Dear Chocolatier (Now Complete!)

[opalmatrix]

Thank you so much for writing a story for me.

Have some information about what I like about the fandoms and the characters, plus some optional details about what I like and don't like in a story.

The Fandoms and Relationships

Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie

How about a mystery or adventure with Ingray and Taucris ... maybe they even have to rescue Danach? Or they celebrate a family festival or take a vacation to go sledding or skiiing or perhaps a tropical excape, with Ingray trying hard to press on through her lack of athletic ability, and maybe some hurt-comfort afterward? How about Tic and Garal finally addressing what's developing between them - not sex, necessarily, but acknowledging the growing emotional bond? Or Garal doing something for Tic - rescuing him, somehow? I also think there's real friendship developing between Ingray and Pahlad.

For Breq and Mercy of Kalr ... I just like Mercy of Kalr, and think it's a very care-taking and even loving ship? So maybe Mercy can extend a little comfort to Breq, either after an actual injury or when Breq shows some signs of mental/emotional distress.

You should know: One of the thing I loved about Ingray was that she was like many of us fangirls: a plump, non-adventurous person with Mommy issues. I love that she gets frightened, she cries, and yet she perseveres. Taucris is one of my regular character likes: the good cop/soldier who is getting pulled out of her groove by circumstances and learns to adapt. Garal has really been put through the mill, and yet he still has kindness to spare for Ingray and interest in her situation. Finally, Tic should be really messed up, but he has prospered, as the Geck ambassador notes (to her surprise). I love the little hints of his developing relationship with Garal, and I am a sucker for "two against the universe."

Finally, although I really like a good explicit story, I think of the ships themselves as asexual.

Saiyuki

Cho Hakkai/Sha Gojyo (or Gojyo/Hakkai ... 585) is my bulletproof ship, at all ratings. I identify with both characters: Hakkai's constant obfuscation of his underlying anger by being mannerly and harmless-looking, his constant pursuit of expertise in skills, his passive-aggressive means of getting his way, the way Gojyo is the only person who can predictably make him feel anything; and Gojyo's "wounded at the core" nature, brought on by his relationship with his stepmother, his earthy kindness, his simultaneous vulgarity and chivalry, his persistence and endurance. Some prompts you might use: I never learned nothing from playing it safe -or- Don't mind if I fall apart / There's more room in a broken heart

Saiyuki Gaiden

In so many ways, these two are Gojyo and Hakkai without the angst ... but there is some darkness, because it isn't Minekura without that. So you could either go light, with a sexy little romp (a complete sex scene, or a playful lead-in to one, or a sensual, sleepy aftermath), or darker, with their reunion after the prison scene, as they realize what the stakes are becoming (and have some hurt/comfort), and the sweet fatalism of their last day or so, as they attempt to escape.

Possible prompts: "Some day we’ll run and we will not stumble / Someday we’ll fly and we won't look down "-or- "Is this the last verse of the song? I wish I could see five years on."

Alliance-Union - C. J. Cherryh

Catlin AC-7892 II/Ariane Emory II /Florian AF-9979 II: I love the weird growing-up years of this trio. Have some one-word prompts as starting points: homework -or- space -or- book -or- midnight

Justin Warrick/Grant ALX-972: these two are just love. I have heard that, Word of God, Grant regards them as two parts of the same organism. A warm, gentle intimate scene would be wonderful; so would an opportunity for some hurt/comfort. Some prompts: unravel me -or- There's nothing here to hold on to / Could I hold on to you?

Black Lagoon (Anime & Manga)

Okajima "Rock" Rokuro/Rebecca "Revy"

Most of the time, Revy is a complete psychopath when it comes to others' lives, but she's developing the weirdest little streak of protectiveness and even empathy toward Rock. Will Revy ever tell him explicitly what she meant when she was saying that they should have "some sort of a ritual" before their next dangerous mission? There was the scene with the little kids and the BB guns in the yakuza arc, too. There's a squishy center in there somewhere. So some sort of scene where that squishy center shows up .... without a negative kicker to spoil it completely (although the ending would likely be bittersweet in any case). For example, maybe someone is selling Valentine's Day stuff (flowers, candy), and even though Revy thinks it's a crock, it reminds her that it's winter back home, and here she is in hot, steamy Thailand (background info I've seen suggests that she's from NYC), and Rock attempts to distract her.

