![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hi! I’m LittleRaven on AO3. Thank you so much for your interest; I am delighted by it!
This letter includes my signup details—likes and dnws—plus more likes in bulleted lists, and fandom thoughts! If you'd like that, you have it here. Feel free to also use prompts in other letters/signups, if I've requested something before and you don't see the prompt here, or just ignore the letter entirely; it's only an extra!
Gifts are enabled on AO3, and treats are welcome.
Likes:
Parallels and contrasts between characters and their journeys. Characters looking out for each other and rescuing each other, giving care and emotional support. Especially women receiving care and support, getting their needs made a priority by their loved ones. Canon divergence and role reversals are loved, though I also enjoy other AUs.
More things I enjoy:
- fusions, CYOA, outside pov, story/fragments of story as told in-universe, IF/interactive fiction, illustrated fic, poetry, epistolary, vignettes, character studies, plotty stuff, 5+1 stories, angst, fluff, smut, adventure, characters talking to each other, road trips
- enemies to lovers, friends/lovers to enemies to lovers/friends, pining, worldbuilding, quiet character moments
- bittersweet endings, happy endings, open/ambiguous endings
- quiet and subtle romance, the total opposite of quiet and subtle romance, psychological horror, messy and complicated dynamics, blurring between obligation/need and love, fear/horror/anger mixed with desire/love
- politics, isolation, competitiveness, limited agency, legacy, manipulation, scheming
- Force bonds, Force shenanigans, Force Ghosts, Ahsoka’s fangs, connecting to the force together
- time travel, weird worlds/dimensions, time moves differently, time loops (including those which get reset with death, and where the person in the loop resets it purposefully by dying), time freezing
- undercover, undercover as a couple, mission fic, teaching games
- scars, suspense, compromised sense of self, interpersonal tension, duty versus desire, love/hate, possessiveness, insecurity, secret relationships, secrets
- trust issues, implicit trust, emotional intimacy
- casual displays of affection, shared beds, snuggling, sitting/lying in laps, jumping people, rough kissing, neck kissing, kissing tears, kissing hands (back of or palm), nuzzling, afterglow cuddles, sexy baths, sexy showers, bruises, marks, hair-pulling, face-touching, arms around shoulders/waists, forehead kisses, forehead touching, tied up with own clothes/other's clothes/clothes in general, nuzzling, hand holding, choking, breathplay, bloodplay, biting, scratching, growling, blindfolding, chains
- stories where the woman/women are a significant part of the man/men’s characterization, stories where the woman/women are a significant part of each other’s characterization, characters gathering each other’s backstory a little at a time, investigating each other
- spying, sex and violence paired together, body heat sharing
- loneliness, mutual pining
- dreams, fix-it, parallel universes, parallel universe characters
- us against the world
- ghosts
- rule 63'ing male characters (where they were always a girl)
- learning new skills
- gothic romance
- daemons (His Dark Materials-style)
Horror Likes:
- ghosts
- hostile alternate selves
- loneliness
- suspense
- scars
- time travel, weird worlds/dimensions, time moves differently, time loops (including those which get reset with death, and where the person in the loop resets it purposefully by dying), time freezing
- psychological horror
- isolation
- architecture that wants to keep you
- nature that wants to keep you
- gothic horror
- cosmic horror
- post-apocalypse scenarios
- dreams bleeding into reality
- hauntings
- cursed objects
- possession
Smut Likes:
- character focus in smut, competitive smut, ulterior motives for sex, scars, possessiveness, love/hate, the divine as sex
- cunnilingus, choking, breathplay, bloodplay, biting, scratching, Ahsoka's fangs, growling, blindfolding, chains, rough sex, rough kissing, lap sex, sex on furniture, sex against walls, slow sex, quick sex, gentle sex, neck kissing, kissing tears, kissing hands (back of or palm), nuzzling, afterglow cuddles, underwater sex, sexy baths, sexy showers, desperate sex, bruises, marks, hair-pulling, face-touching, arms around shoulders/waists, eating her out while holding her hand, multiple orgasms, forehead kisses, forehead touching, tied up with own clothes/other's clothes/clothes in general, nuzzling, hand holding, learning new skills, kneeling for cunnilingus and then needing to support her legs as they buckle
- trust issues, implicit trust, emotional intimacy, casual displays of affection
