Silly AU where Keita stays with Merrick as his sort of adopted kid, goes to Peru with him, and plays matchmaker bw Merrick and Rafael... obviously in the most (awkward) oddly formal way imaginable. This is 15yo Keita we're talking about
The Radiant Emperor duology by Shelley Parker-Chan
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
Voting ended onJun 28, 2025
Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:
The Radiant Emperor duology (She Who Became the Sun, He Who Drowned the World) by Shelley Parker-Chan
Endorsement from submitter #1: "extremely nuanced portrayals/discussions of gender and sexuality within the relative historical context; very primarily historical, secondary genre is arguably more magical realism than straightforward fantasy"
Endorsement from submitter #2: "A cast full of queer characters who do awful things to get the throne"
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother’s abandoned greatness.
Setting: 14th-century China (1345), Yuan and Ming Dynasties
In 1859, ex–East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall with an injury that almost cost him his leg. When the India Office recruits him for an expedition to fetch quinine—essential for the treatment of malaria—from deep within Peru, he knows it's a terrible idea; nearly every able-bodied expeditionary who's made the attempt has died, and he can barely walk. But Merrick is eager to escape the strange events plaguing his family's crumbling estate, so he sets off, against his better judgment, for the edge of the Amazon.
There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettling stories of impossible disappearances, cursed woods, and living stone. Merrick must separate truth from fairy tale, and gradually he realizes that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more valuable than quinine, and far more dangerous.
In 1859, ex–East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall with an injury that almost cost him his leg. When the India Office recruits him for an expedition to fetch quinine—essential for the treatment of malaria—from deep within Peru, he knows it's a terrible idea; nearly every able-bodied expeditionary who's made the attempt has died, and he can barely walk. But Merrick is eager to escape the strange events plaguing his family's crumbling estate, so he sets off, against his better judgment, for the edge of the Amazon.
There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettling stories of impossible disappearances, cursed woods, and living stone. Merrick must separate truth from fairy tale, and gradually he realizes that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more valuable than quinine, and far more dangerous.
In the wake of the First World War, Jonathan Morgan stows away on an Antarctic expedition, determined to find his rightful place in the world of men. Aboard the expeditionary ship, Jonathan may live as his true self―and true gender―and have the adventures he has always been denied. But not all is smooth sailing: the war casts its long shadow over them all, and grief, guilt, and mistrust skulk among the explorers.
When disaster strikes in Antarctica’s frozen Weddell Sea, the men must take to the land and overwinter somewhere which immediately seems both eerie and wrong; a place not marked on any of their part-drawn maps of the vast white continent. Now completely isolated, Randall’s expedition has no ability to contact the outside world. And no one is coming to rescue them. In the freezing darkness of the Polar night, where the aurora creeps across the sky, something terrible has been waiting to lure them out into its deadly landscape…
Setting: Shortly after WWI/1920 alternate history horror expedition to Antarctica
I’ve decided that my favorite ships are those ones where you don’t care if they’re together romantically or not, as long as they're together. It doesn’t matter if they’re kissing, as long as you know they’ll have each other’s back through everything, and really it’s a stronger bond than if they were banging anyway. Because it’s all based off of trust and loyalty.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Bedlam Stacks - Natasha Pulley
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Raphael & Martel
Characters: Raphael (The Bedlam Stacks), Martel (The Bedlam Stacks)
Additional Tags: Period-Typical Racism, Racism, Missing Scene, Implied abuse
Summary:
Martel has a favour to ask of Raphael.
Warning for period-typical racism at both the beginning and the end, as well as a warning for the abusive, exploitative nature of Raphael and Martel’s relationship in general.
finally finished and posted a fic i didn’t know existed but apparently started writing late last year so. here it is. short as always because i couldn’t remember wtf i was meant to be writing and wanted it done.
he's a priest, he has sexual tension with almost everyone, he's good with kids, he speaks fifteen languages, he has a troubled past, he has a fucked up future, he doesn't believe in god, he's god's favorite, he's a saint, he's a murderer
something something a follower who is more devout than their god. a fervent acolyte and a doubtful divine. the obsessive devotion of one who has become a sword for someone who cannot stomach the thought of wielding them. misplaced worship that refuses to be swayed. a invulnerable deity painfully human in its uneasy hesitancy, a fragile mortal made alien by its unquestioning conviction. attack dog and owner with a tight grip on the leash. and make it as fucked up and gay as possible.
The Dead Lovers by Edvard Munch / Vienna Cemetery / Lovers of Valdaro / The Lovers of Modena / Hasanlu Lovers / Monumento Rossi / Dave Navarro & Carmen Electra by David LaChapelle / A Memorial to Marriage by Patricia Cronin / Monumento Scarneo / Olavi Lanu / Bronze Age Scythian Couple / The Life & Death of a Relationship - Sue Law / Lovers of Turuel / New Orleans Botanical Garden / Etruscan Sarcophagi / Gravestone commissioned by widow for deceased husband - Mt. Macedon Cemetery / Eternal Love - Frank Kunert / Meant To Be - Bruno Caesar / Roman Sarcophagus / Sarcophagus of the Spouses
So you’ve written rare pair fic on AO3- how rare are we talking? Select how many fics are tagged for your rarest written pairing on AO3, and let’s see how rare your ship REALLY is.
2000+ (You are on a luxury cruise.)
1500-1999 (You’ve chartered a trip and drank margaritas on the deck.)
1000-1499 (You are fishing off the back hoping desperately for more.)
500-999 (Storms may pass but you are unsinkable.)
100-499 (There is no bond like that of you and the five others manning the ship)
50-99 (The ship left the dock without everyone on board and you cannot drive.)
10-49 (The only reason you’re alone on board is you’re the only one with taste.)
Less than 10 (I am the captain now.)
Voting ended onFeb 13, 2024
Reblog and put your rare pair in the tags/comments! I want to see the depths people will go to create, for the most random two characters in the most obscure media.
tangentwithtanner
yousharknotpass
titsay
germansingergirl
blakekathryn
pixelskylines
prguitarman
