) (Lia Haddock). The podcast is available for free here. I was kind of hoping that there’d be more canon for this podcast by the time requests came around, but as of now, there are only three episodes available. Still, this leaves plenty of room for speculation, and I’m open to it all. What do you think will happen next? Feel free to include any of the characters who have appeared, or been mentioned, so far. I love how spooky the show is, but I also love how semi-parodic it is, playing with the tropes and genre conventions set up by something like Serial (especially Serial). So, if you feel like writing something more cracky, go for it. Does Lia have a producer she relies on/takes on wild goose chases/goes out to barbeque with? What do some of the other annoying mannerisms of popular podcasts look like in a supernatural/crazy conspiracy setting?

Riddle-Master Trilogy (Morgon of Hed, Raederle of An)

I loved these books long before I knew anything about fandom, and I still re-read them frequently. I’ve never requested them for Yuletide before, though.

One of my favorite things about them is how they show the characters being shaped, worn down, or scarred by their experiences, and not always in pleasant or easily forgiven ways. I would love fic about Morgon and Raederle’s relationship after the events of the books. How are they haunted by the things they have seen and how do they cope? How do they deal with their responsibilities? Do they have children, and does that challenge the peace they’ve struggled to make with their powers and inheritances? Do they ever lose each other and find a way back? I’m not necessarily looking for something downbeat or angsty (though that would be just fine), so if you want to write about something more lighthearted in their relationship, that would be great, too. Another thing I love about the books is how they are “clifi” or a kind of environmental literature written before that was really a genre, so anything about either character’s intense relationship to the land or elements (wind, fire, etc.) would be wonderful.

Thank you, and have fun!

Exchange fics

ariadnes_string — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 15:08:04 GMT

Hello DW & LJ! I am determined to start catching up with things here. To that end, here is a rec for a fic I received a few months ago (!) for an science fiction/fantasy book exchange called whitedwarfrabbithole

Flow (2547 words) by Merit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Beverley Brook
Additional Tags: Pre-Series
Summary:

The Thames sang when Beverley was born.

This is a lovely character study/back story for Beverly Brook, one of my favorite characters in the RoL books!

I also wrote a story for this exchange:

A Cat May Look at a King (2049 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Darker Shade of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Kell, Rhy, Original Cat Character(s)
Additional Tags: POV Outsider, Post-Book(s)
Summary:

A cat may look at a king...or a couple of princes, as the case may be. Especially an unusual cat.

I ended up liking the book less as I finished it than I had at the outset, and I don't think it will be the great Yuletide fandom I hoped, but I still had fun writing this--first animal POV fic for me.

Hope everyone's doing okay out there!

Trick or Treat Dear Author letter

ariadnes_string — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 02:48:26 GMT

I’m so sorry for the late letter! If you’ve already started something, and it doesn’t intersect with these prompts/ideas, don’t worry about it--just go with your idea!

In any case, thank you so much for writing a story for me! This is my first time participating in this exchange, and I'm really looking forward to it. Any fic in these fandoms would make me happy, so please just write what seems fun and interesting to you! I saw this phrase in someone’s dear author letter once, and it perfectly expresses my feelings: If you come to a place where you think you can either write a good story or make me happy, write a good story.

If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:

I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it)—I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17—same goes for anything in between.

H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.

If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including blood, guns and knives,as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.

If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.

I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t much care for AUs, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.

Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.

Things I’d rather not read: mpreg; watersports; a/b/o fic; character deaths that aren’t part of canon; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.

On theory that one writes what one likes, here's my fic on AO3

Tricks: ghosts, curses, gaslighting, mind-fucks (is it real or not? not being able to trust one's senses), haunted objects, possession; religious rituals gone wrong.

Treats: h/c that emphasizes the comfort, domestic fic, happy surprises, fun dates, friendship.

Optional prompts in alphabetical order

.

Imperial Radch. I will have read Ancillary Mercy by October 31, so don't worry about spoilers. The possibilities of haunting in this fandom are immense! Ghosts in the machine. Ghosts in the heads of former ancillaries. The ghosts of Seivarden's past. The ghosts in Tisarwat's head. The singing in the books also has supernatural possibilities: what if a song Breq collected somewhere has more power than she thought?