- shared beds, snuggling, jumping people, sitting/lying in laps
- sex and violence paired together, fucking in the same room as your enemies' corpse
- body heat sharing
- dreams
- pining, mutual pining
- ghost sex
- feeling each others' sensations during sex
- Force/magic shenanigans, using magic/the Force for sex, telepathy/Vulcan Mind Meld during on-your-knees cunnilingus
AU Likes:
Canon divergence
Period AUs - Regency (played straight or fantasy/science-fiction, in our world or another), 1920s, Jazz Age, Medieval, Renaissance, Byzantine Empire, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greece
Genres - planetary romance, fairy tale, magical girl, steampunk, pirate, high fantasy, noir
Other Canons - characters having daemons like in the His Dark Materials books, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars, Star Trek, Jupiter Ascending, Silent Hill (2006), Clue, Annihilation (2018), Southern Reach trilogy, 30 Days of Night, The Mummy (1999-2001), Happy Death Day, Pacific Rim, Stardust (film or book)
IF Likes:
I use Windows 10 and Apple mobile devices. Most of my experience is with choice games--for example, like Alabaster, The Book of Guenevere, Affairs of the Court, visual novels like Oxenfree and Cinders, dating sims like Long Live the Queen and Magical Diary , and paper books where you turn to a page for every choice--but I’d be delighted with a parser game too. Puzzles, mazes, and timers aren’t a strength of mine, so I would enjoy a walkthrough if those are present.
DNWs:
- bleak/hopeless endings
- permanently dead requested characters (where they're not even a ghost/vampire) unless they are dead in canon
- mpreg
- detailed gore, detailed description of bodily fluids and excretions, watersports, scat, emetophilia
- noncon (unless requested/prompted)—dubcon is fine, rape (except where otherwise specified), a/b/o, bestiality, oviposition, monster sex, tentacle sex, flowery terms for body parts (love cave, love tunnel), sex without attraction, anal tearing, ass to mouth
- rule 63’ing female characters
- body horror, explicit torture, permanently physically damaging torture, maiming, mutilating (it’s ok to include if it’s canon, but I’d rather not have focus on the physical details of how it happens, how the inside parts of the body look and feel, or how it looks)
- animal harm, animal death
- bashing of characters or ships
- unrequited love (except if prompted, or if it's only unrequited in a characters' head)
- permanent breakups unless prompted
- focus on requested characters in non-canon unrequested/unprompted ships, non-canon unrequested ships, unrequested/unprompted poly/open relationships
- stories where nobody really cares about the woman/women in the ship
- AUs which don't use canon settings (unless prompted/requested/in list of likes)
- underage (17+ is fine, whether you change canon ages or set things when the characters would be 17+)
- ageplay/infantilization; unrequested/unprompted humiliation
- sexuality/gender headcanons
- coronavirus
- incest (unless prompted/requested), selfcest (unless prompted/requested)
- necrophilia
- vore
- insects, arachnids
Black Magician Trilogy - Trudi Canavan
Akkarin/Sonea (Black Magician Trilogy)
Just finished a reread of the trilogy earlier this month, and I have some thoughts! Part of my interest in this ship is the ambiguity in it; on the one hand, the feelings are real, and there’s a sweetness to the dynamic, but on the other, it was shaped by a mentorship context, and not an entirely nice one! It’s interesting on reread to see the shifts. Sonea thinks Akkarin showed her the truth because he saw her as a successor, but he actually did it in hopes that she’d offer her power. It says something that Akkarin wanted her to do that as if it were her own idea, rather than just asking; and also that he admits this to her right away, and she remains steady in her decision to learn black magic. I like that he didn’t expect to have to go find her and tell her his story, but he did, and that while Sonea doesn’t always see what he’s planning, she surprises him herself. She’s certain enough about him, and decisive enough about herself, to engage him directly and challenge his wishes. He might object to what she says, or push back on her decisions, but it’s always clear they have an effect on him, make him reconsider both her and the situation they are in. I enjoy that tension! I also enjoy the way it turns into this warm and fuzzy affection after they get together. Generally, I like how Sonea actually does become his successor like she wanted, how he treats her like one even though he also wants to protect her, and those little moments where they learn things: Sonea telling him about the Hole, him telling her about his nightmares, and the lighter exchange about swimming.
