EXCHANGE INTERFACE

Pacific Rim Secret Santa Gift!

title: living in a fallen home
summary: Their instant connection pushed Raleigh into focusing on all the things he and Mako share, all the places where they align. It's only with a little time, and distance, and a lack of wires fused into both their brains, that he learns where they deviate from one another.
why: This was a pinch-hit for me when my author couldn't get her assignment in due to Life Issues (and let me know ahead of time as well as promising me a fic in Jan). So it's short but sweet, a few little slices of life and dealing as they work out how they're going to relate in a post-kaiju world.

In contrast, my Captain Hill Secret Santa gift is intense:

title: this of all nights
summary: In the weeks after Ultron, Steve and Maria find comfort in each other, only to find themselves on opposite sides of the Sokovia Protocols.
why: No quarter given in this fic; the harsh and bitter truth of love and war. It's not an easy fic to read, but it's an powerful one, and the ending is as much interlude as it is completion. The characterisation is amazing - particularly the harder side of Steve and the sharper side of Maria. We don't always write those in Captain Hill fic because it's not easy to write them in a relationship like that - it takes a fair bit of emotional maturity to both conceive it and accept it, but this has been done brilliantly, with their emotional need balanced against the things they believe are right and the choices they have to make in the situation.

alphaflyer (Happy Birthday!) asked: Mako Mori or Maria Hill? And if you can't choose -- why should we love them both?

Seriously, you're asking me to choose between a non-sexualised Asian heroine and a woman who isn't coded 'female' but isn't villainised.

No choosing. ALL THE LOVE FOR ALL THE FEMALE CHARACTERS ALL THE TIME.

Why?

( Mako and Maria )

teal deer: They're both non-standard female characters. Even if they're not a fan's individual catnip, they're characters to promote and laud for being outside the 'standard female character box', which certainly needs stretching.

Talkmeme on LJ | Talkmeme on DW

TITLE: The Meeting Of Your Sparks
SUMMARY: It had been a while since he felt a warmth like this in his belly, but he remembered how it felt to be attracted to someone in his gut – that pull of interest that was one part sexual, one part personality, all parts desire.
CATEGORY: Mako/Raleigh, Fluff, AU, a little bit of angst
RATING: G
WARNINGS: None
NOTES: Written as the opening salvo of a fic war between myself and quigonejinn for Pacific Rim fic. Her follow-up was "The One Where..." which means the ball's back in my court. So do I work off 'sparring' or do I go further off the AU track? Or both?

TITLE: Feels Like Home To Me
SUMMARY: In the middle of the night she crawls into his bed, and not a word is said.
CATEGORY: Steve/Maria, fluff, very short
RATING: G
WARNINGS: None
NOTES: Another in the "Meeting Halfway" Steve/Maria series. Not compliant with anything after The Avengers.

TITLE: Pretty Cunning
SUMMARY: Nick may be a suspicious bastard, but he's not an unforgiving one.
CATEGORY: Nick Fury & Maria Hill, familial relationship, post-CA2
RATING: G
WARNINGS: None
NOTES: For Father's Day. And because I felt I had to say something about AoS and the Director of SHIELD situation.

ladyscribe? I think you're going to have to tell me what theme I should pick for the next Steve/Maria in our fic war. I'm sorry, I'm just all over the shop right now.

And, of course, right when I'm busiest, the old profic bunnies come a-hopping. I kicked a male character out to make space for another female character, and apart from now allowing the 5-book series to actually pass Bechdel, it also changes the dynamics between the quintet a little - which isn't a bad thing, I think. The danger was always going to be that Renee was left out in the cold as 'the girl', but with Tiana now part of the five, there's less chance of that.

Now I just have to stop my brain from trying to simultaneously write the adult urban fantasy novel series that feature them after they've grown up...

