Dear Smutswap Author

Thank you so much for writing a fic for me! I am super excited to be getting smut in any of my requested fandoms. I have assembled a grab bag of kinks for each request; feel free to incorporate whichever one(s) you like. My few DNWs are extreme AU, character death, extreme violence/mutilation, mpreg, non-sexual body fluids, or rape, but otherwise I you can't go wrong.

My general likes are: Adroitly resolving problems, angst, banter, camaraderie, character interaction, characters fighting/transgressing social mores, competence kink, comedy of manners, drama, established relationships, found families, history, humor, hurt/comfort, language geekery, misunderstandings and the fallout therefrom, period details, politics, political maneuvering, and strategy; reconciliation, slice of life, worldbuilding

The Goblin Emperor
Pairings: Cala Athmaza/Csethiro Ceredin/Csevet Aisava/Deret Beshelar/Maia Drazha; Cala Athmaza/Deret Beshelar; Cala Athmaza/Deret Beshelar/Maia Drazhar; Csevet Aisava/Maia Drazhar

Kinks: Consensual Exhibitionism/Voyeurism × First Time × First Time Bottoming × First Time Topping × Hair Braiding × Harems × Partner sharing × Playful Sex × Power Dynamics × Protectiveness × Sharing Fantasies × Spitroasting × Titles/Honorifics × Topping from the Bottom/Pushy Bottoms × Trust Kink × Unwilling Arousal × Vulnerability × Whipping × Worship × Writing on Skin

I love the way this fandom lets authors dig into interpersonal dynamics and questions of rank, hierarchy, social propriety, norms, and cultural restrictions, and the tension between these constraints and the characters' personal wants and desires. I also love how the plethora of characters lets authors delve into so many configurations of these dynamics. Any configuration of my requested pairings and kinks will do it for me, so let your imagination run wild.

Marvel Cinematic Universe
Pairing: Thor/Loki

Kinks: Aftermath of Torture × banter as foreplay × Banter While in Bed × Blow Jobs × Emotional Sex × Hair Brushing × Healing Sex × Loyalty × Make Up/Reconciliation Sex × Meddling Gods/Godlike Beings × Playful Sex × Power Dynamics × Protectiveness × Ritual Sex × Something Made Them Do It × Topping from the Bottom/Pushy Bottoms × Trust Kink × Unexpected feelings × unexpected tenderness × Vulnerability

These two could go either way: sweet reconciliation or angry issues!sex. I'm not into incest kink here, but rather how all those emotions evolve and shift given Our Heroes' fraught relationships with each other, with Odin, and their knowledge that they aren't blood relations. I love this pairing's potential to explore power dynamics, trust and vulnerability, and anger and reconciliation. Add to that Thor's machismo, Loki's magical aptitude, and the duo's ability to get under each other's skin, and you have the potential for a lot of fireworks.

World Wrestling Entertainment
Pairing: Dean Ambrose | Jon Moxley/Seth Rollins | Tyler Black

Kinks: Banter as foreplay × Banter While in Bed × Blow Jobs × Emotional Sex × Hair Washing × Handcuffs × Loyalty × Make Up/Reconciliation Sex × Mutual Masturbation × Partner sharing × Playful Sex × Protectiveness × Semi-Hate Sex × Sharing Fantasies × Spitroasting × Topping from the Bottom/Pushy Bottoms × Trust Kink × unexpected tenderness × Vulnerability × Wrestling

These three will forever be an OTP. I'm drawn to them for many of the same reasons I like Thor/Loki: trust and trust betrayed, betrayal and reconciliation, anger issues worked out (or not) through sex, machismo disguising vulnerability and need, and how each member of the trio both complements the others and gets under their skin. Feel free to set this anywhere in the timeline, and incorporate any real world elements that have been

これで以上です。

Dear Fandom 5k Author

Onmyouji
Abe no Seimei/Minamoto no Hiromasa Action; angst; canon style plot; character development; established relationship; getting together; hurt/comfort; interpersonal drama; mystery/procedural; slice of life; smut; worldbuilding

Author, I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to see this fandom nominated. I love these characters and this pairing so much. And as an added bonus, the Heian period fascinates me. I would prefer not to have any character death here, but aside from that, please take this in any direction you like, using as many of the additional tags you like. Some ideas to get you started:
- Hiromasa has to save Seimei from a spell gone wrong
- Hiromasa has to attempt magic when Seimei's unable to (because...?), and then...?
- A sutra reading goes wrong. What happens next?
- Hiromasa and Seimei journey to a distant province (or even further afield)


