Press Start Exchange 2019 Letter
Jul. 3rd, 2019 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
corvusumbranoxPress Start Exchange 2019
AO3 Username: StopTalkingAtMe
Hi, and welcome to my letter for the 2019 Press Start Exchange. I'd be thrilled to receive any of the fandoms/ships listed here, and all of the suggestions and prompts are entirely optional.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Thief (Original Video Game Series)
Dishonored
Darkwood
General Likes:
- Character studies and introspection
- Atmospheric description and scenery porn
- World-building and expanding and extrapolating on both the world and the lives of the characters
- Horror of all kinds, from quietly understated ghost stories to fucked-up gore.
- The Closed Circle trope (the most famous example is And Then There Were None) in both horrors and mysteries, particularly if they're set on an isolated island, in a manor house or on a cruise ship. Characters being picked off one by one in various unpleasant and imaginative ways? YES PLEASE.
- Case-fic. Give me more of what's in canon, and I'll be happy
- Mysteries
- Anything spooky, angsty, grim, gritty. I'm not so keen on anything too fluffy or slice-of-life.
- I have absolutely no problem with major character death. Feel free to rip my heart out.
- Smut of all ratings.
- Both happy and sad endings are welcome. although if I do have a preference, it's probably for bittersweet endings over purely happy endings.
- Canon-divergent AUs, and non-mundane AUs
- Post-apocalyptic scenarios
- Zombies
- Violence and gore
- Came back wrong and body horror
- Prequels and post-canon fics
- Angst
- Epistolary elements or non-linear story-telling.
- Sensory details
- Well-written OCs.
Smut likes:
- Consensual sex both gentle and rough
- Threesomes (especially M/M/F)
- Fellatio and cunnilingus (especially cunnilingus with fingering)
- Mild bondage and other forms of gentle restraint, holding a person down or restraining their wrists.
- Dubcon, although this probably isn't going to be relevant to most of my requests.
- Realistic sex and sensory details.
- Awkward and very definitely not perfect sex.
DNWs:
- A/B/O
- Explicit violent rape
- Incest
- Bestiality
- Scat and waterplay
- BDSM
- Explicit underage sex (15 or below)
- Het anal sex
- Choking as a sexual act
- Torture porn (scenes of torture are fine, and you can get pretty explicit; I'd just prefer torture not be the entire focus of the fic)
- Any variation of the word 'come' in a sexual context spelled as 'cum' (please use 'come', 'came', 'precome' etc)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Requested: Fanfiction
Group: Corvus Umbranox & Lucien Lachance
group: Corvus Umbranox/Lucien Lachance
Group: Corvus Umbranox/Millona Umbranox
Martin Septim
Oblivion is my favourite of the Elder Scrolls games. I love everything about it, its goofy quirks, the scenery and landscape, the quests, and how virtually every quest in the game usually has a little twist or something special about it. Most of all the questlines. I love the Thieves' Guild as it's presented in Oblivion, as an outwardly noble group of rogues who steal from the rich, protect the poor and frown on killing... but who also have a bit of an edge.
In-game, the Gray Fox waives the ban on killing once you get far enough in the quest, and there's an element of ruthlessness to that which I really like, plus it hints at how desperately he wants to be free from the curse.
Corvus/Millona
Corvus/Millona is engraved on my heart. I would love a take on their backstories, how they met, how Corvus became the Fox, or how he survived day to day as a nameless ghost who was essentially spying on his wife. Alternatively, something from after the curse was broken, exploring how they went about rebuilding their relationship.
Corvus Umbranox & Lucien Lachance
Corvus Umbranox/Lucien Lachance
I'd also love to see a take on how the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood work together. Do they have an uneasy alliance, or are they at war? I would be thrilled with a story that explores the relationship between Corvus and Lucien, whether that relationship is gen or otherwise, and whether they are allies or enemies. Whatever your take on it is fine, (although I could really get behind some hatesex). i'd particularly love an exploration of the darker side of the Thieves' Guild.
Thieves Guild-centric Fandom Prompts:
- Anything that explores day to day life in the thieves' guild, whether it takes place before Corvus becomes the Gray Fox, during his tenure, or after the curse has been broken. How does he balance that life with his relationship with Millona?
- Something introspective about how the curse affects Corvus or Millona, or both of them.
