Patron Saint of Falling Over Things

Hello Hurty-Comforter,

This is the first time I've done this exchange, so please be forgiving if I've messed up the tag situation, or somehow requested two things that simply cannot co-exist. (You asked for forehead kisses? Don't you know these two characters LOST THEIR FOREHEADS IN THE WAR???) Please know that I'm happy for you to write what you want to write. I've requested pairings but I'm happy for them to be anything from the barest hint of a relationship all the way up to naked chained to the wall fucking. I will be delighted to read whatever you write.

Ratings:
Anything from General up to Explicit.

Porn likes:
Rough handling, desperation to get down to boning, tearing off clothes in the elevator, grinding, wall fucking, eye contact, eye fucking, hair pulling, biting, neck kissing, trembling with want, tenderness post all the fucking

Kink likes:
D/s overtones, people comfortable with their kink identities, bondage, ropes, sensation play, orgasm control, impact play

Hurt/Comfort Likes:
I very much lean towards the comfort side of the scale, and while I'm fine with bad stuff happening to the characters I love, I'd really like it to end with comfort.

Particularly faves:
Forehead kissing (provided the characters have foreheads), protective tenderness, small touches, hugs, holding hands, seeking comfort without being able to voice the need, deriving comfort from sitting next to the person who comforts you, deriving comfort from sex with the person who comforts you, not expecting people you love to care for you but they do, being safe and warm after a disaster, people going into battle because their person got hurt, people pulling out all the stops to rescue their people, people being skilful in their field for the sake of helping their people, characters that trust each other despite vast differences

DNW: Non-con (dub-con is okay!), cross-gen, incest, teacher/student, death (especially partner death), terminal illness (especially cancer), angst without resolution, sad endings, embarrassment for embarrassment's sake, humiliation, animal harm or suffering, kinks I didn't ask for

Sentinel/Guide AUs
Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides - Sentinel is overwhelmed and needs help
Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides - Guides are assigned a Sentinel

Fanlore has a good round-up of what this trope is: Sentinel AU

I'm assigning these tags across almost all my pairings, so I thought I'd condense my thoughts here. I love this trope! I love tenderness between Sentinel and Guide, even when the association was something thrust upon the two of them (for universes where Sentinels are assigned guides, for example.) The Guide might be angry at this unwanted assignment, but can't help but feel responsible for their Sentinel, for example. The Sentinel might resent the Guide they don't think they need, but when the going gets tough, things are so much easier with a Guide than they were alone.

I love Sentinels with enhanced senses and all the sensory overload that comes with that. I love the idea that these abilities take a toll on the Sentinel, and that it's beyond the scope of one (even very determined) person to keep themselves alive and well and functional if they have those abilities. Sentinels need guides, even when they think they don't.

I love an Us Against the World mentality, where a Guide puts the well-being of their Sentinel before laws and regulations, before anything the government requires of them. I love the idea of a Guide taking their mistreated Sentinel and running for freedom, living away from the organisation that controlled them in the past, figuring out a new normal.

Whether Sentinels and Guides are known in this universe is up to you. I love most iterations. If you're heading in a D/s direction, I'm good up to dub con and I've listed kinks above under "Kink Likes". I do prefer Guides that care for their sentinels, whether it's grudgingly or not.

I think what I'm saying is that you can't really overload the tropes here. Sentinel/Guide AUs are a ridiculous concept, I know that, and I still love them to pieces. I'm happy for you to lean into the insanity and go all in with a tropey hurt/comfort story about two people who were made for each other.

( Hannibal, The Black Tapes, The Exorcist, Person of Interest )

Miscellanea:

I have talked about some fandoms more than others, and I've made several prompts for POI. This doesn't indicate a preference for one fandom over another. I will genuinely enjoy fic or art from any of the fandoms requested.

I've used a lot of additional tags, but I intend them as suggestions only. Same for the prompts – they're the things my mind threw onto the page today, they're meant to be guidelines. Feel free to ignore them or pick and choose what suits your needs. Stick to my DNWs and I'll be happy. I love all these characters.

My partner is lilacsigil or laraleftlane and she will be happy to sneakily answer any questions about my likes and dislikes. She will keep this secret from me, (possibly forever, because that's how she rolls.)

For stalking purposes, you can find me most places under st_aurafina. I'm st_aurafina and st-aurafina.

All my previous Dear Author letters are here: Dear Author.