There are also lovely possibilities for treats in domestic life. Tea! New gloves! A ship's love for her captain! The singing could also produce some kind of supernatural treat.

I ship Breq/Seivarden--I'd enjoy it being requited, but Seivarden's pining is also something I like to read about.

Killjoys. This show is my new happy place. I love it and all the characters. All spooky space tropes would be good here: haunted ships, possessed computers, cursed objects. There are some specific ghosts I'd enjoy seeing: Dutch's husband; Johnny and D'Avin's mother. All the "sensory link" machines could lead to some disturbing possibilities. Alvis's religious practices are pretty spooky to begin with--exploring that further would be cool.

And so many treats! I adore Dutch and Johnny's friendship (though I DON'T ship them)--any fun, intimate moments between them would be great. Good times at the Royale. Space holiday with fun complications. Comfort!fic or cuddly sick!fic.

Like I said, I don't ship Dutch and Johnny, but I'm happy to see Johnny with either Pree or Alvis.

Rivers of London
For tricks, I would actually enjoy some dark fic here: betrayal (or seeming betrayal), body horror, extreme disorientation. But I also like all the exploration of the supernatural, British and diasporic, in the books, and any creature you want to write about would be great.

Treats: London nightlife; London festivals; domestic life around the folly; the Rivers at home. Nightingale h/c really floats my boat.

I don't particularly ship Peter & Nightingale, but I'm happy to read fic about the pairing. I love Peter and any of the Rivers.

Thank you and have fun!

Fandom Growth Exchange Dear Author Letter

ariadnes_string — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 17:23:57 GMT

Remix!

ariadnes_string — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 14:58:22 GMT

Remix going live coincided with our week long,fun but strenuous road trip/family visit, so I was entirely remiss about posting about the lovely fic I got, or reading anything else in the archive. Now everything has been revealed, but better late than never, I hope!

This was my gift:

Nestling (The Fledglings Remix) (3342 words) by opalmatrix
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Eagle | The Eagle of the Ninth - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Marcus Flavius Aquila/Esca Mac Cunoval
Characters: Marcus Flavius Aquila, Esca Mac Cunoval, Sassticca (Eagle of the Ninth), Stephanos (Eagle of the Ninth), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Illnesses, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Slash
Summary:

The winter after the journey was hard on both of them.

This is Esca's POV on the events of the story, and I loved the way it fleshed out his experience, especially the crucial parts of the story that go on inside Esca's head, and that Marcus can only guess at. I haven't thought about the Eagle, or my Eagle fic for a long time, and this remix made me remember how much I love the characters and setting. So a big thank you to opalmatrix!

I wrote two remixes myself:

Though Seas Between Us Broad Have Roared (the 20x20 remix) (1632 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Grant & Lesley May, Beverley Brook/Peter Grant
Characters: Peter Grant, Lesley May, Beverley Brook, Thomas Nightingale
Additional Tags: Remix, Retrospective
Summary:

After the events of Foxglove Summer, Peter remembers some of the good times with Lesley.

This was my assignment. I think templemarker and I matched on H50, but I actually remixed one of their H50 stories for a previous remix, so I went looking for something else, and was delighted to find RoL fic. Since I'm still processing the events of Foxglove Summer, I recast this lovely older Yuletide story in the light of the current story lines. It made it a bit (well, a lot) sadder, but I was glad of the chance to reflect on Peter and Lesley's relationship, which I haven't really done before.

Five Times Rust Cohle Stayed Alive (the lend your lungs to me remix) (1226 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: True Detective
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rustin "Rust" Cohle/Martin "Marty" Hart
Characters: Rustin "Rust" Cohle, Martin "Marty" Hart, Travis Cohle
Additional Tags: Remix, Suicidal Thoughts
Summary:

The thing about the ocean is, it rises up to the meet the sky as if it doesn’t know there should be a line between them. Rust loves it, and he fears it, because it makes him forget about other lines as well.