For actual prompts: Akkarin meant to take a hand in Sonea’s Warrior lessons, but they didn’t have the time before getting caught. What if they did have the time, even for just one lesson? Another what if: Maybe Savara’s people did find Akkarin and Sonea in Sachaka. Does anything happen differently? (I’ve read the sequels and so know the backstory revealed there; don’t worry about spoilers if you want to use any knowledge from that trilogy, or from the prequel for that matter!) Or it could be a “how do they make a life in the Guild if Akkarin lives” story; alternately, a fic about her processing her grief! (Again, if you want to use anything from the sequels, or set a grief/mourning fic in that time period, that would be good too!) I would also love missing scene fic from the time after Sonea learns the truth, or their travels. It could be anything between pre-relationship interactions or cuddling or sex. (I definitely have the impression, from Akkarin’s teasing Sonea about her not being able to sleep, that they found sex helped her with that. So sad post-Rothen fake out comfort sex? Or last night before the big day sex?) Or maybe the gig isn’t up for a while longer, and Sonea graduates, and they form a relationship while still hiding the black magic thing from the guild. Or! What would a wedding look like? That would be a great opportunity for worldbuilding! Actually, if you want to worldbuild with any of my prompts, or in general, go ahead!
Don’t worry about what to do; I know I’ll love anything you choose to make.
Pellinor - Alison Croggon
Solo: Maerad of Pellinor (Pellinor)
I really felt for Maerad as she mourned the loss of her Elemental self. It wasn’t a part of herself she had much chance to explore, and yet it allowed her to connect with Ardina, and find understanding and help when no one else could provide it. It frightened even her dearest loved ones, so that she couldn’t feel comfortable talking about it even at the end of the series—which was an interesting wrinkle in an otherwise happy ending—but according to the appendices, she and Cadvan later contributed to the lore on the Balance with what they learned about the Elementals. So maybe she does talk about it one day? It would be interesting, particularly since so much of the conflict in her journey is rooted in her struggles to see herself, and to communicate her feelings to others, and to be herself without other people fearing that self. Perhaps Cadvan being a Truthteller could play into it? I also love the lore, so a conversation on that, or a document they collaborated on, would interest me too! Shipwise, Maerad’s conflicts over who she is, and Cadvan’s fear of her when she seems more Elemental, are part of their relationship struggle; how does their contribution to the Balance lore reflect what they came to think of this in the future? Does time (and time spent together) help them understand their shared past more deeply, and/or differently?
Ship things I like with Maerad and Cadvan! I really love the time in Thorold, Maerad’s mourning songs for Imi, Darsor, and Cadvan, the reunion at the end of The Riddleand how Cadvan just wouldn’t leave her side in The Singing, no matter what.
I would also just enjoy more time with her and Ardina, and the connection they have. Their scenes together are both so heartwarming and so full of mystery. The descriptions are also just beautiful.
According to the appendices, Maerad became a great poet; she did spend the books wishing she had the chance to read and study like Dernhil, so this was a lovely note. It would be good to see a scene from that journey into scholarship, or her developing interest in composing her own poems. I love the one poem we see of hers; it’s very sweet and warm to think of her thinking of Cadvan when she wrote it; was this before or after he died?
I’d also love just seeing scenes from her travels after the books end! Going to places with Cadvan, seeing Hem and Saliman and Hekibel, feeling at home in Innail, or returning to Murask to spend some time with her father’s family—perhaps to introduce Hem? Oh: does she ever go back to the ruins of Pellinor with Hem? The dream they shared in which they lived in a beautiful house, with the orchard and the apples, was so bittersweet. They never lived together, and never really would after the story ended, but the bond was deep and strong.
My last reread got me associating Maerad and Zelika, which was an intriguing experience! The thought came into my mind when Hem first told Zelika he had a sister, and it seemed to touch her. They both have that protectiveness towards their younger brothers—which they transferred into caring for unrelated children, before Maerad learned Hem was her brother—and both are described as wild by their male love interests, live with the trauma of having their homes and families destroyed (though Maerad remembers less of it), and have an emotional intensity they don’t always regulate. Would they see similarities in each other? Would Maerad feel protective of Zelika?