Thank you so much for writing for me! I hope you have a sweet exchange!

The Person of Interest Exchange has extended its signup period - please consider joining us! It's a fun exchange.

Here's the new schedule:
Nominations: March 16-20
Signups: March 21-April 11
Matching/Assignments: April 12
Fanwork Creation: April 12-June 6
Fanwork Reveals: June 13
Creator Reveals: June 20

Tumblr: exchange-of-interest/
Dreamwidth: poi_fanworks

LET ME WRITE FIC FOR YOU.


Linkspams

COVID-Adjacent
I can see the whole drunken evolution of this excellent idea and how it went terribly wrong:
Astrophysicist gets magnets stuck up nose while inventing coronavirus device

- con_solation has The Con-Solation Vidshow
The Con-Solation Vidshow will go live Saturday April 4th and will showcase premiering fanvids that otherwise would have premiered at one of the fan conventions that has recently been cancelled as we try to minimize the spread of disease.

- stayinside has a treasure hunt:
Photo Scavenger Hunt - Win a month of paid time for your Dreamwidth

- LGBTQI resources for my Victorian queer friends:
Switchboard Victoria: LET'S STAY WELL TOGETHER

- via rydra_wong - a huge list of free resources:
Give Back - Directory of free products / services available during COVID-19
Two things from there that have been useful for me or people I know:
- Sadler's Wells is running family dance workshops: Take Part: Family Dance workshops
- JigZen (an ios jigsaw game) has paid content free at the moment: JigZen

- speaking of which, Monument Valley 2 is free right now: This Fantastic Game Is Free On iOS And Android Right Now

-Flatten the Curve of Armchair Epidemiology
Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE) is a phenomenon where people lack the ability to understand their lack of ability. While strains of DKE typically circulate seasonally, a new and more virulent strain called DKE-19 is now reaching pandemic proportions.

- via cofax7: If I Wrote a Coronavirus Episode: Tina Fey, Mike Schur, and 35 more TV writers on what their characters would do in a pandemic.
(Among others, there's a video message from Rogelio from Jane the Virgin, and a ship's log from Admiral Picard.)

- a podcast with 20 second stories to listen to while you wash: Listen, Rinse, Repeat

- Because I went on a deep dive to find the etymology of 'Rona, and failed:
New Words We Created Because Of Coronavirus
(I am delighted by the fact that in a decade and change the babies born right now will be Quaranteens.)

- From lilacsigil telling me about this over breakfast: the actual etymology of Quarantine: quarantine (n.)


From me lurking on Twitter when I should know better:
- AlexThano taught his cat to play noughts and crosses: My cat beat me at noughts and crosses this morning. I am now questioning Why I have a job and he doesn’t. Well played Pete the cat.

-jenks88 has an awesome aunt and uncle:
My Uncle's #IsolationGames during lockdown
(I liked the Frogger setup where she tried to run him over with the mower.)

- from _lizbarr
Which Quarantine Cephalopod Are You?
(I would be vampire squid, if I were isolating.)

Celebrities in Isolation
Via aragarna
Some Good News with John Krasinski Ep. 1
(There's an episode 2 as well, and I'm hoping for more.)

- Sportscasters Are Narrating Daily Life Tasks During COVID-19

- via musesfool (for me, but I think it's been everywhere at this point):
Isolating with the Derry Girls

All I Ask Of You | Phantom London Orchestra | ALW Response Video
This is the Phantom London Orchestra backing Andrew Lloyd Webber, and it's wonderful to see inside their living rooms as they perform.

Just Plain Cool
- Comic Artist Maps the History of Languages with an Illustrated Linguistic Tree

- The Magnus Archives - Fanmade TV Intro by erin_stuart (cw: some slight flashing imagery)

- I remember zefrank doing nature videos from ages ago (did they do the honey badger one?) but this is a recent on on nudibranchs, and honestly, I needed to see some pretty sluggy slugs today: True Facts: Freaky Nudibranchs by zefrank1

- via talkingtothesky
Michael Emerson Praises ‘Evil’ and Reveals the Scene That Didn’t Make it Into the Finale
(spoilery for the finale)



In closing, we went outside to see the super moon. It was very bright. I blinked a lot.

Work is complete and utter bullshit and now let us never speak of it again.

I've been writing this post since Sunday, and it's nearly Sunday again. What is time? Where am I? I am not completely certain of anything at this juncture.