This was a pinch hit. The original is a gorgeous story about Rust in Alaska, from Yuletide 2014, which I hadn't read before. As always when I write TD fic, I had to go back to canon to figure things out (I may never have watched any other show as many times), but, as always, canon produced new riches, and that, combined with the wonderful details of the fic, made this fun to write (though I wish I'd had a bit more time!). The script and performances in the middle episodes of TD S1 are just amazingly layered, I've found.

And that was remix, which I always enjoy! As per usual these days, the huge bulk of fic was MCU, which I don't read, but I will try to go back and find some stuff from other fandoms.

Running Hot Lives!

ariadnes_string — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 21:01:23 GMT

Serendipitously, several wonderful stories have just appeared based on prompts from the 2013 Running Hot fever fic meme.

The Sleepover (1624 words) by thirdbird
Chapters: 1/2
Fandom: Cabin Pressure
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Martin Crieff & Douglas Richardson
Characters: Martin Crieff, Douglas Richardson, Arthur Shappey, Helena Richardson
Additional Tags: Humor, Sickfic, Fever, Friendship, gen - Freeform
Summary:

For ariadnes_string's prompt in her Running Hot 3 fever fic meme(oh god TWO years ago?? can it be?): "Douglas is ill. What is Douglas like when he's ill? I can't imagine--but I'm sure you can, dear writer! He's feverish, coughing, sniffling, & etc. And the worst part is, he can't go home to Helena (this takes place in the era of Helena) because there's only one thing Helena loathes more than people who aren't pilots, and that's sick people. So he decides to spend the night in Gertie. Not the best plan, I'll grant you, but he's sick, isn't he? And [person/persons] discover he's there. Comfort (and/or hurt) follows."

off the clock (2292 words) by topaz, t_fic, topaz119
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Unusuals
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Allison Beaumont/Jason Walsh, Casey Shraeger & Jason Walsh, Davis Nixon/Casey Shraeger
Characters: Allison Beaumont, Casey Shraeger, Jason Walsh
Additional Tags: Partnership, Male-Female Friendship, Female Friendship
Summary:

"Oh, my God." Casey came to a dead halt two steps into the diner. "Seriously?"

Also:

Fire and Ice, by astrofig for this prompt: Tony is seriously, painfully sick and Loki doesn't have a second thought about shifting into his jotun form to use touch and body contact to cool him down.

I’ve never shut down the meme, and people have added a few more prompts recently. Please feel free to fill anything that’s on there.

Sadly, I’m way too busy this summer to launch another round of Running Hot, but if anybody wants to take responsibility for setting it up, please do so! There’re collections already set up on AO3.

The weather has been feverish around here for the past two weeks (ie., over 98.6), but in better news I finally saw Mad Max: Fury Road over the weekend!

Happy summer, folks!

Lead on, Macduff!

ariadnes_string — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:00:40 GMT

Okay, I had no idea that was a famous misquotation until I just googled it. In any case, I cannot wait to hear Michael Fassbender say the line the right way.

I have not seen Mad Max, or the season premiere of Hannibal (I haven't even finished watching S2), or much of anything else, but I have seen this trailer, and it scratches an itch.

There has not been enough scheming, shirtless, half-mad Fassy in my life lately.

(sorry, I meant to write a sober post about literary podcasts, but ended up with this instead)

White Dwarf Rabbit Hole 2015

ariadnes_string — Fri, 22 May 2015 17:21:49 GMT

I’m so sorry for the late letter! If you’ve already started something, and it doesn’t intersect with these prompts/ideas, don’t worry about it--just go with your idea!

In any case, thank you so much for writing a story for me! Any fic in these fandoms would make me happy, so please just write what seems fun and interesting to you! I saw this phrase in someone’s dear author letter once, and it perfectly expresses my feelings: If you come to a place where you think you can either write a good story or make me happy, write a good story.

If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:

I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it)—I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17—same goes for anything in between.

H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.

If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including blood, guns and knives,as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.

If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.

I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t much care for AUs, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.

Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.

Things I’d rather not read: mpreg; watersports; a/b/o fic; character deaths that aren’t part of canon; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.

On theory that one writes what one likes, here's my fic on AO3

Optional prompts in alphabetical order

City of Stairs

I really enjoyed this novel and its complex world-building. Shara and Sigrud are the nominated characters, and anything about them, either separately or together, would make me happy: a case fic, sometime before the events of the novel, perhaps when they were still getting to know each other would be great; or some downtime, when they’ve gotten to know each other better, would be interesting, too.