As to ships I haven’t mentioned: all the canon ships are good with me. Have Maerad process her feelings about Arkan! Include Saliman and Hekibel in the story if they come up, and Hem/Zelika! Bring up how Maerad kept thinking of Dernhil!
Again, don’t stress over the options; I know I’ll love anything you choose to make.
Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Solo: Casiopea Tun (Gods of Jade and Shadow)
I enjoy Casiopea going from the mortal who is stuck with this god to increasingly, actively helpful throughout the book, culminating in that climactic sacrificial act. She has been stuck in her awful family, and her being bound to Hun-Kamé looks at first like more of the same, but going with him allows her to see and enjoy the world, and gives her the opportunity to make more choices, for herself, for those she loves, and the world. Their time in the sea still stirs my heart; the beautiful intimate openness of it, and the heartbreak of her decision. The myth-tinged description of her and Hun-Kamé’s farewell, and how their love changes the underworld, is so lovely. The book-long evocation of Francisco Quevedo’s La brevedad de la vida! She sacrificed her relationship and herself for the world, and now it’s open to her. What will she do?
I would love to see Casiopea’s further adventures in the world, with Loray or separately. Maybe Loray sticks around with her for a while because he wants to, or he could teach her things, or both! I enjoy their interactions.
I’d also love to see Casiopea using her new abilities, maybe encountering other gods and demons as she travels Mexico and/or the world.
What does she write her mother? Do they ever travel together? Perhaps live together, away from the rest of the family?
Shipwise, both Casiopea/Hun-Kamé and Casiopea/Loray are good! Maybe both somehow?! Seeing as Hun-Kamé decided to get Loray to help her, perhaps he keeps finding moments when he can influence her life, or Casiopea finds a reason to do the sacrifices to bring him out of the underworld. What if Loray helps her meet him again, and it brings all three together? Or he shows her a little pleasure while they’re on the road one day.
These are just some thoughts; I know I’ll love anything you choose to make.
Once again, thank you for checking out my requests. I hope you enjoy the exchange!
This letter includes my signup details—likes and dnws—plus more likes in bulleted lists, and fandom thoughts! If you'd like that, you have it here. Feel free to also use prompts in other letters/signups, if I've requested something before and you don't see the prompt here, or just ignore the letter entirely; it's only an extra!
Gifts are enabled on AO3, and treats are welcome.
Likes:
Parallels and contrasts between characters and their journeys. Characters looking out for each other and rescuing each other, giving care and emotional support. Especially women receiving care and support, getting their needs made a priority by their loved ones. Canon divergence and role reversals are loved, though I also enjoy other AUs.
More things I enjoy:
- fusions, CYOA, outside pov, story/fragments of story as told in-universe, IF/interactive fiction, illustrated fic, poetry, epistolary, vignettes, character studies, plotty stuff, 5+1 stories, angst, fluff, smut, adventure, characters talking to each other, road trips
- enemies to lovers, friends/lovers to enemies to lovers/friends, pining, worldbuilding, quiet character moments
- bittersweet endings, happy endings, open/ambiguous endings
- quiet and subtle romance, the total opposite of quiet and subtle romance, psychological horror, messy and complicated dynamics, blurring between obligation/need and love, fear/horror/anger mixed with desire/love
- politics, isolation, competitiveness, limited agency, legacy, manipulation, scheming
- Force bonds, Force shenanigans, Force Ghosts, Ahsoka’s fangs, connecting to the force together
- time travel, weird worlds/dimensions, time moves differently, time loops (including those which get reset with death, and where the person in the loop resets it purposefully by dying), time freezing
- undercover, undercover as a couple, mission fic, teaching games