- After the curse has been broken and the Fox's cowl has been passed on, something happens to the current Gray Fox and Corvus is forced to wear the cowl again.
- Anything exploring the healing process between Corvus and Millona after the curse has been broken and they can start to rebuild their marriage again.
- Membership of the Dark Brotherhood seems to provide some degree of immunity to the effects of the cowl. After however many years of no one recognising Corvus or knowing his name, Lucien Lachance does, and an uneasy friendship/relationship starts to develop between the two men.
- Someone is killing members of the Thieves' Guild.
- Something where Corvus and Lucien have known each other for a long time, since they were boys.
- Lucien and Corvus swap places.
Martin Septim
Martin is such a wonderful character. I love the potential for internal conflict and introspection, and the backstory that's hinted at but not explored in detail. In game he seems so sad and calm and accepting of his fate, and the relationship that builds up between him and the Hero of Kvatch means that the main quest's ending is genuinely affecting. I would love either adventure or something more introspective for this, or alternatively something exploring his relationship with the Hero of Kvatch, whether friendship or something more (If you do ship them, ideally I'd prefer a female Hero of Kvatch).
I have absolutely no problem with character death or mourning. Feel free to rip my heart out.
Prompts:
- A quiet moment shared with the Hero of Kvatch on his journey to the Imperial City to light the Dragonfires
- Anything exploring his backstory, such as his childhood or something exploring his worship of Sanguine
- The end of the main quest is pretty spectacular. I would love to see a knock-down fight between a 50-foot tall Daedric Prince and a dragon captured in a fic.
- An AU where Uriel Septim acknowledged Martin as an heir rather than hiding him away.
- The burden of translating the Mysterium Xarxes
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Requested: Fanfiction
group: Mercer Frey/Gallus Desidenius/Karliah
group: Sinderion/Avrusa Sarethi
group: General Tullius/Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn
I love the Elder Scrolls games: that feeling when you start playing and know that a ridiculous amount of time is going to be sucked up by the game for the foreseeable future. I love the depth of the lore and the history, and I should mention that I'm also a huge Oblivion fan, so I will particularly appreciate any references to events in that game (or its occasional goofy quirks, although Skyrim has plenty of goofy quirks of its own :D).
Screwing with canon events, timelines and quests is all welcome. I especially like it when events don't unfold as in game, and when, while in-game events may take place, it's not necessarily the Dragonborn at the heart of them. Canon-divergent AUs are especially welcome here.
General Tullius/Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn
For this pairing, what appeals to me is the dynamic of two older characters with plenty of history and experience, and who just might be starting to get a bit too old for this shit. Having said that, a younger Dragonborn offers up a lot of interesting possibilities too. I'd also like something that explores General Tullius's competency and pits him against a similarly competent Dragonborn who is either very much like him (also an aging veteran of the Great War), or very different (such as a member of the Dark Brotherhood).
I'm also completely down for him being paired with an alternate start player character who isn't actually the Dragonborn. Oh, and this is honestly just a suggestion, but if you happen to be looking for a first name for him, my head-canon preference happens to be 'Reman', but PLEASE ignore this if you prefer something else or choose not to give him a first name at all.
Some adventure would be *amazing* here, but this seems like a ship suited for introspection and quieter thoughtful moments.
Prompts:
- The Dragonborn and Tullius reminisce about the Great War.
- A Dragonborn who's a little more involved with the Thalmor than General Tullius would like -- a Thalmor double agent, perhaps?
- The eve of the battle for Windhelm (or Solitude -- who says the winning side has to be the one the player character picks?), and they both might die tomorrow
- There's an awkward moment at the Thalmor embassy party
- Anything delving into the lore and history of Solitude or any of the quests revolving around the city, like the Potema questline or the Sheogorath quest.
- The Dragonborn comes seeking revenge for what happened in Helgen
- The Dragonborn isn't really the Dragonborn but a con-artist who gets caught up in the civil war.
Sinderion/Avrusa Sarethi
Another where-the-hell-did-that-come-from-ship, and one which is hampered by the awkward fact that one half of it happens to be dead at the start of the game. I suppose I should add an extra DNW for necrophilia, although I personally wouldn't apply that to sentient zombies who have enough intelligence to consent (So, um, DNW non-consensual necrophilia, I guess?).