Linkspam
- a friending meme:


- via topaz119
#readasonnet
Patrick Stewart's gave me chills. Happy chills. He sighs at the end, and I swear I relaxed about ten notches. (What are the units of relaxation? I think of notches on a cog. My cog wheel cranked down about ten notches.)

- Multifandom icon battle going till the 28th.

- via spikedluv
fandom_checkin is a comm with a two part poll to do just that - check in and say you're okay. And then chat in the comments if you want to. I like the low social obligation of the poll - it felt good to tick that box, even when I was finding it difficult to write comments.

- via used_songs I think?
covidcoffeecorner is posting daily chat topics.

- stayinside is for people stuck inside -- because of COVID-19 or any other reason -- who could use some help keeping calm and carrying on.

- via jb_slasher - this made me cry, apparently I needed to hear this from the Doctor (c/o bbcdoctorwho )
Incoming transmission

- via lyr - you can help beat COVID-19 with Folding@home
Coronavirus – What we’re doing and how you can help in simple terms

- On the Person of Interest discord, there's a rewatch for lockdown going on. They're doing an episode a day, and tomorrow's ep will be 1.06 The Fix, with Zoe!! (<3 Zoe!)
Here's an invite to the discord:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7FywuYV

I'm Danpants#0070 on discord, by the way, and I'm always up for a chat, if you're lonely during lock down. I'm working pretty hard at the moment so I might not get back to you right away but I will get back.

In other Person of Interest news, sign-ups are open for the annual Exchange of Interest! It's small and fun and easy going - nominations have closed, but I can put in a good word with the mods, and get anything that's not there added in for you. Every canonical tag is already approved plus a whole lot of amazing pairings:
Exchange of Interest 2020

Come join us!!

Title: For a Minute There, I Lost Myself
Fandom: Person of Interest
Rating: Teen
Words: 1729
Characters/Pairings: John Reese/Lionel Fusco
Warnings/Content: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Whump, Fever Dreams, Nightmares, Talking To Dead People, John Lives, Simmons Doesn't Though, Shaw is a Lousy Doctor, Bear Has the Best Bedside Manner, Happy Ending
Notes: Written for vegetarianvampireduck in Chocolate Box 2020. Title is from Karma Police by Radiohead.

Summary: After the cyber apocalypse, Fusco wakes up in a hospital bed and knows John didn't make it.

Also at the Archive

( Fusco and John don't have much time to figure out what they are to each other )

Title: Hunting Strategy
Fandom: Person of Interest
Rating: Explicit
Words: 1059
Characters/Pairings: Control/Schiffman
Warnings/Content: Loyalty, Boss/Employee Relationship, Motel Sex, Cunnilingus
Notes: Written for enemyofperfect for Chocolate Box 2020
This gifset by asleepinawell is highly relevant: control and schiffmann were the greatest untold love story of person of interest

Summary: Schiffman doesn't want to be the alpha wolf.

Also at the Archive

( The current op is dragging )

Title: Know Your Rights (All Three of Them)
Fandom: Person of Interest
Rating: Mature
Words: 1646
Characters/Pairings: Carl Elias, Anthony Marconi, Bruce Moran
Warnings/Content: Group home, mention of past sexual abuse, mention of past violence, implied risk of current sexual abuse, violence.
Notes: Written for vegetetarianvampireduck for Chocolate Box 2020
Content warnings at the Archive
Title from The Clash

Summary: Carl's not afraid to kill someone. It's what comes after that needs to be considered

Also at the Archive

( The dormitory is rarely quiet )

Title: Half Past Nude
Fandom: Person of Interest
Rating: Explicit
Words: 1556
Characters/Pairings: Root/Shaw
Warnings/Content: Rough Kissing, Oral Sex, Alcohol, Lingerie, Nail Polish
Notes: Written for Spicy Advent 2019. Title is from the OPI shade.

Summary: Root has a fresh manicure and new lingerie. All she needs now is Shaw.

Also at the Archive

( It has been a day – a day and then some )

Title: Five Things They Don't Tell You When You're Dating a Werewolf
Fandom: Person of Interest
Rating: Teen
Words: 1955
Characters/Pairings: John Reese/Lionel Fusco
Notes: Written for livenudebigfoot for shipoween 2019
This fic was inspired/informed by a tumblr post by sholio reminding us how large wolves are:
While walking the dog yesterday, we found the tracks of a pack of wolves that had passed across the edge of our property.

