phoenixfalls

Forgive me Dreamwidth, for I have sinned; I have participated in TWO fanwork exchanges since my last post. So here, have a recap!

smutswap, always one of my favorite exchanges, just had its 2019 reveals. I worked the sign-up pretty aggressively to make sure that I had multiple matches in different fandoms, because I wanted to be surprised by my assignment; my assignment ended up being in a perennial favorite fandom of mine, Person of Interest, for one of the many, many relationships I adore in that show: Zoe Morgan/John Reese. I've written them before, in another exchange, and that fic is one of my favorite ficlets I've written, so I was excited to see if I could capture that same feeling at a longer length.

(My recipient's tags and letter made it clear that they enjoyed the same dynamic in the relationship that I do, and they had kudosed my other fic, so I was pretty sure if I did manage to capture that feeling again I'd be pleasing them as well as myself.)

I wanted to engage with the ending of the show -- I couldn't quite picture setting something during the middle of the show, with that lighter-hearted dynamic, knowing how it ended; and while writing an actual fix-it seemed beyond the scope of the exchange (and my current skill-set) a handwaved fix-it and something set post-canon felt right. I had a picture of the beginning of the fic almost immediately, and got a few hundred words in; then work got busy and I let it sit for a few weeks. When the deadline started approaching I opened it back up, got to the getting naked part, and then. . . forgot how to make porn hot? And then I began to question whether I had ever known how to make porn hot! It was distressing!

I went back and reread some of my old smutty fics. They still worked for me. So I kept plugging away, hoping I'd find that sweet spot again.

Ultimately, I think I did? And thinking back, the first Zoe/John fic I wrote developed the same way -- chugging along, then sudden conviction that I had no idea what I was doing, then reaching the end and going "Oh, yes. This. This is why I love them." I suspect it's because they're both just so reluctant to admit to having any sort of tender feelings, even to themselves. So I have to build those emotions in to their actions, rather than dialogue, which runs the risk of coming across purely mechanical in a way a declaration wouldn't.

But anyway! Here's the fic:

Title: Darkness Its Own Kingdom
Author: phoenixfalls
Fandom: Person of Interest
Relationship: Zoe Morgan/John Reese
Word Count: 2,607
Rating: Explicit
Tags: Post-Canon, Sex Between Friends, Body Worship, Scars, Honor Bondage, Crying During Sex
Summary:
After everything, John finds his way back to Zoe.
Link: On AO3

Before that was another of my favorite exchanges: chocolateboxcomm! I’ve been really into the CBS show FBI since it debuted in the fall – it’s a solid procedural, it’s kind of endearingly leftist in a sometimes tone-deaf but always well-intentioned way, all the actors are excellent (and have really wonderfully expressive faces) – and so I nominated it and offered it with the intention of at least treating any request if I didn’t get matched on it. And then I did match on it! Win!

My recipient had a very helpful list of tropes that they enjoyed, which included a lot of different types of platonic touch, something that I always adore. Unfortunately, I was drawing a blank on what kind of scenario I wanted for the longest time, long enough that I was running up against the deadline. And so I went through the tropes list again and spotted a couple mentions of post-apocalyptic fic, and my brain went THISTHISTHIS and I was off. I was writing it while the "polar vortex" was slamming the East Coast, and I amused myself with the thought that I was pulling the same "ripped from the headlines" thing that the show does, but with apocalypse fic. (It's a Dick Wolf show, though I like it better than I've liked any of the Law & Orders.)

This fic posed its own challenges -- as with any time I try to make a normally shippy trope gen, it was really hard avoiding any hint of shippiness while still maintaining the depth of emotion! But that's precisely what I like about making shippy tropes gen -- riding that line, portraying deep bonds and outright love that is not in any way romantic.

Title: Fling Your Soul Upon the Growing Gloom
Author: phoenixfalls 
Fandom: FBI
Relationship: Maggie Bell & Omar "OA" Zidan
Word Count: 1,331
Rating: General Audiences
Tags: Post-Apocalypse, Huddling For Warmth
Summary:
Omar didn't think he'd ever get used to how quiet New York was now.
Link: On AO3

But of course, writing is only one half of the exchange experience for me -- I also received two lovely gifts in my newest fandom: Stargate! For Smut Swap, despite being an initial pinch hint, and then a post-deadline pinch hit, I received a nearly 10k aliens-made-them-do-it John/Ronon fic, complete with Ronon backstory/worldbuilding and John-as-commanding-officer angst! That one is Treat it Tenderly, by Skitz_phenom. And for Chocolate box I received an even rarer Stargate relationship: Teyla & Teal'c, bonding under the Mountain when the IOA was evaluating her. That one is Invitation, by kanadka, and it's chock full of lovely character moments. (and a nicely hissable villain!)