Imperial Radch

An open request, because I feel that if you offered to write this difficult universe you should be able to write whatever characters and situation appeals to you! Though I’ll admit that after reading both books I still feel more engaged by the strong relationships of Ancillary Justice--between Breq and Seivarden and between Justice of Toren and Lieutenant Awn—than to those in the second book, but I’m very willing to be convinced. Tisarwat is an especially intriguing character, and I’d be really interested in a piece from her perspective, letting us in on what goes on inside her head. I’d also be delighted with a story about Breq or Seivarden (or Awn) alone, perhaps set before the events of AJ (One Esk’s discovery of songs on XXX has always interested me, or Seivarden’s descent into addiction). If you really wanted to write id!fic for me, I’d love a story about Breq recognizing Seivarden’s feelings for her, and reciprocating them, but I understand if you feel that would be unlikely or undesireable. I’m also curious about what it would be like for any of the characters to have to get by in a culture that put a lot of emphasis on gender roles. I love the “distributed subjectivity” of the books—being able to see things from multiple perspectives through (and of) technology—so if you could work that into a story, that would be cool, too, but no worries if not.

Raven Cycle

Once again, I’m not picky! I think what I like most about the series is the intimacy between Gansey, Ronan, Blue and Adam—more than individual pairings, probably, though I have no objection to Adam/Ronan if that’s the way you want to go. I’m always curious about Gansey-Ronan before the others came onto the scene, however, so fic about their friendship pre-series would be great (I’m open to Gansey/Ronan, too!). How did Ronan find out about Gansey’s bee allergy, for instance? I love Gansey’s intense sense of responsibility for his friends, and would love fic where they have to take care of him for a change. I'm also intrigued by post-series fic, though I'd rather have the characters dealing with sad outcomes than any kind of fix-it fic.

Rivers of London

Yet another really open request. What I like best about the books are the descriptions of London’s history and its heterogeneous present, so anything having to do with that would be great. I love crossover fic in this fandom, so if we’ve matched on more than one fandom here, that would be really cool. I like Peter/Beverly a lot, so if you want to speculate about what they’re getting up to after Foxglove Summer, I’d be interested in reading that, though I ship Peter/Nightingale, too. I’d enjoy a fic just about the Rivers, too—maybe something from their childhoods.

Thank you!

Rivers of London comic trailer

ariadnes_string — Fri, 15 May 2015 20:56:41 GMT

Did y'all see this?

Rarelywritten!

ariadnes_string — Mon, 04 May 2015 23:58:49 GMT

Oh wow...I see I haven't posted since the middle of March. I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize it had been that long. Oops. It's been a busy spring, I guess.

In the meantime, the rarelywritten archive went live yesterday, and I got the most lovely Imperial Radch fic from teaotter. It's a beautifully written piece that manages to be both a slice-of-life glimpse of the world aboard Mercy of Kalr and take on some of the bigger existential questions of the novels.

whatever a sun will always sing (1107 words) by Teaotter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kalr Five & Mercy of Kalr
Characters: Kalr Five, Mercy of Kalr
Summary:

Old dreams, new opportunities: Kalr Five has a choice to make.

I wrote two fics for the challenge, my assignment and a pinch hit. My assignment was an Imperial Radch fic for teaotter, which means we wrote for each other--something that's never happened to me before.

Benefit (2308 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Seivarden Vendaai, Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen | Breq
Additional Tags: Pining, Masks, Post-Book(s)
Summary:

“How can it be, that you, who’ve worn so many faces, should remain always the same, while I, who’ve had the same face for a thousand years, have changed so much that I am unrecognizable to myself?”

And then I picked up a Cabin Pressure pinch hit, because Cabin Pressure pinch hits are the best. I had a great time writing this one.

The Loophole (2210 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Cabin Pressure
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, Douglas Richardson, Arthur Shappey, Snoopadoop
Additional Tags: Origin Story
Summary:

Every dog has an origin story.