Story Title: Anchor And Anchorage
Fandom: Pacific Rim
Link(s): http://archiveofourown.org/works/986038
Summary: The Drift is compatibility, not happily-ever-after. Or the story of how Mako Mori and Raleigh Becket deal with their demons.
Warnings: No archive warnings
Characters: Mako Mori, Raleigh Becket, Herc Hansen, Tendo Choi, Vanessa Gottlieb, Sergio D'Onofrio
Pairings: Mako Mori/Raleigh Becket
When I Started: September 2013ish
How I Lost My Shit: I went on holiday to the USA and Italy, and then I had to get back and into the swing of things, and then end-of-year fictide was upon me, and I was organising a Pacific Rim fic swap and five people never responded to my emails and I had to scramble for pinch-hitters and then they posted anyway, and I had no time and no brain and no plot and no words and aaaaaaauuuughhh...
How I Finished My Shit: Painfully. Really really painfully. Questioning myself all the way. Wishing that it was better, more tightly plotted, had more concrete resolution, and that I could manage cute (angsty was it; I'm sorry, prepare to be socked in the face with the angstoramas).

But EET EES FEENEESHED!

And it has art by endeni/endeni, which is here and awesome.

I'm going to try to make this a thing - it won't always be Pacific Rim (there's not enough fic for starters) - but it will probably be things that I read and enjoyed, and think others would also like.

TITLE: you steal me away with your eyes
AUTHOR: millsandcrane
DETAILS: Mako/Raleigh, angst, smut,
SUMMARY: Set a year after the events of 'Pacific Rim'. Mako reminisces about who she's lost on the day of her parents' anniversary. Raleigh's there to distract her from her thoughts. Sex ensues.

WHY: Because it avoids the 'I love you' trap that is so prevalent in fic. And it's quite clear that Mako isn't fully over her loss of Pentecost, and that Raleigh loves her, but doesn't want to burden her. (Stoic males! WHEEEE!) Basically, they're two broken people holding each other together, and this is a teeny tiny smut interlude that quite sweetly shows their care for each other.

TITLE: Knock Knock | Cookies And Cream
AUTHOR: carpelucem
DETAILS: Bakery AU, Mako/Raleigh friendship tending to more, Mako & Chuck, Chuck is a dick, Hot Dads
SUMMARY: Neighbors, bakeries, and a big happy ending - and something about finding the family you were always meant to have.

WHY: because the interactions between Mako and Raleigh are charming and sweet and put me in mind of the Stargate AU "The House That Jack Built" and it's a series that will (hopefully) have a whole lot more to it, and I like to give such authors encouragement. In addition to which, I like dickhead!Chuck stories and this one has him right on the money. (The interaction between Raleigh and Chuck in the second story is precious - the confrontation, the jealousy, the angst, the relenting!) The Hot Dads make an appearance in Part 1, and although I don't really agree with the depiction of Stacker as the father who thinks his daughter has failed him, I believe I comprehend the narrative choices that drive it.

TITLE: what falls away is always
AUTHOR: likeoatmeal
DETAILS: Mako/Raleigh, post-movie, relationship,
SUMMARY: Most nights, Mako comes home — different cities and different doorways but always home the moment the door closes behind her—and Raleigh calls out her name before she
s even put her keys away. "Mako." It's never a question.

WHY: Because it's beautiful and lyrical and the kind of story that I really really wish I could write - that just drifts along while dragging you in so powerfully. It's in the style of the BIG Mako/Raleigh fics of the earliest days of Pacific Rim (the ones that have, oh, 800 kudos to them) - lots of love-and-the-Drift dynamics post-movie.

Hey, if have an LJ and you're so inclined to give in to my blandishments, go vote for Mako Mori in the f_march_madness Cage Match Round 2. She's down in the Sci Fi section!

Go NOW because she's losing to Donna Noble.
(Whom I do love, but, really, MAKO MORI!)

Don't let me down, PR fandom... (Oh, wait... :P)

So, I've been kind of busy. Two fusions (one Pacific Rim into HDM, one Young Wizards into Pacific Rim) and one regular fic.