I'm probably looking either for sweet-yet-tragic backstory here, or for an AU where Sinderion wasn't killed in Blackreach (or hasn't been killed yet), but, hey, if you really want to go the zombie route, then God forbid that I stop you. That's Dunmer herbalists for you.
There's just something so lovely and incredibly sweet about the backstory of these two particular characters, about the way Sinderion trundles through life searching for samples of Nirnroot, and how ultimately his work provides Avrusa with a way out of a life of backbreaking toil. There's also a ton of opportunities for tragic backstory with both of them -- the Great War, Red Mountain -- and still somehow they find each other, only for Sinderion to bugger off to Blackreach with the cheerfully idiotic notion that the creatures there won't bother him.
As I mentioned in my general likes, I have no problems with major character death, so whether he's dead at the beginning and Avrusa is in mourning and looking back on his life, or if you choose to kill him (or her. Or both of them) during the course of the fic, all of that is absolutely fine.
I'd also be happy with a pining situation (one-sided or mutual), where they never have a relationship.
At one point Avrusa states that she was 'very young' when they first met when she was sent to study in Skingrad. I would prefer that she not be too young, i.e. make her at least 18 or 19 or the Dunmer equivalent. There's probably going to be an age-gap, and that's fine, but I'd prefer that the power dynamics aren't too skewed.
Prompts:
- A time-loop fic where Avrusa has a chance to set things right and start anew.
- Something introspective told from Avrusa's sister's perspective about the two of them, whether they have a relationship or if the attraction remains unresolved.
- Avrusa goes with Sinderion to Blackreach. One of my favourite horror films is The Descent, and so the Falmer really appeal to me for their general creepy-fuckery and potential for horror.
- Rather than something sweet and heartfelt, something darker and fucked up. Sinderion comes back wrong. I would prefer that he retains something of himself, though, even if he does come back with a bit of a darker streak. Something fucked-up, but with a tragic streak, and if you somehow manage to make this fucked-up fic also sweet and heartfelt, then all the better..
- An epistolary fic where they continue to write letters to each other while they are apart.
- An expansion of Sinderion's journal, and Avrusa's thoughts and internal conflict as she reads it and looks back on her relationship with him (or the missed possibilities for a relationship with him).
Mercer Frey/Gallus Desidenius/Karliah
In the interests of full disclosure, I am completely team Mercer. It stems pretty much entirely from the differences between the Oblivion Thieves Guild and the Skyrim one, Mercer's interest in the Gray Fox, and an innate distrust of Nocturnal. Because seriously, who the fuck wants to spend the rest of eternity in the Twilight Sepulcher? Probably not Mercer.
For this, I'd love backstory, something that fills in what really happened twenty-five years ago, such as a take on what drove Mercer to murder Gallus and betray the Guild, or alternatively a fic about the Guild in happier times. Perhaps the three of them pull off a heist together when they were all still friends, but with some underlying tensions which foreshadow what is to come.
As much as he appeals to me, and as much as the Thieves guild questline leaves me wishing there was a choice to betray Karliah and break the oath to Nocturnal, is a complete and utter amoral bastard, and I am fine with him being written that way.
We get virtually no backstory for him, so I would be thrilled to receive a story exploring that, even if the other two characters take a back seat. I leave the details of the ship and its dynamics entirely up to you. I'm also fine with the relationship/s taking a back seat, or being entirely in the past.
I'm absolutely fine with Major Character Death and mourning.
Prompts:
- The Thieves Guild questline from Mercer's point of view (well, part of it). Bonus points for Falmer-related horror.
- Mercer meets with Gallus's ghost in the Sepulcher. Angsty-talk or smut -- how does sex with a ghost work anyway?
- Mercer is a great admirer of the Gray Fox. Is there a reason? And whatever did happen to the Gray Fox's cowl?
- I might have mentioned my like for M/M/F threesomes, in the smut likes section? It's not often I explicitly suggest PWP, but... well, that.
- A Jessica Fletcher type turns up in the Flagon and starts poking around into Gallus's murder, stirring up Mercer's guilt o (If it's a thinly veiled Skyrim version of Jessica Fletcher and crack-played-straight, then ALL THE BETTER. I would also accept the Riften Guards' version of Columbo).