The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
Keita Mori/Thaniel Steepleton Action; angst; canon style plot; character development; established relationship; getting together; hurt/comfort; interpersonal drama; mystery/procedural; slice of life; smut; worldbuilding

I am also thrilled to see this fandom nominated! I love Pulley's world and all the characters who populate it, so if you want to include Six, Grace, Akira, Katsu, Yuki, Ito, etc., please do. Again, I'm game for anything outside of character death. Some ideas to get you started:
- What musical endeavor does Thaniel work on next? How is Mori involved?
- Six goes missing. Why did Mori not see it coming (or if he did, why did he let it happen) and what do he and Thaniel do next?
- Thaniel and Mori retrace part of the steps of the Iwakura Mission. What does Mori tell Thaniel about his experiences, and what does Thaniel think of them.
- Mori is called to serve in Ito's cabinet.


Marvel Cinematic Universe
Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes Action; angst; canon style plot; character development; established relationship; getting together; hurt/comfort; interpersonal drama; mystery/procedural*; slice of life; smut; worldbuilding

I love these two. I love stories about them set anywhere before, during, or after the MCU timeline. I love how stories with this pairing can explore questions of identity and desire in the context of social norms, be they WWII-era or modern day.
- Post-Civil War, Steve decides to wake Bucky up because...?
- Your character of choice (Steve? Bucky? Their enemies? An Avenger?) recovers evidence about these two that's been wiped from Bucky's mind and that Steve has [forgotten/misinterpreted/willfully ignored]. What is it and what happens next?
- Post-Civil War, Bucky, still in cryogenic suspended animation, is kidnapped. Who has taken him? What do they want? And what will Steve do to get him back?

*I'm using "mystery/procedural" here to mean any Marvel comics- or MCU-type superhero plot line.


Sherlock Holmes (Downey Films)
sherlock Holmes/Mary Morstan/John Watson Action; angst; canon style plot; character development; darkfic; established relationship; getting together; hurt/comfort; interpersonal drama; mystery/procedural; slice of life; smut; worldbuilding


Out of canon, Ritchieverse, and BBC, the Downey films are still my favorite. I love the wit and irreverence of the first film and the blatant fanservice of the second. And this Mary Morsten is my Mary Morsten. So please give these three the harem ending. I'd love your take on how, when, and why it happens. I'm also bending my darkfic DNW here because I'm interested in your take on the fallout from Mary's eventual death. Some other ideas:
- How do Sherlock and Watson reunite after A Game of Shadows? What do they do next? How does Mary play a role?
- Sherlock, Mary, and Watson return to Afghanistan or India. Why? What happens once they're there?
- How does Watson cope after Mary's death? How does Sherlock help him grieve?
- If you'd like to rewrite your favorite ACD story or stories with these characters, I'd love to read it!

Captive Prince
Damen/Laurent Action; angst; canon style plot; character development; established relationship; getting together; hurt/comfort; interpersonal drama; mystery/procedural; slice of life; smut; worldbuilding

These novels were so much fun. I love the mix of worldbuilding, court intrigue, action, angst, and reconciliation. I'm very interested how things develop after the events of the third novel, but if you have ideas for missing scenes anywhere in the timeline, I would love to read all about them. Some prompts for these two (and feel free to include any other characters you like) are:
- X years have passed since the events of the third novel. How have Damen and Laurent spent them? How have their realms changed?
- Damen and/or Laurent lead an official delegation to a third nation. Where are they going, why are they going there, and what happens next?
- How do Damen and Laurent deal with questions of succession? Do they see eye-to-eye on the best approach? How do their citizens respond?
- Jokaste reappears with a request for Damen or Laurent. What is it, and can she be trusted?

What Am I Reading Wednesday: February 22

A good mix of fiction, nonfiction, manga, and comics this week.

What I Just Finished Reading

Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 1 – Al Ewing & Lee Garbett
I'm always leery of Marvel series by authors I don't recognize—Marvel's business plan (bare bones characterization, speed of light plot developments, and tie-ins to every other current issue to force readers to buy them all) can really tank a series in the wrong hands. But one volume in, I'm very much enjoying this ride. Agent of Asgard follows a reincarnated Loki trying to get the red off his ledger. The plot is rushed, but Ewing does a good job of making it coherent to readers who aren't following the entire line, and he's written an excellent mashup of MCU Loki with the cheesy wordplay and sci-fi kitsch of the vintage runs. I'm on board for the next volume.