Okay, hope everyone's doing well out there in DW/LJ-land. More soon, I hope!

Purim fics II: Peaky Blinders

ariadnes_string — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 20:38:17 GMT

Then, I picked up these as a pinch hit. I wrote them very quickly, so they are of questionable quality, but I loved looking at the Tommy/Alfie pairings (and thinking about how Alfie might have been involved with 1920s Palestine), and of course, Tommy & Ada :)

In the Year of the British Mandate (871 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tommy Shelby, Alfie Solomons
Additional Tags: Canon Jewish Character, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Alfie is a bit of a Zionist
Series: Part 1 of In the Year of the British Mandate
Summary:

Tommy wasn’t surprised when Alfie Solomons’ men jumped him a week after Epsom.

In the Year of the British Mandate (chapter 2) (873 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tommy Shelby/Alfie Solomons
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Guns, Alfie is a bit of a Zionist, Canon Jewish Character, Purim
Series: Part 2 of In the Year of the British Mandate
Summary:

“It’s Purim,” said Alfie, throwing out his arms expansively. “And I want to make some noise.”

The Four-Day Snowball Fight (810 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ada Shelby, Tommy Shelby
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Childhood Memories, Snow
Summary:

Tommy asks Ada for a favor.

Purim fics I: Raven Cycle

ariadnes_string — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 17:57:26 GMT

I wrote my assignment plus a pinch hit for purimgifts this year--that's six (short) fics--so I'm going to put them in two different posts.

My assigned recipient was darkrosaleen--possibly the first time I've ever gotten a flistie as part of an exchange. I particularly wanted to write something good for her, because she's awesome, and because she'd written me the most amazing Ronan/Gansey bloodplay fic a few years ago for Yuletide. Luckily for me, she had a really fascinating prompt about a Jewish Kavinsky--so the ficlets turned out to be, if not easy, then at least really interesting to write.

In The Dream Thieves, Kavinsky, as the villain, is coded as, if not Jewish, then certainly not Anglo-Celtic-Christian the way the heroes are. His family is supposed to have come from Bulgaria, and they are neither poor, like some of Stiefvater's characters, nor rich, like others: instead, they are the kind of cartoon nouveau riche who live in McMansions in New Jersey, have mob money and wear sunglasses with white plastic frames. The Dream Thieves gets a disturbing amount of mileage from cultural markers like that. Lines like this one, describing Blue's distaste for Kavinsky, have always bothered me: "There was something erratic and vulgar about the full line of his lips, like he'd swallow her if he got close enough. She hated the smell of him." All the good guys in the novel have thin lips.

Anyway, I didn't want to rehabilitate Kavinsky as a misunderstood hero, or take the book to task for its fear of the ethnic, but I did want to give that immigrant, non-WASPy, background a bit more texture. And I really wanted to see what another magic system would look like mapped over/against the books' Celtic one. Jewish magic, at least of the Ashkenazi sort, is all about Hebrew letters and mystical names. It took a while to figure out how to integrate that with the dream forest magic that's canon in the books, but I liked the solution I came up with.

The Dream Forest (953 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Joseph Kavinsky
Additional Tags: Pre-Series, Jewish Character, Magic, Sadism, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1
Series: Part 1 of Far From the Rhodope Mountains
Summary:

In his thirteenth year, Joseph Kavinsky dreamed of a forest.

The New Year of the Trees (998 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Joseph Kavinsky, Ronan Lynch, Prokopenko (Raven Cycle)
Additional Tags: Magic, Golems, Sadism, Bloodplay, Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Jewish Character
Series: Part 2 of Far From the Rhodope Mountains
Summary:

“I saw you wake up and the blood appear. I knew what you were.”
Joseph Kavinsky, The Dream Thieves

Bindings (914 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Joseph Kavinsky/Ronan Lynch
Characters: Joseph Kavinsky, Ronan Lynch
Additional Tags: Jewish Character, Magic, Rape/Non-con Elements, Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Tattoos
Series: Part 3 of Far From the Rhodope Mountains
Summary:

"This is what you would call a Bulgarian mobster Jersey trash dream forest.”

Purim Gifts!

ariadnes_string — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 16:15:43 GMT

Y'all, I got the most wonderful ficlets from purimgifts!