Thief (video game original series)
Requested: Fanfiction
Garrett (Thief Original Series)
Every now and then a game gets hold of you and you can't put it down. I love this series. I love everything about it: the gameplay, the lore, the level design, the characters, and the setting. I love the set-up, the competing factions of the Hammerites and the Pagans, the folk-horror imagery, and the steam-punky vibes. Oh, and Garrett. He's sort of a bastard, tries to be a misanthrope, but then there are those moments when his compassion shine through, like the Trail of Blood mission in the second game which was so sad and unexpected.
In the first two games it's interesting to see the difference in his character between the cut-scenes when he's interacting with others (misanthropic, angry, bitter), and the pre-mission voice-overs (confident, collected, dark humour). I'd be fascinated by anything exploring that apparent 'discrepancy' in his character, or by his backstory, what led him to be the way he is, what really happened while he was with the Keepers, why he left, and what happened after he left.
Prequels, sequels and fics set during canon are all welcome. I'd particularly love anything exploring Garrett as a young man, particularly his time with the Keepers, or just after leaving them.
I'm happy with gen, but if you do want to ship him, I have a slight preference for him being shipped with a female character, possibly Viktoria or an original character. Having said that though, on replaying Deadly Shadows recently, the possibility of shipping him with Keeper Orland occured to me -- an affair that presumably did not end well. (I would prefer that his relationship with Keeper Artemus remain platonic however).
Prompts:
- A Trickster wins AU
- Any kind of heist fic is always welcome.
- I love the setting of the City, and I'd love to see your take on balancing the different versions of the City. The third game is very different from the first two: how do you reconcile those differences?
- A fellow thief (ex-lover?) tricks him when they're going after a particular priceless artefact (guarded by Kurshok? Zombies?), and they repeatedly turn the tables on each other.
- A post-canon fic where one of the ex-Keepers now turned loose in the world comes to him for help.
- Something exploring the healing process Garrett goes through after his escape from Constantine's mansion and the loss of his eye. It was Karras who gave Garrett his replacement mechanical eye, and I'd particularly love something which explores the complicated relationship between them -- Garrett being vulnerable and hurt and broken, and it being Karras of all poeple who helps him start to heal.
Dishonored
Requested: Fanfiction
group: Farley Havelock & Treavor Pendleton & Teague Martin
Fandom Specific DNW: Please don't ship the three requested characters together or with Corvo. Other ships are fine, though, whether straight or slash.
This is a pretty brief request, I'm afraid, but please don't take that as any sign of me wanting this fandom any less than the others.
I'm fascinated by the moment when Corvo meets with Cecelia near the Hound Pits Pub towards the end of the game and she talks about what's been going on in his absence. All that talk of Martin brooding and the secret meetings, and *oh god* I want to see behind the scenes. I want all that delicious angst and guilt as the three loyalists struggle with their consciences, tell themselves they're absolutely doing the right thing, and are gradually corrupted by the temptation of power.
Darkwood
Requested: Fanfiction
Stranger (Darkwood)
The Doctor (Darkwood)
Wolfman (Darkwood)
Damn, this game is amazing, and far scarier than a top-down game has any right to be. There's so much to love about it: the setting, the body horror, the creepy dream sequences, the character artwork, and the retro Eastern European style of the in-game readables. I love the vague hints of mythology and echoes of Slavic fairy tales (the Wolfman putting on the Huntsman's clothes in a creepy-as-fuck reverse Red Riding Hood) and I can't help wondering if the Chicken Lady is a reference to Baba Yaga.
For this I'd love more of what's in canon. Creepy dreams, gruesome monsters, body horror, the desperate fight for survival when the generator's about to run out of gas and there's something lurking in the shadows. One thing I really like about the game is the sense that the protagonist is himself a complete monster, so feel free to play with that if you choose to focus on his character. The same goes for the Doctor. The Wolfman is pretty unambiguously a monster.
Prompts:
- Something introspective and dark about any of the characters.
- Anything involving the confusion between dreams and reality after the Stranger believes himself to have escaped from the wood.
- Survival horror. The Stranger trying to survive a couple of nights in his barricaded shack, or he gets stranded out in the woods as night comes in.