- scars, suspense, compromised sense of self, interpersonal tension, duty versus desire, love/hate, possessiveness, insecurity, secret relationships, secrets
- trust issues, implicit trust, emotional intimacy
- casual displays of affection, shared beds, snuggling, sitting/lying in laps, jumping people, rough kissing, neck kissing, kissing tears, kissing hands (back of or palm), nuzzling, afterglow cuddles, sexy baths, sexy showers, bruises, marks, hair-pulling, face-touching, arms around shoulders/waists, forehead kisses, forehead touching, tied up with own clothes/other's clothes/clothes in general, nuzzling, hand holding, choking, breathplay, bloodplay, biting, scratching, growling, blindfolding, chains
- stories where the woman/women are a significant part of the man/men’s characterization, stories where the woman/women are a significant part of each other’s characterization, characters gathering each other’s backstory a little at a time, investigating each other
- spying, sex and violence paired together, body heat sharing
- loneliness, mutual pining
- dreams, fix-it, parallel universes, parallel universe characters
- us against the world
- ghosts
- rule 63'ing male characters (where they were always a girl)
- learning new skills
- gothic romance
- daemons (His Dark Materials-style)
Horror Likes:
- ghosts
- hostile alternate selves
- loneliness
- suspense
- scars
- time travel, weird worlds/dimensions, time moves differently, time loops (including those which get reset with death, and where the person in the loop resets it purposefully by dying), time freezing
- psychological horror
- isolation
- architecture that wants to keep you
- nature that wants to keep you
- gothic horror
- cosmic horror
- post-apocalypse scenarios
- dreams bleeding into reality
- hauntings
- cursed objects
- possession
Smut Likes:
- character focus in smut, competitive smut, ulterior motives for sex, scars, possessiveness, love/hate, the divine as sex
- cunnilingus, choking, breathplay, bloodplay, biting, scratching, Ahsoka's fangs, growling, blindfolding, chains, rough sex, rough kissing, lap sex, sex on furniture, sex against walls, slow sex, quick sex, gentle sex, neck kissing, kissing tears, kissing hands (back of or palm), nuzzling, afterglow cuddles, underwater sex, sexy baths, sexy showers, desperate sex, bruises, marks, hair-pulling, face-touching, arms around shoulders/waists, eating her out while holding her hand, multiple orgasms, forehead kisses, forehead touching, tied up with own clothes/other's clothes/clothes in general, nuzzling, hand holding, learning new skills, kneeling for cunnilingus and then needing to support her legs as they buckle
- trust issues, implicit trust, emotional intimacy, casual displays of affection
- shared beds, snuggling, jumping people, sitting/lying in laps
- sex and violence paired together, fucking in the same room as your enemies' corpse
- body heat sharing
- dreams
- pining, mutual pining
- ghost sex
- feeling each others' sensations during sex
- Force/magic shenanigans, using magic/the Force for sex, telepathy/Vulcan Mind Meld during on-your-knees cunnilingus
AU Likes:
Canon divergence
Period AUs - Regency (played straight or fantasy/science-fiction, in our world or another), 1920s, Jazz Age, Medieval, Renaissance, Byzantine Empire, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greece
Genres - planetary romance, fairy tale, magical girl, steampunk, pirate, high fantasy, noir
Other Canons - characters having daemons like in the His Dark Materials books, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars, Star Trek, Jupiter Ascending, Silent Hill (2006), Clue, Annihilation (2018), Southern Reach trilogy, 30 Days of Night, The Mummy (1999-2001), Happy Death Day, Pacific Rim, Stardust (film or book)
IF Likes:
I use Windows 10 and Apple mobile devices. Most of my experience is with choice games--for example, like Alabaster, The Book of Guenevere, Affairs of the Court, visual novels like Oxenfree and Cinders, dating sims like Long Live the Queen and Magical Diary , and paper books where you turn to a page for every choice--but I’d be delighted with a parser game too. Puzzles, mazes, and timers aren’t a strength of mine, so I would enjoy a walkthrough if those are present.
