InShipping 2015: Dear Author Letter
In which it's all relative, right?
I love me some codependency - that's why I gravitate towards sibling pairings, for their 'us against the world' feeling. It's okay with me if this is presented in a fluffier way, but generally I prefer my incest fic slightly darker, with the characters aware that there's something fucked up about what they're doing, or at least that other people wouldn't approve.
General likes/dislikes:
Things I like: Relationships (romantic, platonic, familial, working, inescapable life-bond, whatever sort), love stories, first time stories, adventures, character-driven pieces, wit and humor, a bittersweet or melancholy mood/ending, happy endings, loyalty, dedication, co-dependent relationships, Us Against the World, found/chosen families, equality in relationships, sex pollen, mistaken for dating/married, tropes in general. I'm okay with any rating; smut (explicit or otherwise) is awesome! No smut whatsoever is also cool, go with whatever you're comfortable with.
Things I don't like: Main character death, harm to animals, suicide, torture, graphic violence, whump, woobification, second-person pov, a/b/o, mundane AUs (ie high school, coffeeshop), baby/kidfic, pregnancy fic, character bashing, issuefic.
Requests:
Arrow
Thea Queen/Oliver Queen
Thea Queen/Oliver Queen/Tommy Merlyn
I love Thea so much; she's so deceptively tough and so messed up by the ridiculousness life regularly deals her, but so determined to be her own person and keep forging ahead. Just like her big brother! I love how protective Oliver is of her, the lengths he goes to to protect her. Their time on the island in S3 was wonderful - I loved the h/c of Oliver dislocating her shoulder so they could escape the cell. A story set during that time would be awesome, or something set closer to when Oliver first returned to Starling City. Maybe seducing Oliver was Thea's way of punishing him for not being there for her all those years, like a debt she's making him pay, or maybe she transfers her drug addiction to an addiction to her brother. Or maybe she just has a huge crush on The Arrow and Oliver is less put off by that than he thinks he should be! Clearly I prefer Thea to be the aggressor in this relationship, as I can't really imagine Oliver pushing her into anything.
If Tommy gets added to the mix: I miss Tommy so much! He had such a good heart, and the way he loved both the Queen siblings was so sweet. I love Thea's adolescent crush on him, and of course he and Oliver clearly adore each other, so I'd love something where the two boys are thrilled to be connected through Thea, metaphorically and literally. AUs where Tommy lives are fine with me, as is fic where Thea and Oliver connect over his death, and it's fine if you want to play with the timeline; personally I think it's more fun if everyone is aware of Thea's parentage, but I could go for fic where they only find out after the relationship is established too! If you write this one, please keep Thea as the focus, whether she's coming into an already established Oliver/Tommy relationship or they're all three coming together at once.
Chronicles of Narnia
Susan Pevensie/Edmund Pevensie
These two are some of my very favorite characters from anything ever, though which one I like better varies depending on the day. I've always seen them as the compliment to Peter and Lucy's bright, golden pairing; Su and Ed are the shadows, the darker side of life, the ones with doubts and struggles with faith and justice. I feel like they'd understand that in each other, that Susan would have understood why Edmund betrayed them in LWW (and, moreso, that it wouldn't have mattered as much to her as the others in the first place, as I see Susan as always putting family first), and Ed would understand why she chose to turn her back on Narnia in the end.
The Horse and His Boy is my favorite Narnia book, mostly for the glimpse of adult!Susan and Edmund, so I'd love something set during that time & place; maybe Calormene culture takes a more permissive view of incest, or maybe there's magic/drugs going around that lower inhibitions. Or maybe Susan doesn't want to marry Rabadash partly because she already has a partner in Edmund; I can imagine Susan being conflicted and wanting both to run from a relationship she feels is wrong by marrying far away from temptation, while also not wanting to leave Ed. I also love the Spymaster!Edmund trope, so adventures of him and Susan running espionage or diplomatic missions would be great fun! Or there's the England side of the wardrobe to explore; the idea that incest may have been more permissible in Narnia than our world is always an excellent source of angst and repressed tension. Feel free to go crazy with the AUs in this one - Ed survives the train crash, they remain in Narnia and don't chase the stag, they don't escape Tashbaan in time and are under seige - whatever feels fun to you!
A Song of Ice and Fire
Jon Snow/Arya Stark
Arianne Martell/Oberyn Martell
Arya and Jon kill me. Even when they're at their lowest points, when they think all the rest of their family is gone, they still think of each other; they still use memories of each other as comfort. Arya constantly thinks about how Jon was always the one who understood her best, and even when she thinks her mother or her other siblings might reject her for the things she's done, she always knows Jon would love her no matter what she's done. And Jon, who guards his honor and does his duty as though his entire world depends on it for the length of five books and through the deaths of most of his family, is finally willing to break his vows in order to save Arya (granted, a false Arya, but he doesn't know that).
I love that in general, they've always had a bond because they were the only two Stark children who physically took after the Stark side of the family. I love that Arya clearly favors Jon, and that Jon supports her desires to be herself by giving her Needle, which basically helps set her entire future course. More than any of the other Stark siblings, they wouldn't be the same without each other.