- A twisted fairy tale about the Wolfman and the Pretty Lady
- The Doctor's attempts to cure the villagers.
AO3 Username: StopTalkingAtMe
Hi, and welcome to my letter for the 2019 Press Start Exchange. I'd be thrilled to receive any of the fandoms/ships listed here, and all of the suggestions and prompts are entirely optional.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Thief (Original Video Game Series)
Dishonored
Darkwood
General Likes:
- Character studies and introspection
- Atmospheric description and scenery porn
- World-building and expanding and extrapolating on both the world and the lives of the characters
- Horror of all kinds, from quietly understated ghost stories to fucked-up gore.
- The Closed Circle trope (the most famous example is And Then There Were None) in both horrors and mysteries, particularly if they're set on an isolated island, in a manor house or on a cruise ship. Characters being picked off one by one in various unpleasant and imaginative ways? YES PLEASE.
- Case-fic. Give me more of what's in canon, and I'll be happy
- Mysteries
- Anything spooky, angsty, grim, gritty. I'm not so keen on anything too fluffy or slice-of-life.
- I have absolutely no problem with major character death. Feel free to rip my heart out.
- Smut of all ratings.
- Both happy and sad endings are welcome. although if I do have a preference, it's probably for bittersweet endings over purely happy endings.
- Canon-divergent AUs, and non-mundane AUs
- Post-apocalyptic scenarios
- Zombies
- Violence and gore
- Came back wrong and body horror
- Prequels and post-canon fics
- Angst
- Epistolary elements or non-linear story-telling.
- Sensory details
- Well-written OCs.
Smut likes:
- Consensual sex both gentle and rough
- Threesomes (especially M/M/F)
- Fellatio and cunnilingus (especially cunnilingus with fingering)
- Mild bondage and other forms of gentle restraint, holding a person down or restraining their wrists.
- Dubcon, although this probably isn't going to be relevant to most of my requests.
- Realistic sex and sensory details.
- Awkward and very definitely not perfect sex.
DNWs:
- A/B/O
- Explicit violent rape
- Incest
- Bestiality
- Scat and waterplay
- BDSM
- Explicit underage sex (15 or below)
- Het anal sex
- Choking as a sexual act
- Torture porn (scenes of torture are fine, and you can get pretty explicit; I'd just prefer torture not be the entire focus of the fic)
- Any variation of the word 'come' in a sexual context spelled as 'cum' (please use 'come', 'came', 'precome' etc)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Requested: Fanfiction
Group: Corvus Umbranox & Lucien Lachance
group: Corvus Umbranox/Lucien Lachance
Group: Corvus Umbranox/Millona Umbranox
Martin Septim
Oblivion is my favourite of the Elder Scrolls games. I love everything about it, its goofy quirks, the scenery and landscape, the quests, and how virtually every quest in the game usually has a little twist or something special about it. Most of all the questlines. I love the Thieves' Guild as it's presented in Oblivion, as an outwardly noble group of rogues who steal from the rich, protect the poor and frown on killing... but who also have a bit of an edge.
In-game, the Gray Fox waives the ban on killing once you get far enough in the quest, and there's an element of ruthlessness to that which I really like, plus it hints at how desperately he wants to be free from the curse.
Corvus/Millona
Corvus/Millona is engraved on my heart. I would love a take on their backstories, how they met, how Corvus became the Fox, or how he survived day to day as a nameless ghost who was essentially spying on his wife. Alternatively, something from after the curse was broken, exploring how they went about rebuilding their relationship.
Corvus Umbranox & Lucien Lachance
Corvus Umbranox/Lucien Lachance
I'd also love to see a take on how the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood work together. Do they have an uneasy alliance, or are they at war? I would be thrilled with a story that explores the relationship between Corvus and Lucien, whether that relationship is gen or otherwise, and whether they are allies or enemies. Whatever your take on it is fine, (although I could really get behind some hatesex). i'd particularly love an exploration of the darker side of the Thieves' Guild.
Thieves Guild-centric Fandom Prompts:
- Anything that explores day to day life in the thieves' guild, whether it takes place before Corvus becomes the Gray Fox, during his tenure, or after the curse has been broken. How does he balance that life with his relationship with Millona?
- Something introspective about how the curse affects Corvus or Millona, or both of them.