DNWs:
- bleak/hopeless endings
- permanently dead requested characters (where they're not even a ghost/vampire) unless they are dead in canon
- mpreg
- detailed gore, detailed description of bodily fluids and excretions, watersports, scat, emetophilia
- noncon (unless requested/prompted)—dubcon is fine, rape (except where otherwise specified), a/b/o, bestiality, oviposition, monster sex, tentacle sex, flowery terms for body parts (love cave, love tunnel), sex without attraction, anal tearing, ass to mouth
- rule 63’ing female characters
- body horror, explicit torture, permanently physically damaging torture, maiming, mutilating (it’s ok to include if it’s canon, but I’d rather not have focus on the physical details of how it happens, how the inside parts of the body look and feel, or how it looks)
- animal harm, animal death
- bashing of characters or ships
- unrequited love (except if prompted, or if it's only unrequited in a characters' head)
- permanent breakups unless prompted
- focus on requested characters in non-canon unrequested/unprompted ships, non-canon unrequested ships, unrequested/unprompted poly/open relationships
- stories where nobody really cares about the woman/women in the ship
- AUs which don't use canon settings (unless prompted/requested/in list of likes)
- underage (17+ is fine, whether you change canon ages or set things when the characters would be 17+)
- ageplay/infantilization; unrequested/unprompted humiliation
- sexuality/gender headcanons
- coronavirus
- incest (unless prompted/requested), selfcest (unless prompted/requested)
- necrophilia
- vore
- insects, arachnids
Black Magician Trilogy - Trudi Canavan
Akkarin/Sonea (Black Magician Trilogy)
Just finished a reread of the trilogy earlier this month, and I have some thoughts! Part of my interest in this ship is the ambiguity in it; on the one hand, the feelings are real, and there’s a sweetness to the dynamic, but on the other, it was shaped by a mentorship context, and not an entirely nice one! It’s interesting on reread to see the shifts. Sonea thinks Akkarin showed her the truth because he saw her as a successor, but he actually did it in hopes that she’d offer her power. It says something that Akkarin wanted her to do that as if it were her own idea, rather than just asking; and also that he admits this to her right away, and she remains steady in her decision to learn black magic. I like that he didn’t expect to have to go find her and tell her his story, but he did, and that while Sonea doesn’t always see what he’s planning, she surprises him herself. She’s certain enough about him, and decisive enough about herself, to engage him directly and challenge his wishes. He might object to what she says, or push back on her decisions, but it’s always clear they have an effect on him, make him reconsider both her and the situation they are in. I enjoy that tension! I also enjoy the way it turns into this warm and fuzzy affection after they get together. Generally, I like how Sonea actually does become his successor like she wanted, how he treats her like one even though he also wants to protect her, and those little moments where they learn things: Sonea telling him about the Hole, him telling her about his nightmares, and the lighter exchange about swimming.
For actual prompts: Akkarin meant to take a hand in Sonea’s Warrior lessons, but they didn’t have the time before getting caught. What if they did have the time, even for just one lesson? Another what if: Maybe Savara’s people did find Akkarin and Sonea in Sachaka. Does anything happen differently? (I’ve read the sequels and so know the backstory revealed there; don’t worry about spoilers if you want to use any knowledge from that trilogy, or from the prequel for that matter!) Or it could be a “how do they make a life in the Guild if Akkarin lives” story; alternately, a fic about her processing her grief! (Again, if you want to use anything from the sequels, or set a grief/mourning fic in that time period, that would be good too!) I would also love missing scene fic from the time after Sonea learns the truth, or their travels. It could be anything between pre-relationship interactions or cuddling or sex. (I definitely have the impression, from Akkarin’s teasing Sonea about her not being able to sleep, that they found sex helped her with that. So sad post-Rothen fake out comfort sex? Or last night before the big day sex?) Or maybe the gig isn’t up for a while longer, and Sonea graduates, and they form a relationship while still hiding the black magic thing from the guild. Or! What would a wedding look like? That would be a great opportunity for worldbuilding! Actually, if you want to worldbuild with any of my prompts, or in general, go ahead!
Don’t worry about what to do; I know I’ll love anything you choose to make.
Pellinor - Alison Croggon
Solo: Maerad of Pellinor (Pellinor)
I really felt for Maerad as she mourned the loss of her Elemental self. It wasn’t a part of herself she had much chance to explore, and yet it allowed her to connect with Ardina, and find understanding and help when no one else could provide it. It frightened even her dearest loved ones, so that she couldn’t feel comfortable talking about it even at the end of the series—which was an interesting wrinkle in an otherwise happy ending—but according to the appendices, she and Cadvan later contributed to the lore on the Balance with what they learned about the Elementals. So maybe she does talk about it one day? It would be interesting, particularly since so much of the conflict in her journey is rooted in her struggles to see herself, and to communicate her feelings to others, and to be herself without other people fearing that self. Perhaps Cadvan being a Truthteller could play into it? I also love the lore, so a conversation on that, or a document they collaborated on, would interest me too! Shipwise, Maerad’s conflicts over who she is, and Cadvan’s fear of her when she seems more Elemental, are part of their relationship struggle; how does their contribution to the Balance lore reflect what they came to think of this in the future? Does time (and time spent together) help them understand their shared past more deeply, and/or differently?