Summary: There's a few things Lionel wishes he knew at the start of all this, but he thinks they're doing okay.

Also at the Archive

( Wolves are big. Werewolves are massive. )

Title: Unguarded Moment
Fandom: Person of Interest
Rating: General
Words: 100
Characters/Pairings: Harold/John
Notes: Written for smallhobbit for the July round of Multifandomdrabblefest

Summary: Harold knows when John is not sleeping easily.

Also at the Archive

( John usually falls asleep first )

Hey new friends! Welcome!

Mental health update: My new LGBT-friendly unicorn of a GP has put my desvenlafaxine up to 150mg, because, as she says, when you're used to a low bar of mental health, you forget that there's a possibility for mood to be good. I've been at that dose for nearly a month now, and at first I was like, meh, it's not going to make a difference at this point. And then a few weeks in, I was like, ehh maybe it's better? And today I actually felt... good? In control? Is this what good mental health is? That last question is probably 50% sarcasm. Probably. It's getting dark and I'm crashing out again, in a low-key, I-know-what-this-is way, but I want to remember that there were some good moments.



The friending meme is ticking along very nicely, yay! I cruise around keeping an eye out for any hiccups, and I love seeing people making connections and having conversations. It's very heartening. We are a good bunch, fandom. Especially fandom on Dreamwidth.

Friending meme is here, for people who missed the link:



Reccing Thursday Sunday
I promised some Harold/John recs for nerakrose because yay new POI friend!!

astolat is great for Harold/John (and she wrote a really good and plotty Harold/Shaw/John fic too, if that's at all your jam.) I've picked a fave to link here:
Technical Support (Rated Explicit)
It's an AU where Harold is still working at IFT, and John takes a job as a security guard. I love an AU where circumstances change but the characters are still fundamentally themselves. There's an excellent cameo by Detective Carter, too: the way she diverts John from homelessness to a steady job really works for the set-up we saw in the pilot.

the_ragnarok is my go-to author for POI kinkfic - they write the kind of thought-driven, negotiated kink scenarios that focus on mental conversations and sensory descriptions. They're very good with AUs, especially AUs with otherworldy Finch, who occasionally has tentacles. (This is a good thing!) The fic I've linked isn't a kink fic, or a tentacle fic, but it is a vampire AU and it's excellent:
a creature more of night than day (Rated Explicit, Vampire AU)

talkingtothesky is a multishipper - I mean, if there's a rare pairing out there, Sky will have had a go at it. She is fearless! But I think Harold/John is one of the pairings of her heart. (Stop me if I'm wrong, here, Sky.) The one I've linked is set at the end of Identity Crisis, when Harold is off his nut on ecstasy. It's very tender:
Every Time I Fall You Catch Me (Rated Teen, implied drug use, missing scene)

canadianwheatpirates mostly writes (excellent) femslash, but there's also this short and hot Harold/John strip club AU:
For Your Entertainment, (Rated Explicit)

livenudebigfoot has done stellar work this year converting me to the emotionally-messed up yet tender lovefest that is John/Fusco, and I'd love to rec you all of their fic so you too can take that amazing journey, but since these are Harold/John recs, here's a very good, very wrought story set immediately after 2.16 Dead Reckoning:
Time Enough at Last (Rated Explicit)

I lean towards the supernatural in terms of what I prefer in an AU, and this one is fantastic: all ferocious magic and angelic language and fantastic mythology:
Irregular by manic_intent (Rated Mature, Dragon/Angel AU)

This last one is a crossover with something called the Lord Darcy Series, which is something I keep meaning to investigate, because based on this fic, it has a lot of tropes I like. Like, hand kissing. And swearing fealty. And mid-twentieth century spycraft merged with magic. Mix these things with Harold/John, and it's just about the most perfect feast of tropey goodness you can imagine.
For King and Country by killalla (Rated Teen, AU-fantasy)


As for upcoming fanworks in POI fandom, I'm hopeful there'll be a Person of Interest Big Bang this year, and possibly a Reverse Big Bang, which is where you write fic for a piece of art. Possibly the POI exchange. And I'm trying to get myself together early this time so I can run the POI advent.

livenudebigfoot and I are trying to get a Person of Interest bookclub kind of thing together where we all read a fic - we're planning on starting with the last Big Bang. I'm not sure where we're hosting it yet - we're wavering between DW, Discord or giving Pillowfort a try.