- After the curse has been broken and the Fox's cowl has been passed on, something happens to the current Gray Fox and Corvus is forced to wear the cowl again.
- Anything exploring the healing process between Corvus and Millona after the curse has been broken and they can start to rebuild their marriage again.
- Membership of the Dark Brotherhood seems to provide some degree of immunity to the effects of the cowl. After however many years of no one recognising Corvus or knowing his name, Lucien Lachance does, and an uneasy friendship/relationship starts to develop between the two men.
- Someone is killing members of the Thieves' Guild.
- Something where Corvus and Lucien have known each other for a long time, since they were boys.
- Lucien and Corvus swap places.
Martin Septim
Martin is such a wonderful character. I love the potential for internal conflict and introspection, and the backstory that's hinted at but not explored in detail. In game he seems so sad and calm and accepting of his fate, and the relationship that builds up between him and the Hero of Kvatch means that the main quest's ending is genuinely affecting. I would love either adventure or something more introspective for this, or alternatively something exploring his relationship with the Hero of Kvatch, whether friendship or something more (If you do ship them, ideally I'd prefer a female Hero of Kvatch).
I have absolutely no problem with character death or mourning. Feel free to rip my heart out.
Prompts:
- A quiet moment shared with the Hero of Kvatch on his journey to the Imperial City to light the Dragonfires
- Anything exploring his backstory, such as his childhood or something exploring his worship of Sanguine
- The end of the main quest is pretty spectacular. I would love to see a knock-down fight between a 50-foot tall Daedric Prince and a dragon captured in a fic.
- An AU where Uriel Septim acknowledged Martin as an heir rather than hiding him away.
- The burden of translating the Mysterium Xarxes
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Requested: Fanfiction
group: Mercer Frey/Gallus Desidenius/Karliah
group: Sinderion/Avrusa Sarethi
group: General Tullius/Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn
I love the Elder Scrolls games: that feeling when you start playing and know that a ridiculous amount of time is going to be sucked up by the game for the foreseeable future. I love the depth of the lore and the history, and I should mention that I'm also a huge Oblivion fan, so I will particularly appreciate any references to events in that game (or its occasional goofy quirks, although Skyrim has plenty of goofy quirks of its own :D).
Screwing with canon events, timelines and quests is all welcome. I especially like it when events don't unfold as in game, and when, while in-game events may take place, it's not necessarily the Dragonborn at the heart of them. Canon-divergent AUs are especially welcome here.
General Tullius/Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn
For this pairing, what appeals to me is the dynamic of two older characters with plenty of history and experience, and who just might be starting to get a bit too old for this shit. Having said that, a younger Dragonborn offers up a lot of interesting possibilities too. I'd also like something that explores General Tullius's competency and pits him against a similarly competent Dragonborn who is either very much like him (also an aging veteran of the Great War), or very different (such as a member of the Dark Brotherhood).
I'm also completely down for him being paired with an alternate start player character who isn't actually the Dragonborn. Oh, and this is honestly just a suggestion, but if you happen to be looking for a first name for him, my head-canon preference happens to be 'Reman', but PLEASE ignore this if you prefer something else or choose not to give him a first name at all.
Some adventure would be *amazing* here, but this seems like a ship suited for introspection and quieter thoughtful moments.
Prompts:
- The Dragonborn and Tullius reminisce about the Great War.
- A Dragonborn who's a little more involved with the Thalmor than General Tullius would like -- a Thalmor double agent, perhaps?
- The eve of the battle for Windhelm (or Solitude -- who says the winning side has to be the one the player character picks?), and they both might die tomorrow
- There's an awkward moment at the Thalmor embassy party
- Anything delving into the lore and history of Solitude or any of the quests revolving around the city, like the Potema questline or the Sheogorath quest.
- The Dragonborn comes seeking revenge for what happened in Helgen
- The Dragonborn isn't really the Dragonborn but a con-artist who gets caught up in the civil war.
Sinderion/Avrusa Sarethi
Another where-the-hell-did-that-come-from-ship, and one which is hampered by the awkward fact that one half of it happens to be dead at the start of the game. I suppose I should add an extra DNW for necrophilia, although I personally wouldn't apply that to sentient zombies who have enough intelligence to consent (So, um, DNW non-consensual necrophilia, I guess?).