The rules for this exchange are: three ficlets, 300-1000 words, about Jewish characters, female characters (in honor of the Purim story), or evil viziers. My gifts were all Erik-centric, which I adore. Two are Erik/Raven, which is a pairing I've never thought too much about, but really enjoyed in the hands of this author. They are all lovely, but my favorite might be Yarzeit, for the complex way it works through mourning, ritual and different valences on family, all in less than 1,000 wds. Two of them them are sad stories, but their artistry really brightened my day!

Passing On (327 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Men (Movieverse)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Characters: Erik Lehnsherr, Kitty Pryde
Additional Tags: Community: purimgifts, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Deathfic, Shema, Canon Jewish Character, Female Jewish Character, Rites of Passage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Unexpected Connection
Summary:

No one should be alone when dying, especially not a Jew.

Yarzheit (800 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: First Class (2011)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Raven | Mystique
Characters: Erik Lehnsherr, Raven | Mystique
Additional Tags: Community: purimgifts, Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Yarzheit, Judaism, Emotional Hurt, Coping, Established Relationship
Summary:

Raven sits up on the bed and sets the report aside, climbs over his lap, and pushes him down to kiss him as though he loves her because he does love her. She cannot be Charles but she is her own kind of beautiful.

Order of the Day is Rest (425 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Men: First Class (2011)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Raven | Mystique
Characters: Erik Lehnsherr, Raven | Mystique
Additional Tags: Community: purimgifts, Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, chosen family, Established Relationship, Mystique Takes Care of Business
Summary:

Raven stared at him unimpressed in the doorway as he forced himself out of bed on shaky feet and reached for his shirt. "The mighty Magneto," she chided, "taken down by the common cold."

And I got icons too!

Dear Rarelywritten Author

ariadnes_string — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 16:24:09 GMT

First of all, thank you so much for writing a story for me! Any fic with these characters will make me happy, so please just write what seems fun and interesting to you! I saw this phrase in someone’s dear author letter once, and it perfectly expresses my feelings: If you come to a place where you think you can either write a good story or make me happy, write a good story.

If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:

I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it)—I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17—same goes for anything in between.

H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.

If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including guns and knives,as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.

If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.

I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t much care for AUs, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.

Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.

Things I’d rather not read: mpreg; watersports; a/b/o fic; character deaths that aren’t part of canon; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.

On theory that one writes what one likes, here’s my list of fic on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/ariadnes_string/works

Requests, in alphabetical order

Agent Carter
I would be happy with just about any story about Peggy—casefic, slice-of-life, character study. I’m less interested in her romantic life, though—either reminiscing about Steve, or a new relationship with Angie (I’d be fine with Peggy/Angie, or Peggy/Steve as background—just not that interested a story that focuses on their first time, or UST, or pining, or what have you). I would love an Agent Carter crossover with one of the other fandoms I’ve requested, especially Rivers of London (more details below). If you want to write a story about Angie or Anna Jarvis independently of Peggy, that would be totally cool.

The Honourable Woman
Julia Walsh, Nessa Stein, Atika Halabi
I was mesmerized by this show, and I’m fascinated by all of these women, either alone or together; I’d be delighted with a story about Nessa only, Atika only, or about their relationship, whether you see it as primarily romantic/sexual or more adversarial (or both). Anything about Dame Julia, her job, and her capacity to kick ass, would be great. The intimacy of Nessa and Atika’s time in captivity together, whether sexual or not, with all its hidden layers and surprising revelations really interests me, but if you want to write something about their lives afterwards, that’s good, too. This canon calls out for darker fic, and I’m absolutely fine with explorations of the canonical non-con (and its effects on Nessa) and all the gaslighting/intimate deception. I guess I’m particularly interested in Nessa’s relationship to her body—after rape, after pregnancy—and to her carefully chosen and laid out clothes. The show didn’t have much to say about religion (as opposed to nationalism), but if you want to explore that for either character, it would be cool.