Swordspoint Series - Ellen Kushner

Alec Campion/Richard St Vier

It goes without saying that these two are a mess. Richard wants to treat Alec as his morality pet, his symbol that he won't lose control again as he did with Jessa, and yet Alec wants to die so badly, I'm sure he sometimes dreams of it happening at Richard's hands. On the other hand, there are the sweet little moments of consideration, when they try to make each other happy with gifts and so on. And then there's the "ever after," with Richard going blind. So you could go either dark or bright with this.

Possible prompts: "You tied these knots, now you undo them" -or- "I don't believe you need all your misery."

Stand Still Stay Silent

Tuuri Hotakainen/Sigrun Eide (SSSS)

Tuuri Hotakainen/Sigrun Eide (SSSS) : I was a huge huge Sigrun/Tuuri shipper, and then Minna broke our hearts. I've already had a couple of fix-it fics, but if you have a new twist?

Mikkel Madsen & Sigrun Eide (SSSS) : On the simple level, they're the Team Mom and Team Dad ... but neither of them is a great fit except in their greater life experience. That bare fact throws them together, as well. A little scene near the end of the arc that just ended, before Emil and Lalli come back, when they're essentially alone (except for Reynir, who is kind of on the outside with the language barrier), and Sigrun has too much time to think of her failures, would be great.

Preferences

I Don't Like:

• Sickly-sweet, coy, cutesy romantic stuff (anything in the "tee-hee-hee, is he looking at me?" category is definitely out)
• Extensive use of epithets, or epithets that don't match the character POV (no one should think of his or her long-time lover as "the green-eyed man," for example): these will throw me right out of a story (for more about epithets, see this)
• Characters acting out of character, especially if the purpose is to force them into a relationship (doubly bad if that relationship is romantic or sexual)
• By-the-numbers, every-action-described sex (a/k/a Ikea Erotica - link goes to TVTropes). Note that actual sex is fine (I love me some sexy stories) — just don't like it when the descriptions turn into a set of exact stage directions.
• Mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), hatesex. Dubcon is OK, especially the sort when the reluctant partner really wants the other person but is just not quite feeling ready yet or doesn't think se wants it in this particular way but gets off on it anyway.
• Humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover
• A/B/O and related kinks/tropes, incest (unless canon), scat/watersports/emetophilia, tentacles, non-human genitalia.

I Like:

• Strong characterization (including character-appropriate dialog: no earthy, uneducated characters using $100 words)
• Positive emotional payoffs that are well-earned
• Passions that are strong without being mushy/fluffy
• Moments of realization — satori
• Friendships - although I am a romantic person, not every relationship must be romantic (I do like the trope of friends becoming lovers, however)
• Wry and even dark humor in the course of a more serious story
• And I like any of the following "cool bits":
  • hurt-comfort
  • being cozy indoors when it's rainy or snowing
  • kissing the inside of the elbow or the base of the throat
  • drops of water clinging to hair and/or skin
  • leaning comfortably against a friend or lover; feeling them chuckle or speak
  • whispered admissions of love or forgiveness
  • brushing long hair or riffling fingers through short hair
  • romantic partners who are both competent
  • someone gradually waking and smiling when they realize their beloved is there
  • a stronger partner submitting willingly to the desires of a weaker one
  • water sounds: rain, a brook, waves
  • family-of-choice, nakama, or True Companions
  • cynics with secretly soft hearts
  • In-jokes among family members or close friends
  • shopping or planning scenes, where people are working together to pick things out

I'm quite content with both straight and gay relationships. I do tend to ship the canon relationships, unless it's a character who has had no clear relationships shown in the story. I'm not comfortable with sexual relationships shown in children under the age of, say, 14 or so, and even then it's better in context (teens with other teens or in a societal setting where girls expect to marry by 16-18 anyway).