I love 'Arya finally makes it up to the Wall' fic. I also love the idea that Jon would be the one thing (aside from maybe Nymeria) that could pull her back from fully becoming a Faceless Man. AUs are also appreciated; I'm a big believer in R+L=J, so anything with Jon being raised apart from the Starks works for me, as long as he and Arya still have some sort of bond. I'd also love to see Ghost and/or Nymeria brought in somehow.
Arianne and Oberyn are all about the AUs for me! I love the culture of Dorne, with the scheming (however ineffective), the respect for women, and the open attitudes towards sexuality. Everyone loves Oberyn, of course, but my favorite thing about him is his intense loyalty to his family, with the way he's still pursing justice for his dead sister and her family over a decade after their murders. It's no wonder Arianne hero-worships him; he probably taught her much of what she knows about the ways of life and how to gain and hold power. I'd love to see fic where he teaches her about love and sex as well! Or an AU where she accompanies him to King's Landing instead of Elliria, and they scandalize the city by being far, far too close. Or an AU where they remain in Dorne (or Oberyn lives and returns) and Oberyn is either in on Arianne's plot against Doran, or ends up imprisoning her himself to prevent it, since he can't choose between his brother and his beloved niece. So many possibilities!
Firefly
Malcolm Reynolds/River Tam/Simon Tam
Oddly enough, the only way Simon/River ever works for me as a ship is if Mal's thrown in the middle. I love all three of them; Simon is the best big brother to ever exist, so devoted and so absolutely convinced that River is worth anything in the universe. River is a delight who breaks my heart - she's all potential struggling to break out, in both good and bad ways. I love her struggles with identity, between being a weapon made by others and being herself, making her own choices to protect what she loves. And then there's Mal, who's all rough edges with a gaping need for both something to believe in and for others to have faith in him. I can easily believe that River adores both men, and vice versa, while Mal and Simon have a lovely antagonistic thing going - but what they both have in common is a desire to please River and keep her safe.
And that's basically the only way this threesome works for me - if both men are well aware of how fucked up it is, and only in it because it's what River wants, because it helps keep her grounded and feeling safe and secure. I'd love to see all three of their pov's on what's going on between them - is River more manipulative than they'd guess? Is Simon in love with Mal and secretly pleased that River brings him closer, while also being ashamed of it? Does River legitimately not see a problem with incest? Is Mal so broken down and desperate that any source of comfort and love is welcome? The dynamics here are so interesting.
And that's it! Have fun writing.
I love me some codependency - that's why I gravitate towards sibling pairings, for their 'us against the world' feeling. It's okay with me if this is presented in a fluffier way, but generally I prefer my incest fic slightly darker, with the characters aware that there's something fucked up about what they're doing, or at least that other people wouldn't approve.
General likes/dislikes:
Things I like: Relationships (romantic, platonic, familial, working, inescapable life-bond, whatever sort), love stories, first time stories, adventures, character-driven pieces, wit and humor, a bittersweet or melancholy mood/ending, happy endings, loyalty, dedication, co-dependent relationships, Us Against the World, found/chosen families, equality in relationships, sex pollen, mistaken for dating/married, tropes in general. I'm okay with any rating; smut (explicit or otherwise) is awesome! No smut whatsoever is also cool, go with whatever you're comfortable with.
Things I don't like: Main character death, harm to animals, suicide, torture, graphic violence, whump, woobification, second-person pov, a/b/o, mundane AUs (ie high school, coffeeshop), baby/kidfic, pregnancy fic, character bashing, issuefic.
Requests:
Arrow
Thea Queen/Oliver Queen
Thea Queen/Oliver Queen/Tommy Merlyn
I love Thea so much; she's so deceptively tough and so messed up by the ridiculousness life regularly deals her, but so determined to be her own person and keep forging ahead. Just like her big brother! I love how protective Oliver is of her, the lengths he goes to to protect her. Their time on the island in S3 was wonderful - I loved the h/c of Oliver dislocating her shoulder so they could escape the cell. A story set during that time would be awesome, or something set closer to when Oliver first returned to Starling City. Maybe seducing Oliver was Thea's way of punishing him for not being there for her all those years, like a debt she's making him pay, or maybe she transfers her drug addiction to an addiction to her brother. Or maybe she just has a huge crush on The Arrow and Oliver is less put off by that than he thinks he should be! Clearly I prefer Thea to be the aggressor in this relationship, as I can't really imagine Oliver pushing her into anything.
If Tommy gets added to the mix: I miss Tommy so much! He had such a good heart, and the way he loved both the Queen siblings was so sweet. I love Thea's adolescent crush on him, and of course he and Oliver clearly adore each other, so I'd love something where the two boys are thrilled to be connected through Thea, metaphorically and literally. AUs where Tommy lives are fine with me, as is fic where Thea and Oliver connect over his death, and it's fine if you want to play with the timeline; personally I think it's more fun if everyone is aware of Thea's parentage, but I could go for fic where they only find out after the relationship is established too! If you write this one, please keep Thea as the focus, whether she's coming into an already established Oliver/Tommy relationship or they're all three coming together at once.