I'm probably looking either for sweet-yet-tragic backstory here, or for an AU where Sinderion wasn't killed in Blackreach (or hasn't been killed yet), but, hey, if you really want to go the zombie route, then God forbid that I stop you. That's Dunmer herbalists for you.
There's just something so lovely and incredibly sweet about the backstory of these two particular characters, about the way Sinderion trundles through life searching for samples of Nirnroot, and how ultimately his work provides Avrusa with a way out of a life of backbreaking toil. There's also a ton of opportunities for tragic backstory with both of them -- the Great War, Red Mountain -- and still somehow they find each other, only for Sinderion to bugger off to Blackreach with the cheerfully idiotic notion that the creatures there won't bother him.
As I mentioned in my general likes, I have no problems with major character death, so whether he's dead at the beginning and Avrusa is in mourning and looking back on his life, or if you choose to kill him (or her. Or both of them) during the course of the fic, all of that is absolutely fine.
I'd also be happy with a pining situation (one-sided or mutual), where they never have a relationship.
At one point Avrusa states that she was 'very young' when they first met when she was sent to study in Skingrad. I would prefer that she not be too young, i.e. make her at least 18 or 19 or the Dunmer equivalent. There's probably going to be an age-gap, and that's fine, but I'd prefer that the power dynamics aren't too skewed.
Prompts:
- A time-loop fic where Avrusa has a chance to set things right and start anew.
- Something introspective told from Avrusa's sister's perspective about the two of them, whether they have a relationship or if the attraction remains unresolved.
- Avrusa goes with Sinderion to Blackreach. One of my favourite horror films is The Descent, and so the Falmer really appeal to me for their general creepy-fuckery and potential for horror.
- Rather than something sweet and heartfelt, something darker and fucked up. Sinderion comes back wrong. I would prefer that he retains something of himself, though, even if he does come back with a bit of a darker streak. Something fucked-up, but with a tragic streak, and if you somehow manage to make this fucked-up fic also sweet and heartfelt, then all the better..
- An epistolary fic where they continue to write letters to each other while they are apart.
- An expansion of Sinderion's journal, and Avrusa's thoughts and internal conflict as she reads it and looks back on her relationship with him (or the missed possibilities for a relationship with him).
Mercer Frey/Gallus Desidenius/Karliah
In the interests of full disclosure, I am completely team Mercer. It stems pretty much entirely from the differences between the Oblivion Thieves Guild and the Skyrim one, Mercer's interest in the Gray Fox, and an innate distrust of Nocturnal. Because seriously, who the fuck wants to spend the rest of eternity in the Twilight Sepulcher? Probably not Mercer.
For this, I'd love backstory, something that fills in what really happened twenty-five years ago, such as a take on what drove Mercer to murder Gallus and betray the Guild, or alternatively a fic about the Guild in happier times. Perhaps the three of them pull off a heist together when they were all still friends, but with some underlying tensions which foreshadow what is to come.
As much as he appeals to me, and as much as the Thieves guild questline leaves me wishing there was a choice to betray Karliah and break the oath to Nocturnal, is a complete and utter amoral bastard, and I am fine with him being written that way.
We get virtually no backstory for him, so I would be thrilled to receive a story exploring that, even if the other two characters take a back seat. I leave the details of the ship and its dynamics entirely up to you. I'm also fine with the relationship/s taking a back seat, or being entirely in the past.
I'm absolutely fine with Major Character Death and mourning.
Prompts:
- The Thieves Guild questline from Mercer's point of view (well, part of it). Bonus points for Falmer-related horror.
- Mercer meets with Gallus's ghost in the Sepulcher. Angsty-talk or smut -- how does sex with a ghost work anyway?
- Mercer is a great admirer of the Gray Fox. Is there a reason? And whatever did happen to the Gray Fox's cowl?
- I might have mentioned my like for M/M/F threesomes, in the smut likes section? It's not often I explicitly suggest PWP, but... well, that.
- A Jessica Fletcher type turns up in the Flagon and starts poking around into Gallus's murder, stirring up Mercer's guilt o (If it's a thinly veiled Skyrim version of Jessica Fletcher and crack-played-straight, then ALL THE BETTER. I would also accept the Riften Guards' version of Columbo).