And to circle back to Person of Interest again, for Chocolate Box I also received a delightful treat: Couples, by enemyofperfect, which features Reese/Shaw undercover as a couple in all their snarky/sarcastic glory. One of my favorite things about PoI fandom is how even though it's got two juggernaut ships in Finch/Reese and Root/Shaw, there's plenty of space within it (even among people who ship Finch/Reese & Root/Shaw!) for other relationships, gen and slash and things that are kind of both, like this and the one I wrote for Smut Swap, where the characters are banging but not because they're in love but for other reasons: stress relief, release, comfort/catharsis, boredom, whatever. I love that sense of possibility.

Dear Chocolatier,

Thank you so much for offering to create something for me! I’m pretty easy to please, so if nothing in this letter sparks your imagination, or if you already have an idea of what you want to create, please feel free to ignore the below.

Gen tropes I love: Loyalty kink, long (complicated) histories, casual physical intimacy, gen kink, casefic/mysteries, shared secrets, hurt/comfort (that doesn’t slide into whump), travel themes (road trips, stranded somewhere, airport lounges, hotels). Common slash tropes reimagined platonically.

Shippy tropes I love: First times, developing relationships, PWPs, polyamory, friends-to-lovers, kink, kink & relationship negotiation, animal transformation, arranged marriage, trope subversion, mixed-orientation relationships, loyalty kink, iron woobies, stoic pining, travel themes (road trips, stranded somewhere, airport lounges, hotels). Common slash tropes reimagined for femslash and poly ships.

Kinks I love: Non-penetrative sex, masturbation, switching, coming in pants/coming untouched. Orgasm delay/denial/control and edging. Marking, possessiveness, tattoos, collars, special items of jewelry &/or clothing, clothes-sharing. Voyeurism/exhibitionism, semi-public sex. Watersports. Somnophilia. Cross-dressing. Non-sexual kink. Non-romantic kink relationships. In terms of BDSM I like D/s and S/M, blood play, breath play, fire play, gun play, knife play, scarification, wax play, praise kink & service. I can enjoy impact play and bondage but they aren’t my favorites, and I prefer improvised implements to a well-stocked toy chest.

And those categories are just for ease of navigation – feel free to mix from the shippy/gen/kink categories as you like, no matter what you’re creating for me!

Elementary: Thomas Gregson & Sherlock Holmes & Joan Watson
I have long had many Joan & Gregson feelings (see this tumblr post) and in the wake of the season 6 finale, I need ALL the fic exploring how Gregson & Joan & Sherlock move forward. Please do not demonize Gregson to do this! Joan & Sherlock went to some effort to protect him/his decision, and I'd like fic that similarly respects that.

Flashpoint: Ed Lane/Greg Parker, Ed Lane/Sophie Lane/Greg Parker
I love Ed & Greg's relationship on the show, and would love for it to have turned shippy at any point in their long, rich history together -- happy pre-canon fic, happy post-canon fic, angsty fic set during a point either of the marriages was on the rocks, relieved we-almost-died friends-with-benefits after a case, etc.

I also love the Lane marriage, how Sophie was never demonized for needing Ed and Ed eventually figured out how to be there for Sophie and remain on the team. I like to think their relationship is strong enough to bring a third into the fold, maybe when Greg's pulling himself out of the bottle, or after he gets shot and has to retire from the SRU.

Person of Interest: Lionel Fusco/John Reese, Lionel Fusco & Sameen Shaw, John Reese/Sameen Shaw
I just love these three characters a lot, okay!

For Fusco/Reese, it's their always-prickly, by turns intense and teasing, relationship, and I'm game for all sorts of fic for them. Something dark and dubconny early in the show, Reese hating how he sees himself in Fusco, Fusco feeling somewhat coerced; something post-Carter’s death, them taking comfort in each other; some kind of post-canon fix-it.

For Fusco & Shaw, it's their odd couple friendship, how much they respect each other and care for each other in understated ways. They've clearly worked to understand each other, and keep each other's vulnerabilities in mind in ways other characters don't. I'd love to see any more instances of that sort of caring, either sometime during canon or afterward.

For Reese/Shaw, it's all the Mayhem Twins shenanigans! I like their competitiveness, the way they poke at each other but never in a way that hits any place truly vulnerable, the way they clearly get each other at their cores. Would love reluctant friends-with-benefits, or case-made-them-do-it, or just some physical stress relief. Also, size!kink galore!

Stargate: Ronon Dex/Teyla Emmagen/Rodney McKay/John Sheppard; Ronon Dex & Teal'c, Teyla Emmagen & Teal'c
I love the SGA team and would love any exploration of how they'd work romantically/sexually -- classic aliens-made-them-do-it, bonding while stranded on a planet without a stargate, cultural differences lead to sexy times; really any of the classic Stargate tropes would delight me. Feel free to include or handwave away canon love interests; I just want the focus to be on the team.

I also adore Teal'c and would love to see more (for Ronon) or any (for Teyla) interaction between him and the Pegasus galaxy characters. Bonding over being the aliens on a team of Tau'ri; or alternately, exploring how their cultures are just as alien to each other as they are to the Tau'ri. And if you feel shippy vibes, I am also not averse to Ronon/Teal'c or Teal'c/Teyla!