Chronicles of Narnia
Susan Pevensie/Edmund Pevensie
These two are some of my very favorite characters from anything ever, though which one I like better varies depending on the day. I've always seen them as the compliment to Peter and Lucy's bright, golden pairing; Su and Ed are the shadows, the darker side of life, the ones with doubts and struggles with faith and justice. I feel like they'd understand that in each other, that Susan would have understood why Edmund betrayed them in LWW (and, moreso, that it wouldn't have mattered as much to her as the others in the first place, as I see Susan as always putting family first), and Ed would understand why she chose to turn her back on Narnia in the end.
The Horse and His Boy is my favorite Narnia book, mostly for the glimpse of adult!Susan and Edmund, so I'd love something set during that time & place; maybe Calormene culture takes a more permissive view of incest, or maybe there's magic/drugs going around that lower inhibitions. Or maybe Susan doesn't want to marry Rabadash partly because she already has a partner in Edmund; I can imagine Susan being conflicted and wanting both to run from a relationship she feels is wrong by marrying far away from temptation, while also not wanting to leave Ed. I also love the Spymaster!Edmund trope, so adventures of him and Susan running espionage or diplomatic missions would be great fun! Or there's the England side of the wardrobe to explore; the idea that incest may have been more permissible in Narnia than our world is always an excellent source of angst and repressed tension. Feel free to go crazy with the AUs in this one - Ed survives the train crash, they remain in Narnia and don't chase the stag, they don't escape Tashbaan in time and are under seige - whatever feels fun to you!
A Song of Ice and Fire
Jon Snow/Arya Stark
Arianne Martell/Oberyn Martell
Arya and Jon kill me. Even when they're at their lowest points, when they think all the rest of their family is gone, they still think of each other; they still use memories of each other as comfort. Arya constantly thinks about how Jon was always the one who understood her best, and even when she thinks her mother or her other siblings might reject her for the things she's done, she always knows Jon would love her no matter what she's done. And Jon, who guards his honor and does his duty as though his entire world depends on it for the length of five books and through the deaths of most of his family, is finally willing to break his vows in order to save Arya (granted, a false Arya, but he doesn't know that).
I love that in general, they've always had a bond because they were the only two Stark children who physically took after the Stark side of the family. I love that Arya clearly favors Jon, and that Jon supports her desires to be herself by giving her Needle, which basically helps set her entire future course. More than any of the other Stark siblings, they wouldn't be the same without each other.
I love 'Arya finally makes it up to the Wall' fic. I also love the idea that Jon would be the one thing (aside from maybe Nymeria) that could pull her back from fully becoming a Faceless Man. AUs are also appreciated; I'm a big believer in R+L=J, so anything with Jon being raised apart from the Starks works for me, as long as he and Arya still have some sort of bond. I'd also love to see Ghost and/or Nymeria brought in somehow.
Arianne and Oberyn are all about the AUs for me! I love the culture of Dorne, with the scheming (however ineffective), the respect for women, and the open attitudes towards sexuality. Everyone loves Oberyn, of course, but my favorite thing about him is his intense loyalty to his family, with the way he's still pursing justice for his dead sister and her family over a decade after their murders. It's no wonder Arianne hero-worships him; he probably taught her much of what she knows about the ways of life and how to gain and hold power. I'd love to see fic where he teaches her about love and sex as well! Or an AU where she accompanies him to King's Landing instead of Elliria, and they scandalize the city by being far, far too close. Or an AU where they remain in Dorne (or Oberyn lives and returns) and Oberyn is either in on Arianne's plot against Doran, or ends up imprisoning her himself to prevent it, since he can't choose between his brother and his beloved niece. So many possibilities!
Firefly
Malcolm Reynolds/River Tam/Simon Tam
Oddly enough, the only way Simon/River ever works for me as a ship is if Mal's thrown in the middle. I love all three of them; Simon is the best big brother to ever exist, so devoted and so absolutely convinced that River is worth anything in the universe. River is a delight who breaks my heart - she's all potential struggling to break out, in both good and bad ways. I love her struggles with identity, between being a weapon made by others and being herself, making her own choices to protect what she loves. And then there's Mal, who's all rough edges with a gaping need for both something to believe in and for others to have faith in him. I can easily believe that River adores both men, and vice versa, while Mal and Simon have a lovely antagonistic thing going - but what they both have in common is a desire to please River and keep her safe.
And that's basically the only way this threesome works for me - if both men are well aware of how fucked up it is, and only in it because it's what River wants, because it helps keep her grounded and feeling safe and secure. I'd love to see all three of their pov's on what's going on between them - is River more manipulative than they'd guess? Is Simon in love with Mal and secretly pleased that River brings him closer, while also being ashamed of it? Does River legitimately not see a problem with incest? Is Mal so broken down and desperate that any source of comfort and love is welcome? The dynamics here are so interesting.
And that's it! Have fun writing.