Thief (video game original series)
Requested: Fanfiction
Garrett (Thief Original Series)
Every now and then a game gets hold of you and you can't put it down. I love this series. I love everything about it: the gameplay, the lore, the level design, the characters, and the setting. I love the set-up, the competing factions of the Hammerites and the Pagans, the folk-horror imagery, and the steam-punky vibes. Oh, and Garrett. He's sort of a bastard, tries to be a misanthrope, but then there are those moments when his compassion shine through, like the Trail of Blood mission in the second game which was so sad and unexpected.
In the first two games it's interesting to see the difference in his character between the cut-scenes when he's interacting with others (misanthropic, angry, bitter), and the pre-mission voice-overs (confident, collected, dark humour). I'd be fascinated by anything exploring that apparent 'discrepancy' in his character, or by his backstory, what led him to be the way he is, what really happened while he was with the Keepers, why he left, and what happened after he left.
Prequels, sequels and fics set during canon are all welcome. I'd particularly love anything exploring Garrett as a young man, particularly his time with the Keepers, or just after leaving them.
I'm happy with gen, but if you do want to ship him, I have a slight preference for him being shipped with a female character, possibly Viktoria or an original character. Having said that though, on replaying Deadly Shadows recently, the possibility of shipping him with Keeper Orland occured to me -- an affair that presumably did not end well. (I would prefer that his relationship with Keeper Artemus remain platonic however).
Prompts:
- A Trickster wins AU
- Any kind of heist fic is always welcome.
- I love the setting of the City, and I'd love to see your take on balancing the different versions of the City. The third game is very different from the first two: how do you reconcile those differences?
- A fellow thief (ex-lover?) tricks him when they're going after a particular priceless artefact (guarded by Kurshok? Zombies?), and they repeatedly turn the tables on each other.
- A post-canon fic where one of the ex-Keepers now turned loose in the world comes to him for help.
- Something exploring the healing process Garrett goes through after his escape from Constantine's mansion and the loss of his eye. It was Karras who gave Garrett his replacement mechanical eye, and I'd particularly love something which explores the complicated relationship between them -- Garrett being vulnerable and hurt and broken, and it being Karras of all poeple who helps him start to heal.
Dishonored
Requested: Fanfiction
group: Farley Havelock & Treavor Pendleton & Teague Martin
Fandom Specific DNW: Please don't ship the three requested characters together or with Corvo. Other ships are fine, though, whether straight or slash.
This is a pretty brief request, I'm afraid, but please don't take that as any sign of me wanting this fandom any less than the others.
I'm fascinated by the moment when Corvo meets with Cecelia near the Hound Pits Pub towards the end of the game and she talks about what's been going on in his absence. All that talk of Martin brooding and the secret meetings, and *oh god* I want to see behind the scenes. I want all that delicious angst and guilt as the three loyalists struggle with their consciences, tell themselves they're absolutely doing the right thing, and are gradually corrupted by the temptation of power.
Darkwood
Requested: Fanfiction
Stranger (Darkwood)
The Doctor (Darkwood)
Wolfman (Darkwood)
Damn, this game is amazing, and far scarier than a top-down game has any right to be. There's so much to love about it: the setting, the body horror, the creepy dream sequences, the character artwork, and the retro Eastern European style of the in-game readables. I love the vague hints of mythology and echoes of Slavic fairy tales (the Wolfman putting on the Huntsman's clothes in a creepy-as-fuck reverse Red Riding Hood) and I can't help wondering if the Chicken Lady is a reference to Baba Yaga.
For this I'd love more of what's in canon. Creepy dreams, gruesome monsters, body horror, the desperate fight for survival when the generator's about to run out of gas and there's something lurking in the shadows. One thing I really like about the game is the sense that the protagonist is himself a complete monster, so feel free to play with that if you choose to focus on his character. The same goes for the Doctor. The Wolfman is pretty unambiguously a monster.
Prompts:
- Something introspective and dark about any of the characters.
- Anything involving the confusion between dreams and reality after the Stranger believes himself to have escaped from the wood.
- Survival horror. The Stranger trying to survive a couple of nights in his barricaded shack, or he gets stranded out in the woods as night comes in.
- A twisted fairy tale about the Wolfman and the Pretty Lady
- The Doctor's attempts to cure the villagers.