Imperial Radch
I left this request open for all nominated characters because I feel that if you offered to write this difficult universe you should be able to write whatever characters and situation appeals to you. So, really, this is an open request! I’ve read both books, so no need to worry about spoilers. After reading both, I still felt more engaged by the strong relationships of Ancillary Justice--between Breq and Seivarden and between Justice of Toren and Lieutenant Awn—than to those in the later book, but I’m very willing to be convinced. I’d also be delighted with a story about Breq or Seivarden (or Awn) alone, perhaps set before the events of AJ (Justice of Toren, or Seivarden’s descent into addiction). If you really wanted to write id!fic for me, I’d love a story about Breq recognizing Seivarden’s feelings for her, and reciprocating them, but I understand if you feel that would be unlikely or undesireable. I love the “distributed subjectivity” of the books—being able to see things from multiple perspectives through (and of) technology—so if you could work that into a story, that would be cool, too, but no worries if not.

Peaky Blinders
I really love all the women in this show, and they never get enough screen time. Except for Polly, we get just enough information to be intrigued, but not enough to really know what’s happening with them. Perfect for fanfic, then, right? There should be more stories about how Polly and Ada ran the business during the war, for instance. Or I’d love to know more about how Ada feels about her life in London during S2—she seems to be mixing with a more radical, artistic crowd than the rest of the Shelbys. How did that happen? Esme is fascinating: how did she feel about marrying into the Shelby family? What was it like for her growing up in the Romani culture? I really like May’s mix of toughness and vulnerability: what was it like for her before/during the war? What is it like for her running a business by herself?

Rivers of London
Another really open request. I still haven’t read Foxglove Summer but I plan to before the reveal. What I like best about the books are the descriptions of London’s history and its heterogeneous present. Casefic is always great, but I’m very intrigued by Varvara and her backstory in Russia, so something along those lines would be great. I love crossover fic in this fandom, and a dream fic for me would be Peggy Carter having dealings with Mama Thames and her daughters in the 40s or 50s. Or perhaps Julia Walsh having to deal with Tyburn in the present. Any kind of crossover would be good, really.

Five Fevers (Peaky Blinders fic)

ariadnes_string — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:46:31 GMT

Over a month ago, I expressed a desire to write some shameless h/c, and d_generate_girl suggested I write some for Peaky Blinders. Many weeks later, I ended up this, which is h/c of a kind, but also one of the grimmest things I've ever written. Sorry?

Many thanks to d_generate_girl, though, for beta'ing, and helping me out with it enormously!

Five Fevers (3723 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: May Carleton/Thomas Shelby, Grace Burgess/Tommy Shelby
Characters: Tommy Shelby, Polly Gray, John Shelby, Arthur Shelby, Ada Shelby, Freddie Thorne, May Carleton
Additional Tags: Fever, Hurt/Comfort, War
Summary:

Penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928.

Fic: Displacement: Or, a Watery Problem Solved.

ariadnes_string — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 14:56:37 GMT

I got tagged yesterday morning for come_at_once, the 24-hour porn challenge. Here is what I came up with (more fluff than porn, I'm afraid).

Displacement: Or, A Watery Problem Solved (955 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Downey films)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Bathtubs
Summary:

Watson put the whiskey glass on floor beside him, and leant his head back against the tub, enjoying the silence. No rapid-fire questions, no dizzying leaps of logic: peace.

It did not last.

December talking meme: Peaky Blinders

ariadnes_string — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 20:14:50 GMT

Way back in December, d_generate_girl asked me to talk about Peaky Blinders. Now, in February, I’m finally able to do that (though this got a little long and academic, sorry!).

This is primarily about S2, which I thought was probably better than the first season, less uneven, with less emphasis on a ridiculous star-crossed-lovers plotline, and more interesting stuff.

Here are some of the things that make the love this show.

I suppose it’s fair to say that the show is really held up by the gorgeous scaffolding of Cillian Murphy’s cheekbones. He’s extraordinary in the second season, more beat-up, more dead-eyed, more commanding. He also trots out his special seduction technique several times. This consists of telling a lady he know they’re going to fuck (his word), so just leave the door unlocked for him later. No flirting, no banter, no eyelash fluttering. It works every time.