Sandman: Overture – Neil Gaiman & J.H. Williams III
Confession: I bought half of the individual issues back in the day, but never read them because I feared they'd been published because Gaiman needed the money. I needn't have worried. This is Sandman at its best. It's all here—the internal cosmology, the references to world cosmologies, the pop culture quotes Gaiman trusts his readers are smart enough to get (MCU! Firefly! Farscape!), and a Dream who is correcting many of the cultural assumptions I found most troubling in the original series. Add to this Williams' jaw-dropping art—god, he is hands down the best—and you have a book worth savoring.

A Mother's Reckoning – Sue Klebold
I can count on one hand the number of books that have been this affecting. It is brutal to read an account of love, grief, and incomprehension as honest as this. Klebold's insight that murder-suicides spring from suicide radically changed my worldview in a way few things have done in recent memory. There are a few stumbles, as when she says that suicidal people are “hiding” their intentions from those around them, or that video games (vice other elements she understands such as alcohol or guns) contribute to mass shootings. But they are so obvious precisely because they are such outliers. At its heart, A Mother's Reckoning is a 295-page koan: What are the limits of love? How should one weigh a lifetime of human goodness and flaws against a day of unspeakable violence? When and why do feelings of hopelessness tip irrevocably to death?

Bugs Us All – Scot Slaby & Walter Gurbo
This is a charmingly presented book suffering from a massive identity crisis. Gurbo's illustrations are attractive, but Slaby's poems veer wildly between bedtime story-cute and kinkily sexual and bloodthirsty. The latter preclude the volume from being something most people would want to read to a child, but the darkness lacks the Gorey-esque wit that would make it appeal to adults.

Little Owl's Night – Divya Srinivasan
This book is pure comfort, which I needed after A Mother's Reckoning. The final pages, with the ghosts of dawn, and the sunflowers and moonflowers, are undiluted joy.

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch – Neil Gaiman & Michael Zulli
Neil Gaiman needed money.

Juzu no Hanashi – Gendai Bukkyo Kenkyukai (数珠の話 – 現代仏教研究会)
This treatise on juzu (or nenzu, or mala, or “Buddhist rosaries”) is informative and perplexing in the way only Japanese nonfiction can be. The author is a Tokyo-based Rinzai Zen monk in the Myoshinji-lineage from a Soto Zen family whose mother and sister subsequently converted to Nichiren Buddhism who never manages to give his name. There is a lot of good information here that anyone getting ready to dive into the Hanazono University or Myoshinji stuff might want to check out as a toe-in-the-water exercise. It's clearly and efficiently presented. There is also a digression on ecumenism that is my favorite thing since Koike Ryunosuke's “why Soto Zen is like vintage British punk” and an interesting but why-on-earth-is-this-here discussion of Nichiren seance rites. That said, Japanese readers with an interest in the subject will find much of worth in this volume.


What I Am Currently Reading

Korea: An Illustrated History from Ancient Times to 1945 – David Rees
The back copy says that David Rees is “renowned as an expert on the history and affairs of the Far East for several decades.” And yet, this is a book that was published in 2001 that talks about countries sharing borders with the Soviet Union and contains no statistics post-dating mid-1987, which rather calls Rees' expertise into question.

Inda – Sherwood Smith
There's the inkling of a riveting novel in here, but Smith lacked the editors to shepherd it into publication. It's never a good sign when readers greet a major character death with a shrug. I really wish someone had wrangled Smith's gratuitous POV changes and clunky phrasing into an airtight novel.

The Light and Shadow Tarot – Brian Williams & Michael Goepferd
On to the six's and five's.

プラネテス 2 – 幸村 誠 (Planetes vol. 2 – Yukimura Makoto )
In chapters 2 and 3, Yukimura explores the big questions like how to balance innovation and dreams with human connections and family, and how to evaluate the worth of progress if it has to come at the expense of emotional connection. Good stuff.


What I'm Reading Next
Aside from making further inroads on the in progress stuff, I'll probably pick up Pleasure Bound, Jerusalem, and the second volume of Loki: Agents of Asgard.

これで以上です。