and if the city never sleeps / then that makes two

[osaraba]

Have I ever mentioned how much I love serial-killer romance? Like, a "normal" person (of clearly questionable morality) romantically involved with a socio/psychopath? Well, I do.

Have I also mentioned how much I love Inception fandom? Because it gives me things like Arthur, the gentleman killer and Eames, the profiler. <333

cobweb_diamond's serial-killer WIP: the origin thread.

Or if you want to go direct to the fic:

1. commentfic: why Arthur will never again go by another name
   
2. the part where Arthur "protects" Eames by sabotaging his subway train (in 7 parts)
   
3. sequel to the subway fic, involving a tattoo gun (in 3 parts)
   
4. sequel fic: wherein Eames is kidnapped by someone not-Arthur (in 5 parts)
   
5. future fic: wherein Eames snoops through Arthur's stuff (in 2 parts)

Can I also mention how much it pleases me that this takes place in NYC? I may need to go re-read the Detective Kathy Mallory novels, by Carol O'Connell. I highly recommend this series!!!! O'Connell hasn't come out with a new one in a year or two, but I still have hope because she's done this before (to write stand-alone mystery novels) and then gone back to the Mallory series. BADASS SOCIOPATHIC FEMALE NYPD DETECTIVE: what more could you ask for? Well, I suppose a romance, but considering the level of her sociopathy, I don't know how much it would really work. So basically, she's as awesome as it gets. <3

*

So hey, I've been reading fanfic (off and on) for about 14 years now. And I've got all these new friends, which is lovely! (Hi guys! *waves*) And I've been reccing so much from Inception fandom because the writing is inordinately high-quality and prolific. So I find myself wondering... WHAT DO *YOU GUYS* LIKE TO READ? (Mostly I mean fic-wise, but include any kind of reading you wish!) I'd do a poll but why should I make you put your answers into a little ticky box?

Comments

[starlingthefool.livejournal.com]

I love weird shit. I used to write almost exclusively weird-shit and gimmicky fics - if there weren't zombies or karaoke or a random crossover, something that would make me all *___* then I wouldn't write it, and I'd have to be cajoled into reading it.

Nowadays, I like the slower, denser stuff too. And I love the hell out of well-done kink. Real kink. Rimming is no longer kinky.

[osaraba]

Hmmm interesting! I think in most of the previous fandoms I've been in I wasn't a huge fan of crackfic, though I didn't have a ban on it or anything. I've always been most into AU or partial AU -- kind of like same canon but where one character has hidden supernatural abilities! Or something. (Mostly thinking of Gundam Wing fandom here, because that was my Big One, back in the day.) But with Inception, I'm just like, GIVE ME ALLLLL THE THINGS, FOREVERRRRR *grabbyhands*. Though AU is my ever-constant love

Slow, dense, epic fics have always been ones I enjoyed. I'm a sucker for dark/atmospheric. And kink! The one thing that my years in fandom have burnt me out on is shallowly-written kink. I love PWP as much as the next person, but I admit I've gotten extremely tired of fics that are labelled "BDSM" when it's vanilla plus fuzzy handcuffs and no deeper exploration of BDSM dynamics.

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

To add to your conversation, I get extremely skeptical when I read 'BDSM' on a tag. Because it's not just a thrill in fic for me...I'm a real-life player. A lot of the time it seems to me that people are just using it to get hits on their story and there isn't much exploration of what actually goes on in either a scene or a relationship. I'll still read it, but it doesn't have the (pardon the pun) impact that it might on someone else.

jeannedecarnin is really fantastic at delving into the 'why's and 'wherefore's. She's one of my favourite authors for that.

[osaraba]

Oooh, yes, glad you joined the conversation!!! <3

I'm glad you made that point, because I agree, and makes me think of-- those fics where BDSM is used as a label for, I dunno, rough sex, without actually convincing me (or worse, without even trying to convince me) that the characters are in a BDSM scene and/or relationship.... well, those are so disappointing. I still read the fic, but always feel vaguely dissatisfied with the lack of substance.

So, I have read quite a few of jeannedecarnin's fic, but I don't know if any of them stand out in my mind as BDSM -- it's possible I've missed some of them (I haven't read her most recent 3-part fic yet) -- or maybe you mean that she writes good why/wherefore and not necessarily BDSM-related? Could you clarify? =D

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

Damned if I can find the actual story that I want to link to now... jeannedecarnin has a couple of fic that really look at the heart of a painslut. If I can find them, I will link them to you.

Don't get me wrong, there have been some absolutely amazing BDSM fic out there. But what bothers me the most is that if characters are going to be in the scene, I want them to read like real people, which means following either SSC (safe, sane, consensual) or RACK (risk aware consensual kink). If you don't follow either of those philosophies, then nobody's going to want to play with you because then you are not a BDSM player. You are a DANGEROUS PERSON who is GOING TO GET SOMEONE SERIOUSLY HURT/KILLED. I would like to see those mindsets explored a little bit in a non-angsty kind of way.

...You know, this isn't the first conversation I've had in the last couple of weeks to touch upon BDSM in the Inception fandom, and I always end up with some pretty epic thinky-thoughts on the subject. I wonder if I shouldn't sit down and write out a meta for it at some point? *ponders*

[Also: Rimming was once considered hard kink? Really?]

[osaraba]

I think a BDSM meta could be really, really helpful for anyone interested in but unsure of how to write it. Some people won't need it, but hopefully it would be of use to those who do.

You know chn_breathmint's guns & ammo tutorial? I didn't think I'd ever need it because I've never written an action scene into my handful of fics, but I started writing a scene that involved loaded guns at the ready and thought immediately of her tutorial, which was super informative! ...the focus of the scene eventually changed and went in a direction that didn't include the guns, but it was nice to know that it was there! =D

Maybe rimming as a hard kink depends on the fandom? 12 years ago in Gundam Wing fandom it wasn't as common as it is here/now, but... that was also 12 yrs ago...


ETA: dissociate just linked to Elements of Style by jeannedecarnin -- was that the one you were thinking of? Re-reading it, I can absolutely see why! She posted that back in September and I didn't remember it at all!

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

That's one of them, yeah. Some of her other fic mention it in passing as well. which makes sense, since they're all in the same 'verse. Honestly as much as I'd love to go reading through her whole rebellion 'verse and quote all the relevant lines at you, I can't right now because it's my wife's birthday tomorrow and I owe her at least a couple hundred words of ArmyBrat!Arthur/VisitingSAS!Eames T_T. My life, so hard. XD

Once you have your D/s glasses on in that 'verse, it's nice to see.

For some (uncommunicated) D/s, onelittlesleep wrote an untitled University AU in three parts before she left the inception fandom.

Part One, which links to Part Two: http://onelittlesleep.livejournal.com/515180.html#cutid1

Part Three: http://onelittlesleep.livejournal.com/517451.html#cutid1

As mentioned, the D/s is never openly talked about, but there are so many elements of it there that it can't be ignored and fic (and porn!) are so, so much hotter for it.

[osaraba]

YES I HAVE READ onelittlesleep'S UNIVERSITY AU AND LOVVVVED IT.

*goes to re-read it* <333

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

Those fics are my constant go-to when I have half an hour to myself. Because...yeah. The written word is my pornography, more than actual pornography is, and those stories hit absolutely every single one of my buttons.
(also, I really really love the bitchy!sizequeen!bottom trope, and I think Arthur could fit it perfectly)

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

I can't/don't know how to edit comments, so I'm just going to add here.

I've read chn_breathmint's tutorials and I absolutely adore them. I probably re-read them once a week because the information is so relevant to this fandom. I'd like to write about BDSM dynamics (with the HUGE caveat that every single relationship is different, JFC) but I also just sort of feel like ranting on the subject. I guess I should let the idea percolate for a couple of days/weeks/until after my reverse!Bang is done before tackling another writing project..

[dissociate.livejournal.com]

Sorry for jumping in, but this is what jumps to mind first:

http://jeannedecarnin.livejournal.com/9507.html

I'm not sure if I'd qualify their relationship in her verse as D/s or something in general, but this fic in particular has the most upfront BDSM that I can recall.

[osaraba]

That must be the fic Raven was talking about -- and I can totally see why! AND JFC, that was totally hot, wasn't it? =D

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

Yes, that was one of the fics, thank you so much for finding it!

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

I love a good murder mystery. Cheesy as all get-out, I know, but I love love love that kind of a set up. For actual, physical books in hand, I read a lot of JD Robb (Ever heard of Nora Roberts? Yeah, the stuff published under her pen name JD Robb is her fun-time books, I think) because her protagonist is the following things: Female! Emotionally Stunted! Shrewd! Technologically Incapable! Bewildered by interpersonal relationships!
What's not to love? Plus there are over two dozen books in the series now, so choosing something to re read is never an issue of 'But I just read that one...

My fic tastes run to the serious, the dramatic and the dark. When I start a fandom I will read almost anything, though the longer I hang around the more selective I become. If it's well-written, I will read it. If it isn't, I probably won't read that author again. Some light-hearted humour fic will get me hooked ( delires , skellerbvvt are prime examples, but the main tie-in is that it's all well-written. That's my biggest and most important requirement.

[osaraba]

ARE WE THE SAME PERSON? Because basically: serious/dramatic/dark: YES; those are exactly my preferences. (Hence the socio/psychopathic romance kink, haha.) Well-written is also definitely first and foremost; I will overlook SPAG if it's well-written, because hey, everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses, right? And yes, I definitely tend to get more picky the more time I spend in a particular fandom. I kind of burnt myself out of fandom a long time ago, but I'm glad that I got over it enough to come back in a little while before Inception because OMG THINK OF ALL THAT I WOULD HAVE MISSED! =(

As for published stuff, ahahaha, yes. As I was reading cobweb_diamond's fic last night, and then again when I was writing the above rec for Carol O'Connell's Mallory's Oracle (which you should check out!!!), I thought of JD Robb. I've been a looooooooooooong time fan of Nora Roberts (was even on the AOL BB back in the day, met her at a few signings, etc.), but I burnt out on most of her romances around 10yrs ago and then I kind of lost track of the order of the JD Robb books and where I had gotten up to (possibly around #20). I've been meaning to go back to them for the longest time! Eve & Roarke are awesome even though I do have some issues with Roarke's arrogance. I can't help wanting to strangle him most of the time. Though really this is nothing new as he fits into one of NR's top three molds of male protags.

So I think I'm going to try to get back into the JD Robb books, and you and cobweb_d will inadvertently share either the credit or the blame! <3

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

Sociopaths are love. They probably shouldn't be, but they are. I'm adoring Gav's commentfic like you wouldn't believe. I'm sure it's been recc'ed to you already, but you really should check out the BBC's "Sherlock" miniseries. It's written by Steven Moffat! You can't go wrong!

Well of course Roarke is arrogant. I would go so far as to say that it surpasses 'passion' as his defining character trait.

You should absolutely look them up again. I think that they stay fresh and good books because she actually has fun writing them, unlike a lot of her trilogies and whatnot, which are so formulaic to the point that I won't touch any of them.

(swear to gods, I read one story involving a typewriter, then six months later read the same story. The names had been changed, and the typewriter was now a laptop. everything else was exactly the same. I doubt she even realized that she did it, either, what with the hundreds of books she's written in between the two)

I will happily share credit with cobweb_diamond any time!

[osaraba]

YESYESYES I have absolutely seen the BBC Sherlock series. It's really fabulous. I posted something a couple of months ago about really loving BDSM and asexual fic because the circumstances necessitated Real Talking Communication (TM) and how much that is really at the heart of what I love about it (aside from the potential sexy-hotness)... and a friend of mine recced wordstrings's Paradox series (John/Sherlock).

I assume you've already read it, but if you haven't then I highly recommend INSIST that you do! <3

And, oh, if you have any recs in BBC Sherlock fandom, I would love to know what they are. I have dipped my toes in a teeny tiny bit, when I have time (which hasn't been much, lately).

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

When I first found Sherlock I tried looking for fic, but none of them characterized Sherlock nearly as well as I would have liked, so I sort of sighed wistfully and decided to stay out of it unless recc'ed. So I will check out the Paradox series.

When choosing a fandom, (or being chosen by one) the source material has to allow for good fic. Otherwise it's simply not worth my time, you know? So Inception=fandom-hunting, GO! while, say, JD Robb=not so much. I don't know, it's hard to really explain, I guess? Sorry. /notcoherent

[osaraba]

No, I know what you mean! Sometimes it comes down to whether I think there's anything to actually explore in the relationship as presented in the canon. There are some canon relationships that I am SOOOO into, but... I don't look for fic about it because... it's all in the canon. =D

[yanethyrael.livejournal.com]

YES, that is it exactly. Inception was left so wide open for us, which is why I think even after seven or eight months there is still an insane amount of fic pouring out.

the In Death stuff, I'll give her one thing; NR writes a very tight cannon. As much as I love Eve and Peabody and the rest, there's no room to really stretch my wings with those characters. That world would be absolutely stunning to explore, but my biggest fandom pet peeve is stories centered around OC's. So I won't do that, either.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Profic wise, I tend to lean towards the sci-fi/fantasy spectrum. Heavy on the fantasy. Checking out my most recent reads, I do seem to like the whole supernatural detective theme (Dresden Files, Mike Carey's Felix Castor stuff), although I tend to read a little bit of everything. The last book I completed was Cronin's "The Passage" (horror in the Stephen King style, with the whole somewhat troublesome "magical negro" theme as well...). I'm in the middle of reading "Will Grayson, will grayson" (gay YA fic).

Fanfic wise, I've been reading a *lot* of RPF recently. I think it's because I don't tend to follow much of the lives of celebs so the fan takes on them tends to read like tales based on fictional people any. And RPF canon is fiction anyway. Meh. Bandom has most of my bookmarks (MCR, Panic!, and FOB being the main offenders), closely followed by AI (Adam/Kris! Adam/anyone, really). Then there's the usual suspects (Inception, Merlin, HP, SGA), but honestly? I'll read anything that's long and plotty. And slashy. Not much for gen.

[osaraba]

I'm also a big reader of fantasy (along with military sf, and romance, and a smattering of mystery). Dresden Files is pretty awesome! I used to read YA but I haven't been able to get into it for the last 5yrs or so, though I'm trying because I've heard The Hunger Game is excellent. I started the first one of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series, but it's very slow in the beginning. Friends have assured me it gets much better once past the first 100pgs but.... well, I'll have to try again.

RPF is so interesting -- I can't even imagine writing it because I'm so focused on getting characterization right and I feel like it's impossible to do that with celebrities. You said RPF canon is fiction anyway and yeah, I never really thought of it that way. I was never much into RPF until C6D fandom (CKR and Hugh Dillon -- it was practically canon during the Headstones tour CKR accompanied Hugh on just before they started shooting HCL!), and truthfully I'm not really into Inception RPF either, but I'll read Joe/Tom anyway just because well, the pretty, and also there really isn't a whole lot out there.

There are a few fandoms in which I prefer gen. House being the main one since, although I'm not opposed, I don't really pair anyone in the show. I used to prefer gen for SPN but I came around to Dean/Cas really really really late, so that kind of replaced the gen preference. (Honestly I don't read actively in House or SPN fandom anyway.)

I always feel bad skipping over gen stories, though, because I know some of them are probably stories I would really enjoy -- at least, when my favorite character is the POV-centric one. In case you're the same, winterlive wrote an AMAZING 13k-word gen story about Arthur after Inception. SO well written, and could be interpreted as "pre-slash". =D

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

My RPF lines keep expanding, particularly if I run across something by an author I trust. I was reading some skating RPF (!) the other day just totally engrossed, you know? The more I (think) I know about the person the less the RPF interests me. And I love how there was/is so much J2 (Jared/Jensen) fic in SPN fandon as a way to bring the pretty but avoid incest squick.

I saw the winterlive fic link floating around. I love his/her stuff so I'll probably check it out.


I started His Dark Materials and was happy I didn't end up buying the trilogy. I found the beginning of the first book too slow to continue, as you did. Don't know if I'm going to give it another chance.

[dissociate.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I'm so boring! I'm open to reading most of the fic that's posted in the community but I don't get around to a lot...orz. If it's NC-17 I'll almost always read it, though. /likes the porn

I've been trying to write something too, but I'm soo lazy. But killer!Arthur...:O I don't know if I can take something like that! T_T

[osaraba]

I have to say that Inception fandom produces unusually high quality fic. And a LOT of it. So, for a while, I was actually reading EVERYTHING (well, everything Arthur/Eames, and a few others) that was linked on inceptiondaily. But I was... um... obsessing over fandom to the exclusion of anything else but work, pretty much, and after a while I realized I missed hanging out with my friends. Also, then hockey season started ahahah. It still took me like a month into hockey season (November) to be less interested in random fic than in watching games!

And partially, I think, I was able to narrow down which authors I would just read by name. So my list is of fic to read is shorter -- which is good because I don't have as much time to devote, but also I occasionally am sad at the thought I might be missing out on something amazingly epic.

But then I figure someone would rec the hell out of it and it would get around fandom. Like that AMAZING Arthur-centric gen fic I just recced in the comments. It's fantastic but I don't even recognize the author's name! =(

No worries about not being into killer!Arthur! Just like kinks, they don't appeal to everyone. =D