That said, though, the second season made much better use of its secondary characters, especially Helen McCrory’s Polly. Also, in the (near) absence of the soggy Grace, Tommy’s relationship to Sam Neill’s Chester Campbell was satisfyingly stripped down to the dick-wagging duel it always was. Some of the new characters and storylines worked really well—especially the return of Polly’s lost son Michael, but I also really enjoyed May Carleton; some worked less well—Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons was wonderful, but his plot arc never went much of anywhere.

Peaky Blinders is a testosterone-fest, but the women are amazing. They usually get the raw end of the deal, it’s true, but they never go down without a fight (and in some cases, firing their guns). Ada didn’t have much to do this season, but she still had some great scenes, as did even very minor female characters like Esme and Lizzie. Even the soundtrack was dominated by female voices this year—the season was practically a tribute to PJ Harvey, who must have featured in almost every episode.

And speaking of that soundtrack! As you probably know, I’m a sucker for shows with flashy soundtracks, case in point, True Detective. But whereas shows like TD use their soundtracks to build a deeper sense of place and context, Peaky Blinders uses glaringly anachronistic music to construct emotional parallels between the present and the past (yes, like a fanvid). I think one either loves this or hates this; I often hate it (Baz Luhrmann, blech) but in this case, I love it. It’s a blunt instrument at times, like the moment in the finale when you realize the show’s been waiting two whole seasons to juxtapose the show’s theme song, Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” to the Red Hand of the Ulster Volunteer Force—but damn if creator Stephen Knight doesn’t earn it.

My other favorite thing about Peaky Blinders, especially S2, is its interest in ethnic strife—as opposed to class tension, though that’s there, too. The Shelbys themselves, of course, are, to some always unspecified degree, gypsies/tinkers/Romani, and the first season had a lot of scenes set in Birmingham’s Chinese community. The second season, though, pushed this further, with the main plotline having to do with Tommy’s attempt to set an Italian gang and a Jewish gang against each other to make his own stake in London. The Irish, of many different regional and political stripes, are always present. The show has little interest in the cultural practices of these groups (unless you count Solomons' parodic seder); instead, it’s interested their strategic coherence and tactical interplay. It all makes a nice change from the upstairs-downstairs but culturally (religiously, racially) homogenous view one usually gets of the British past on TV.

Moreover, while your typical British show coughDowntonAbbeycough is interested in stratification and insularity, Peaky Blinders is interested in mixture and mobility. The gypsy/tinker thing highlights this—a people in permanent exile, without a permanent homeland (when I was in England last year, people were talking about the nearly hysterical anxiety “travelers” still provoke). And if the gypsies weren't mobile enough, S2 also had a lot to say about the canals that link English cities, and the transatlantic shipping that might make the Shelby fortune. S2 also beautifully foregrounded the race course as a scene of heterogeneity and mixture, lingering over Epsom in the finale as a place of gorgeous, troubling, violent, thrilling mingling (rich/poor, black/white/Asian, male/female, criminal/law-abiding, & etc.). This is Tommy Shelby’s world; this is where he thrives.

Good Lord, that was a great hour of television! There was so much to love, from the standoff between Tommy and Alfie, to Tommy and Campbell’s verbal smackdown with “God Save the Queen” playing in the background, to Polly shooting Campbell, to May’s dress.

My favorite thing about the episode, though, was the clear line it drew between Tommy digging his way out of that collapsed tunnel in France (now identified as Schwaben Hohe) and climbing out of the grave the UVF have dug for him at the end of the episode. The parallels are explicit, I think: not only does he have that moment with the UVF man comparing what part of the Somme they survived, but the field where they intend to kill him is as flat and muddy as any Belgium battlefield. It makes so much sense to think of Tommy as someone who is, as he says to Alfie, already dead, or is “between two deaths.” The break in Tommy’s hitherto glacial composure as he realizes he’s survived a second time, with that stripped down version of "All My Tears" playing over it was devastating. It was a flawless scene, I thought, easily the best of the series.

I’m looking forward to another season, though I’m worried it’s going to involve more Grace, and smaltzy love shenanigans. Maybe it’ll be more like Godfather II, though.

And a rec, if you like the kind of musical juxtaposition Peaky Blinders provides: this extraordinary Lawrence of Arabia vid from festivids