TITLE: Echoes Of Who We Are
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe - Daemons
CHARACTERS/PAIRING: Mako Mori, Raleigh Becket, Stacker Pentecost
WORD COUNT: 287
NOTES: What happens when canon creators Tumblr - Part One. (With thanks to Travis Beacham.)
SUMMARY: Frustration beats in her breast; Mako strives to conquer her expression. Whatever she thinks of Raleigh Becket and his suitability to be Gipsy Danger’s pilot, she will not show it externally.

TITLE: what we were meant to be
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe - Fusion, The Drift, Sparring
CHARACTERS/PAIRING: Nita Callahan, Kit Rodriguez, Carl Romeo, Tom Swale, Raleigh Becket
WORD COUNT: 938
NOTES: What happens when canon creators Tumblr - Part Two. (With thanks to Diane Duane.)
SUMMARY: By the end of the first month, Nita's already decided she's not here to pilot a Jaeger, she's going into Drift technology. The interface between human and machine intrigues her: is it a dialogue between different kinds of sentience, or just humanity imposing its will on the machines they've created?

TITLE: His Brother's Keeper
CATEGORY: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Brothers, Parallels
CHARACTERS/PAIRING: Mako Mori/Raleigh Becket, Raleigh Becket & Yancy Becket
WORD COUNT: 593
WARNINGS: Canonical Character Death
NOTES: I have an epic 'Yancy survives' fic idea, but I'm not sure if it'll ever be written. We'll see. I like the idea, but I'm not sure how it ends and I need to know the ending before I can start. This is the small "Yancy and Raleigh" fic that I've been wanting to write for the last three weeks.
SUMMARY:
"It is rare for Jaeger pilots to survive the death of the other - rare out of the Drift and even rarer when one pilot dies in-Drift. In a moment of violent death, during a battle, it would take a strong and determined will not to psychologically reach for the person they feel closest to, whom they know best, who is theirs beyond all shadow of a doubt."
~ Dr. Helen Jiang, Jaeger Psyche Analyst ~

Fandom: Pacific Rim (2013)
Title: The Naming Of Foxes - part 1/2
Author: tielan
Rating: Teen
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Raleigh Becket, Mako Mori, Herc Hansen, Sergio D'onofrio
Additional Tags: Romance, Friendship, The Drift (Pacific Rim), Ghost Drifting, Drift Hangover, Developing Relationship, Post-Canon, Tumblr: jaegercon, Parallels, Loss, Desire, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Notes: There's a reference to events and characters in the comic Tales From Year Zero but it's not necessary to have read that. This fic is pretty much just me getting out my post-movie feels re: Mako/Raleigh. Hopefully once it's done I can concentrate on other things.

Summary:

He shouldn't be able to hear Mako through the screaming and the shouting, but she cuts through the noise.

Raleigh thinks he would hear her calling him from anywhere in the world.

Can I just say how lovely it is to be a fan of a character that lots of other people also primarily fan?

This hasn't really happened to me since Sam Carter of SG1, and that was twelve years ago. (Mind you, I got some hella awesome friends out of it, many of whom are still around.)

And a female character, and a character of colour!

Twelve. Fucking. Years.

And, um, I seem to have committed Pacific Rim fic:

TITLE: what the Drift has wrought let no man tear asunder
AUTHOR: tielan
SUMMARY: Mako knows it's the Drift hangover – the physical component balancing out the mental and psychological compatibility – grounding pilots in the here and now, breaking the Drifting cycle of there and then. But she can't let go. She can't let go. If she lets go, she'll fall into herself (anyone can fall) and never come out.
WORD COUNT: ~750
TAGS: Mako Mori, Raleigh Becket, Herc Hansen, Mako/Raleigh, Mako & Raleigh, Mako & Herc, the Drift
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, making no money, etc.
NOTES: I thought this was the first chapter of a longer story, but I suspect the 'longer story' is going to be separate, and with a slightly different focus and more broken.

Also, in slightly different news...MORE MARIA HILL PROMOS FROM 'AGENTS OF SHIELD'.

It's like ALL THE CHRISTMAS NOW!