Oh, I see

[cimorene]

If Foreigner was a fandom, there would definitely also be a Side Guys fandom around Machigi/Nomari too. I'm not sure if it would be a rare and surprisingly high quality subgenre, or an unreasonably popular runaway that descends into Kylux-style nonsense.

Comments

[twistedchick]

I can easily see a side fandom around the Assassins Guild as a whole.

[cimorene]

Oh yeah definitely. If she gave more detail about them it would probably produce like roleplaying and copious OCs.

[daegaer]

It would definitely zoom straight to the purple end of the scale. Machigi might get paired up with a lot of people, especially as a metaphorical-moustache-twirling cad/dark and dangerous guy. (I forget, can the atevi grow facial hair?!)

There would also be the subgenre of Lord Geigi's Harem fics.

[cimorene]

No, there's a throwaway about how weird they find it somewhere in there! And you're right, he probably would be a favorite. I think he's a bit Lex Luthor and Loki-ish, a very popular type of guy, and he must be very pretty as well as dashingly scarred bc that comes up when he's described more than anything else.

But I do think there's a little more foundation to pair him with Nomari. They have offscreen back story that vaguely involves spying as well, and that's a great foundation for fanfiction.

[daegaer]

Nomari would be woobified a great deal! He would somehow be a very small eight foot tall guy. (And that young girl everyone briefly suspects of making a bad alliance with him would be vilified).

Machigi is very much like Lex Luthor, yes!! I feel there's a lot of scope in people getting ready to be underwhelmed by his rustic Southern family home and then having him live in a beautiful and ancient palace.

[cimorene]

Yes! I think I see shades of Okinawa in the Marid, although the blue glaze is obviously pretty original (I'm pretty sure the most prized blue glazes from ... Korea and China? ... aren't lost) and the sea creature stuff is perhaps inspired by Minoan Crete.

And yeah. Nomari sort of vaguely reminds me of Faramir in the movies. He's mature, and worried, and possibly a little self-effacing and not realizing quite how brilliant he is, and sort of diamond in the rough, and obviously there is huge scope for tragedy in him just saying it's literally always been too dangerous to even consider personal attachments.

[daegaer]

I think there's definitely a mix of island cultures in the lost ancestors of the Marid, with a good helping of Minoan Crete. I'd love to see more of the islands/treasure hunters and so on.

(I spent a great deal of time being worried that Lord Tatiseigi's blue bowl would be destroyed. No, don't destroy the precious thing that can't ever be replaced!)

Yes - Nomari is very much a fish out of water in the atevi higher political seas. He's almost like an atevi Bren in some ways - he has good instincts but can't quite be sure if he's acted correctly.