Ship things I like with Maerad and Cadvan! I really love the time in Thorold, Maerad’s mourning songs for Imi, Darsor, and Cadvan, the reunion at the end of The Riddleand how Cadvan just wouldn’t leave her side in The Singing, no matter what.
I would also just enjoy more time with her and Ardina, and the connection they have. Their scenes together are both so heartwarming and so full of mystery. The descriptions are also just beautiful.
According to the appendices, Maerad became a great poet; she did spend the books wishing she had the chance to read and study like Dernhil, so this was a lovely note. It would be good to see a scene from that journey into scholarship, or her developing interest in composing her own poems. I love the one poem we see of hers; it’s very sweet and warm to think of her thinking of Cadvan when she wrote it; was this before or after he died?
I’d also love just seeing scenes from her travels after the books end! Going to places with Cadvan, seeing Hem and Saliman and Hekibel, feeling at home in Innail, or returning to Murask to spend some time with her father’s family—perhaps to introduce Hem? Oh: does she ever go back to the ruins of Pellinor with Hem? The dream they shared in which they lived in a beautiful house, with the orchard and the apples, was so bittersweet. They never lived together, and never really would after the story ended, but the bond was deep and strong.
My last reread got me associating Maerad and Zelika, which was an intriguing experience! The thought came into my mind when Hem first told Zelika he had a sister, and it seemed to touch her. They both have that protectiveness towards their younger brothers—which they transferred into caring for unrelated children, before Maerad learned Hem was her brother—and both are described as wild by their male love interests, live with the trauma of having their homes and families destroyed (though Maerad remembers less of it), and have an emotional intensity they don’t always regulate. Would they see similarities in each other? Would Maerad feel protective of Zelika?
As to ships I haven’t mentioned: all the canon ships are good with me. Have Maerad process her feelings about Arkan! Include Saliman and Hekibel in the story if they come up, and Hem/Zelika! Bring up how Maerad kept thinking of Dernhil!
Again, don’t stress over the options; I know I’ll love anything you choose to make.
Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Solo: Casiopea Tun (Gods of Jade and Shadow)
I enjoy Casiopea going from the mortal who is stuck with this god to increasingly, actively helpful throughout the book, culminating in that climactic sacrificial act. She has been stuck in her awful family, and her being bound to Hun-Kamé looks at first like more of the same, but going with him allows her to see and enjoy the world, and gives her the opportunity to make more choices, for herself, for those she loves, and the world. Their time in the sea still stirs my heart; the beautiful intimate openness of it, and the heartbreak of her decision. The myth-tinged description of her and Hun-Kamé’s farewell, and how their love changes the underworld, is so lovely. The book-long evocation of Francisco Quevedo’s La brevedad de la vida! She sacrificed her relationship and herself for the world, and now it’s open to her. What will she do?
I would love to see Casiopea’s further adventures in the world, with Loray or separately. Maybe Loray sticks around with her for a while because he wants to, or he could teach her things, or both! I enjoy their interactions.
I’d also love to see Casiopea using her new abilities, maybe encountering other gods and demons as she travels Mexico and/or the world.
What does she write her mother? Do they ever travel together? Perhaps live together, away from the rest of the family?
Shipwise, both Casiopea/Hun-Kamé and Casiopea/Loray are good! Maybe both somehow?! Seeing as Hun-Kamé decided to get Loray to help her, perhaps he keeps finding moments when he can influence her life, or Casiopea finds a reason to do the sacrifices to bring him out of the underworld. What if Loray helps her meet him again, and it brings all three together? Or he shows her a little pleasure while they’re on the road one day.
These are just some thoughts; I know I’ll love anything you choose to make.
Once again, thank you for checking out my requests. I hope you enjoy the exchange!
Tags: