Dear Rarepairs Creator
You are awesome! Thank you for making me something about one of these relationships! I hope you'll enjoy making your assignment as much as I'll enjoy the finished product!
I love all of these fandoms and all of these combinations of characters and will love a gift about any of them, so if you already have an idea, then go for it; I know it will be as rad as you are! If a little detail from me will make things easier/more fun for you, then I'll ramble about fanwork in general and these particular fandoms/ships below:
Do-Not-Wants:
I'm fortunate not to have any triggers, but I do have a couple of back-button squicks that it would be great if you could avoid: romanticized/eroticized depictions of incest or rape are deal-breakers for me. If canon and/or the direction your work takes you include incest or rape, I'd prefer it not be depicted in great length or graphic detail. I'd prefer no a/b/o or mpreg. I'm comfortable receiving fanwork of any rating, and if you're moved to porn, I'd prefer no sex that kinks on fear, extreme pain, or risk of death or maiming.
[Likes and other general details]Stuff I love, in general:
banter, found families, redemption narratives, missing scenes and tags/codas, gallows humor, h/c that's light on the 'hurt' and heavy on the 'comfort', characters playing poker, bedsharing (platonic or otherwise), women kicking literal and/or metaphorical ass, characters who own their mistakes (even if they can't seem to quit making them), double lives/secret identities, and hopeful, if imperfectly happy, endings. Most of my favorite stories could be distilled down to something like broken people make a home for each other and/or ragtag band of misfits save world, one another.
Shippy stuff I love:
UST - both one-sided pining and that dynamic where everyone acknowledges the attraction but has some reason for not pursuing anything further right now. Flirting. First times - both sexual and other day-to-day life stuff characters are experiencing for the first time as partners. Domesticity, especially cooking with/for each other. Partners in established relationships supporting each other through non-relationship drama. Casual sex between characters who have respect and fondness for each other. Friends-to-lovers. Self-aware characters making self-destructive choices (i.e. knowing they're fucking up even as they're doing it and still not being able to stop themselves) about their relationships. Consensual sex between characters who are antagonistic toward each other, whether that later becomes something warmer or remains a mistake they just keep making together. Cuddling, hugs, forehead kisses and other little touches and casual gestures of physical affection. Hair-washing and related grooming, partners sharing a bath/shower.
Porn notes:
I don't expect porn, but I am absolutely open to it. If you go that route, these are some things I especially like:
A focus on the characters' emotions/sensations rather than a less-personal diagram of the sex act in question. Non-penetrative sex. Masturbation. Voyeurism/Exhibitionism. Praise-kink. Light bondage (which, to me, means things like characters being held down by their partner(s) or using restraints that don't leave marks or require a lot of special props or advance planning). Laughter, whether because things aren't going quite to plan or because the characters laugh together a lot, so why should sex be any different?. Comfort sex. Unexpected moments of vulnerability/gentleness between otherwise-antagonistic characters.
While I'm not into things that brush up against my general Do-Not-Wants from above (rape, incest, edgeplay, omegaverse, mpreg), 24/7 D/s, or dirty talk/internal monologue that uses words that would be slurs in other contexts ("slut", "fag", etc.), I'm otherwise open to kink if you think it'd be in-character for any of the character combinations below.
Fanart notes:
I've requested fic or art in each fandom, and I worry that the prompts below skew fic-ish. :/ Please know that that's because I know what kind of details I find useful for writing, but lack that frame of reference for making art. Broadly speaking, I love things like comics or faux movie posters/book covers, etc. or crossover pieces that put the characters of one fandom into the settings and/or costuming of another, as well as more traditional portraits or sketches. Any snapshot of a moment of affection, tenderness, h/c, surprise, etc. between the characters in the ship we matched on would be a delight.
Fandoms! ♥
Fandoms are listed alphabetically below, along with a little bit of rambling about what I find appealing about or would be especially interested in seeing explored for each requested ship.
[Banshee]Carrie Hopewell/Gordon Hopewell - Early days: courtship at the diner, her pregnancy with Deva, his embracing fatherhood, the both of them building a different life than they'd expected, together. Later, taking unsteady steps toward reconcilliation after they've both done things that screwed up the life they'd made. Fix-it AUs that branch from the s3 finale and find them figuring it out and starting over again all over again.
Rebecca Bowman/Nola Longshadow - They're both trapped by the limited options their communities have allowed for them, and it's made them dangerous - to themselves as well as to everyone else. I don't see them ever having a functional or long-term relationship, but I think they'd be pretty likely to blow off steam with some periodic hatesex.
Lucas Hood/Ana | Carrie Hopewell - As babies, sneaking around under Rabbit's watchful eye. A little later, planning their escape & their future. Pining and misery and bitterness during his time inside. In Banshee, all the identity porn: little places where they slip between who they're supposed to be now and who they were before.
Lucas Hood/Siobhan Kelly - Early days, flirting and frank but not-yet-pursued attraction. S2, all comfort sex and picking through each other's baggage. S3, comfortable and content and just about too cute, even for all the dark secrets they continue to keep from (his identity) and with (avenging Emmett and Meg Yawners) each other. Hood's continuing grief. Fix-it AU where they escape the CADI and start over together.
Lucas Hood/Veronica Dawson - Post-series, in which he takes her up on her offer to look her up in DC - who is he now? is she the same person she was when she left Banshee? The two of them dancing around each other, clever enough to see through each other's bullshit, but too intrigued to keep away either. Stealing an hour's comfort together in the darkest part of S4.
[Hart of Dixie]Tansy Truitt/George Tucker - I've always liked George, but he never seemed like a good romantic partner until his relationship with Tansy. I liked that they were both working on figuring out what they want/need out of life/relationships and on actually saying what those things are and making them happen. They were also always cute and fun, especially with Dolly Parton on the scene.
Lemon Breeland/Lavon Hayes - I'd especially love future-fic or scenes from the s4 timeskips for these two: planning the wedding, little wedding day catastrophes that don't matter at all in the end, their first Sunday brunch as Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, babysitting TBD Kinsella and maybe beginning to think that babies are something they could do. Mostly, after having their timing be so bad thoughout the series, with one or the other quietly pining away, I'd just like to see them happy together, whatever else you want to imagine them doing.
Lemon Breeland/Zoe Hart - One of my favorite parts of the series was their relationship moving gradually from disdain to grudging respect to supportive friendship, so I am absolutely here for extending that slow burn into a romantic partnership as well. I'd especially love to see them reminisce about their less-than-flattering first impressions of each other from a place of current deep affection. Stressing out so much about making their first time together perfect that it turns out tense and uncomfortable and bad; they freak out about it together, and the second time is waaay better.
Zoe Hart/Wade Kinsella - I'd especially love future-fic about these two: their first year as parents, visiting New York as tourists, being totally weirded-out to find themselves as the settled adults giving the benefit of their experiences to the kooky new kids in town. I was also really into the parts of their relationship when they tried - and failed spectacularly - to be casual about each other.
Annabeth Nass/Joel Stephens - These two are great: good friends to the people they care about, unlucky in love but not too bitter to keep trying. Clearly they didn't share much screentime in canon, so feel free to fill in those blanks: how did they become friends? How scary is it to make the jump to being something more, especially given their track records? (And how well that risk pays off for them this time!)
[MCU]Maya Hansen/Pepper Potts - An expansion of their hotel scene in the movie, bittersweet because we - and Maya - know what's coming, would be lovely. I'd also love anything set in a fix-it AU in which they come together while a surviving Maya goes about trying to wash the blood off her hands and earn this second chance and Pepper deals with the lingering effects of her own Extremis experience.
Maya Hansen/Pepper Potts/Tony Stark - All the Maya-lives AUs, please! They all three have baggage (guilt, trauma, shame, fear, etc.) following on from the events of the movie, and I'd love to see them helping each other through that even as they fight their own demons. I'd especially like for Maya/Pepper and Maya/Tony to be significant in their own right rather than just an adjunct to the established Pepper/Tony. Awkward-but-ultimately-good first-time sex?
Maya Hansen/Natasha Romanov - Yet again, all the Maya-lives AUs! The two of them working side-by-side to clear the red in their ledgers? Also lovely would be something in which their paths cross before the events of the Iron Man movies, an undercover assignment bringing the Black Widow into Maya's lab and/or life? The two of them touching each other in ways that continue to echo through their futures.
Riley/Sam Wilson - We know this one ends in pain, right? I'd enjoy something set prior to Riley's death, whether they're already together or just on the cusp of beginning something or Sam is doing a little pining. Something about Sam's grief and the loss of what might have been would also be lovely; sadness is a given here, but I'd prefer that fic set after Riley's death find Sam at least beginning to heal rather than being entirely bleak.
Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson - Natasha is - has had to be to survive - good at being what/who other people want her to be; Sam wants her to be herself, which I imagine is simultaneously comforting and scary. Sam has been through some shit himself and knows how important it can be to have a soft place to land, and wants to be that for her/them to be that for each other. Sam sets a challenge for himself to make her laugh every day, and after a few false starts, it works; he's more surprised than he should be when she does the same for him. Post-mission comfort sex? Undercover-as-a-couple?
Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson - More of the time during the second movie when Steve and Natasha are on the run and hiding out at Sam's, or when they're planning/carrying out the Falcon-suit heist, or some fruitless mission to trail the Winter Soldier in the space between movies or any other situation that provides opportunities for danger/near-escapes, us-against-the-world, or moments of holy-shit-you're-brave/clever/strong/etc. to set off sparks between the three of them. Any pair of them in an established relationship, realizing that they both want the third to join them as an equal partner (though I'm cool if it starts out as a casual sex thing that unexpectedly grows feelings).
Maria Hill/Sam Wilson - I like to believe that their interaction during the events of CA:TWS spun out into a deep and easy friendship - and that that's something neither of them have a lot of - so I'd especially like to see them fumbling around a little in making that transition from friends-to-lovers. Alternatively, what begins as occasional casual sex for comfort or to blow off steam after stressful days becoming something heavier so gradually that they don't notice until they're both in deep. Playful, sneaky sex in Maria's office at SI?
James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Sam Wilson - I feel like they would have a lot in common - their career backgrounds, flight, being pretty grounded even when their close friends are all larger-than-life in some ways, and, relatedly, being a source of emotional stability for those variously-traumatized friends - and probably hit it off pretty easily. At first, I imagine a generally comfortable, lighthearted, low-drama (about the relationship itself; obviously drama from the rest of their lives would continue to happen around them) kind of feel from these two; feel free to set fic before or ignore the events of Civil War to keep that tone, or to pull in some angst from the events of/fallout from the movie while they try to decide whether/how to try to salvage things between them. Playful sparring turns into playful fucking? Post-CW, figuring out new ways to make their sex life work.
Scott Lang/Sam Wilson - I'm here for both cheerful, chattery fun (bonding over the less-glamorous bits of vigilante superheroics and/or being the "normal" ones in their circles?) and picking each other up in more somber times (Sam dealing with lingering combat stress and/or grief? Scott afraid he's failing at being the dad his awsome kid deserves? etc.). Sam trusts Scott enough in Civil War to bring him in on their plans (and conversely, Scott trusts Sam enough to join in even though it'd be easier and safer to keep out of it); how'd that happen? Surely not out of a single fight? I'd love to see how their relationship would've grown through some missing scenes set during/between movies. H/C on the Raft? Affirming/adrenaline-fueled post-jailbreak sex?
[Veronica Mars]Leo D'Amato/Veronica Mars - Deputy Leo was always my favorite of Veronica's canon love interests, in part because - at least in the beginning - he came with comparatively little baggage. I'd love some more of that early, easy flirting, with Veronica feeling a little conflicted about using him (but still ultimately doing it). I'd also love to see them coming back together, sadder and wiser and sorting out their issues, a few years on: maybe he consults for her FBI team during the season 4 that never was? maybe in an AU from the end of the movie that finds her single, but still reestablishing in Neptune? First-time sex... possibly followed by mortifying (though ultimately warm) morning-after breakfast with Keith?
Wallace Fennel/Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie - We saw these two interact off and on throughout the series as parts of Veronica's support network, and by the time the movie rolls around, it's clear that they're pretty close outside their relationships with Veronica. I'm here for basically anything you want to show me about how that happened: what do they have in common besides that marshmallow Veronica Mars? What do they like about each other? When do they grow closer? Are they in fact already together during the movie? (And if so, how long does it take Veronica to notice?) If not, how does everything that happens in the movie lead one/both of them to making a move? Wallace being determined to learn how to give Mac her first orgasm (or at least the first with a partner) after her Cassidy-related trauma, and after some trial-and-error, succeeding!
[WWE/NXT]
One canon-specific Do-Not-Want here: I'd prefer your work not use the performers' real-life names or details of their personal lives or relationships that haven't already been incorporated into kayfabe.
Wesley Blake/Alexa Bliss/Buddy Murphy - I am legit distraught that these 3 have split up! I am equally here for something set during happier times, with them being good to each other and absolutely terrible to everyone else, or for a good wallow in the angst. The tension of their losing streak and feeling the thing they had slipping away without knowing how to reclaim it? Blake and Murphy floundering as they try to go back to what they were in the beginning after so long as Alexa's boys? Alexa missing them despite herself, and finding them harder to replace than she'd bargained for? Each working alone and being kind of miserable? Bittersweet reunions in the ring or out? Angsty 'you know this doesn't change anything' sex?
Bayley/Finn Balor - I'm here for all the fluff about sweethearts being sweet to each other while benevolently ruling over NXT, and/or also for things to be made a little darker or tenser by the presence of the Demon: just how separate is it from Finn himself? does Bayley essentially have a distinct relationship with each of them? If so, how does she feel about that? (how does Finn?) Shared frustration at being left behind by their peers/anxiety about being separated if they're called up at different points. Bayley's partners are always surprised to find that she's the kinkier and/or more experienced one; there's a lot of stuff she's excited to explore with Finn.
Bayley/Carmella - As with all Bayley ships, I'm here for all the fluff about sweethearts being sweet to each other, and also for some angst around call-ups - who'll get there first? how will they manage not being able to see and touch and hug each other whenever they want?, etc. Sharing candy and clothes. Former-hairdresser Carmella washing/trimming/styling/etc. her girl's hair (and/or Bayley doing the same for her so that Carmella gets to know how cared-for she makes everyone else feel). Friends-to-lovers with some pining and first kisses? Bittersweet goodbye (for a little while!) sex and/or emotional reunion sex?
Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch - Sasha tempting Becky to the heel-side at NXT. Riding and rooming together across Florida - and vehemently denying to themselves/each other/the world that Team BAE is anything more than a strategic partnership. (Also, repeating/echoing that dynamic on the main roster during their time as reluctant allies against Team BAD.) I ship them both individually and together with Charlotte, so feel free to have them use their relationships with her to rile each other up, or for her to bait them with unintended consequences. Taking out their frustrations on each other in the ring and/or in each other's beds.
Roman Reigns/Bray Wyatt - Roman, converted to the Wyatt Family; yes, please! Feel free to set this in an AU from previous times they've tangled in canon, or to speculate on what the future could look like for Roman, stripped of the title, feeling like a disappointment to family and fans alike, having wounded and lost Dean in ways he still doesn't understand - i.e. more isolated and vulnerable than he's ever been. What does Bray see in/plan for Roman? What - besides sinister bragging rights - does he get out of this? What takes him by surprise about Roman? How does Bray start to win him over? When does Roman realize how deep he's in? I am 100% the sap who would eat up Roman's being saved by his Shield brothers + the power of love (plus, perhaps a conflicted Luke Harper?), but I'd also be happy to end on an unsettling horror note or something more ambiguous.
Cesaro/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns - [Please note that this section is significantly longer than others not because I prefer it to any of the other 30-odd ships I've requested, but because, in the spirit of the fest, I wanted to take some care to differentiate the polyship from the relative juggernaut of Dean/Roman.]
I'm here for any degree of romantic involvement between/among these three, from casual (if angsty) threesome sex to a polyamorous V with Roman and Cesaro each involved with Dean and figuring out what their relationship to each other is/what they want it to be (ideally? warm, even if it stays wholly platonic) to a full three-way romantic relationship. Cesaro having ridden with the Shield appreciates/is moved by the gravity of Dean/Roman inviting a third person back into their bed and/or life after Seth. Roman's shamefaced jealousy over Dean's going to Cesaro for what he needs (and Dean picking up/calling him on same) being the thing that finally catalyzes them to becoming something more than brothers-in-arms(; perhaps culminating in porn wherein Roman kisses over/presses into all the marks Cesaro just finished putting on Dean?) Dean instigating for a threesome, ostensibly because look at you two; you know it'd be hot, but also because he knows they'd be good for each other in some of the same ways they're each good for him, like: Cesaro is lonely and cut off from his family far away, and Roman would fold him into his massive clan without thinking twice; Roman still isn't sure where he fits/if he belongs after having gotten here by such a different route than many of the roster, and nothing's more reassuring on that score than acceptance from the consummate professional and King of Wrestling, etc.
Cesaro/Seth Rollins - Rehabbing from their surgeries at the same time, keeping each other from drowning in bitterness, frustration, fear, pain, etc. Meeting up backstage at 'Mania 32, while Seth is fleeing from the main event that he should be working, and Cesaro has been reminiscing about the Wrestlemania moments he had with Tyson (and Natty) last year. Very careful comfort sex. Appreciation for the changes in Seth's body from someone who's known him since he was a skinny, barely-legal kid in tiny trunks.
Cesaro/Dean Ambrose - On the surface, these two don't seem like they'd have much in common, but they come from the same places - bingo halls and armories and working in front of 30 people for figurative (and sometimes literal!) peanuts and not knowing for sure there's going to be grocery money coming in next week - and bring a lot of shared history. Lots of inside jokes and casual affection and just soaking up the unexpected goodness of finding themselves here, stable and secure and in good company. Alternatively, being there to prop each other up while circumstance and other people are breaking their hearts. Dean making excellent use of Cesaro's tear-away suits, and Cesaro failing to be as irritated as he should.
Cesaro/Sami Zayn - Immensely cultured, multi-lingual, cosmopolitan men, and also enormous fucking dorks; please feel free to play up either/both angles or the contrast between. My shipping of them began with the hug I will probably still be talking about on my deathbed, so I'd love a moment from during/shortly after that feud between justifiably arrogant shit-talker and actual human sunbeam. Or later, comparing notes/surgical scars on their bum shoulders (and making out very gingerly?). In the present, they've already established that mutual respect/rapport and appeared as friends on the main roster, but Sami's fixation on Kevin Owens keeps costing Cesaro matches, I'd like to see Sami surprised when Cesaro boils over with frustration at all the things Sami fails to register when he's got his eyes fixed on Kevin. (Author's choice on how/where this irritation manifests itself.)
Sami Zayn/Dean Ambrose - They each have a lot of baggage, but not with each other, and I really love the idea of them helping each other put all that bullshit/pain/frustration aside even if just for a little bit. Dean recognizes the effect his innuendo and tiny, fragile tanktops are having on Sami "it's too... sexual" Zayn, and proceeds to (good-naturedly!) torment him, leaving him constantly flushed and flustered (and perhaps ultimately leading to semi-public sex backstage?). Alternatively, the giant and obvious crush Dean's been nursing completely passes Sami by - seriously, how was he supposed to know?! Ambrose never even power-bombed him into anything or hid in the trunk of his rental! - until Roman (or Cesaro or Seth or anyone else they have in common!) is there, asking him (preferably in an appeal to Sami's bone-deep decency rather than as a shovel talk!) to be careful with Dean.
Dean and Sami are also the littlest, blackest dresses in my walk-in closet of wrestling ships, so feel free to mix and match with the other ships involving them in the tagset or to add other characters into the mix if you're so inclined (though I'd prefer John Cena and Jack Swagger not be invited to the party). An 'I Like Sami Zayn' orgy to welcome him to the main roster? Yes, please! Celebratory gangbang centered on World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose? Absolutely!
Thanks again for playing! I hope your fest goes excellently! ♥
I love all of these fandoms and all of these combinations of characters and will love a gift about any of them, so if you already have an idea, then go for it; I know it will be as rad as you are! If a little detail from me will make things easier/more fun for you, then I'll ramble about fanwork in general and these particular fandoms/ships below:
Do-Not-Wants:
I'm fortunate not to have any triggers, but I do have a couple of back-button squicks that it would be great if you could avoid: romanticized/eroticized depictions of incest or rape are deal-breakers for me. If canon and/or the direction your work takes you include incest or rape, I'd prefer it not be depicted in great length or graphic detail. I'd prefer no a/b/o or mpreg. I'm comfortable receiving fanwork of any rating, and if you're moved to porn, I'd prefer no sex that kinks on fear, extreme pain, or risk of death or maiming.
[Likes and other general details]Stuff I love, in general:
banter, found families, redemption narratives, missing scenes and tags/codas, gallows humor, h/c that's light on the 'hurt' and heavy on the 'comfort', characters playing poker, bedsharing (platonic or otherwise), women kicking literal and/or metaphorical ass, characters who own their mistakes (even if they can't seem to quit making them), double lives/secret identities, and hopeful, if imperfectly happy, endings. Most of my favorite stories could be distilled down to something like broken people make a home for each other and/or ragtag band of misfits save world, one another.
Shippy stuff I love:
UST - both one-sided pining and that dynamic where everyone acknowledges the attraction but has some reason for not pursuing anything further right now. Flirting. First times - both sexual and other day-to-day life stuff characters are experiencing for the first time as partners. Domesticity, especially cooking with/for each other. Partners in established relationships supporting each other through non-relationship drama. Casual sex between characters who have respect and fondness for each other. Friends-to-lovers. Self-aware characters making self-destructive choices (i.e. knowing they're fucking up even as they're doing it and still not being able to stop themselves) about their relationships. Consensual sex between characters who are antagonistic toward each other, whether that later becomes something warmer or remains a mistake they just keep making together. Cuddling, hugs, forehead kisses and other little touches and casual gestures of physical affection. Hair-washing and related grooming, partners sharing a bath/shower.
Porn notes:
I don't expect porn, but I am absolutely open to it. If you go that route, these are some things I especially like:
A focus on the characters' emotions/sensations rather than a less-personal diagram of the sex act in question. Non-penetrative sex. Masturbation. Voyeurism/Exhibitionism. Praise-kink. Light bondage (which, to me, means things like characters being held down by their partner(s) or using restraints that don't leave marks or require a lot of special props or advance planning). Laughter, whether because things aren't going quite to plan or because the characters laugh together a lot, so why should sex be any different?. Comfort sex. Unexpected moments of vulnerability/gentleness between otherwise-antagonistic characters.
While I'm not into things that brush up against my general Do-Not-Wants from above (rape, incest, edgeplay, omegaverse, mpreg), 24/7 D/s, or dirty talk/internal monologue that uses words that would be slurs in other contexts ("slut", "fag", etc.), I'm otherwise open to kink if you think it'd be in-character for any of the character combinations below.
Fanart notes:
I've requested fic or art in each fandom, and I worry that the prompts below skew fic-ish. :/ Please know that that's because I know what kind of details I find useful for writing, but lack that frame of reference for making art. Broadly speaking, I love things like comics or faux movie posters/book covers, etc. or crossover pieces that put the characters of one fandom into the settings and/or costuming of another, as well as more traditional portraits or sketches. Any snapshot of a moment of affection, tenderness, h/c, surprise, etc. between the characters in the ship we matched on would be a delight.
Fandoms! ♥
Fandoms are listed alphabetically below, along with a little bit of rambling about what I find appealing about or would be especially interested in seeing explored for each requested ship.
[Banshee]Carrie Hopewell/Gordon Hopewell - Early days: courtship at the diner, her pregnancy with Deva, his embracing fatherhood, the both of them building a different life than they'd expected, together. Later, taking unsteady steps toward reconcilliation after they've both done things that screwed up the life they'd made. Fix-it AUs that branch from the s3 finale and find them figuring it out and starting over again all over again.
Rebecca Bowman/Nola Longshadow - They're both trapped by the limited options their communities have allowed for them, and it's made them dangerous - to themselves as well as to everyone else. I don't see them ever having a functional or long-term relationship, but I think they'd be pretty likely to blow off steam with some periodic hatesex.
Lucas Hood/Ana | Carrie Hopewell - As babies, sneaking around under Rabbit's watchful eye. A little later, planning their escape & their future. Pining and misery and bitterness during his time inside. In Banshee, all the identity porn: little places where they slip between who they're supposed to be now and who they were before.
Lucas Hood/Siobhan Kelly - Early days, flirting and frank but not-yet-pursued attraction. S2, all comfort sex and picking through each other's baggage. S3, comfortable and content and just about too cute, even for all the dark secrets they continue to keep from (his identity) and with (avenging Emmett and Meg Yawners) each other. Hood's continuing grief. Fix-it AU where they escape the CADI and start over together.
Lucas Hood/Veronica Dawson - Post-series, in which he takes her up on her offer to look her up in DC - who is he now? is she the same person she was when she left Banshee? The two of them dancing around each other, clever enough to see through each other's bullshit, but too intrigued to keep away either. Stealing an hour's comfort together in the darkest part of S4.
[Hart of Dixie]Tansy Truitt/George Tucker - I've always liked George, but he never seemed like a good romantic partner until his relationship with Tansy. I liked that they were both working on figuring out what they want/need out of life/relationships and on actually saying what those things are and making them happen. They were also always cute and fun, especially with Dolly Parton on the scene.
Lemon Breeland/Lavon Hayes - I'd especially love future-fic or scenes from the s4 timeskips for these two: planning the wedding, little wedding day catastrophes that don't matter at all in the end, their first Sunday brunch as Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, babysitting TBD Kinsella and maybe beginning to think that babies are something they could do. Mostly, after having their timing be so bad thoughout the series, with one or the other quietly pining away, I'd just like to see them happy together, whatever else you want to imagine them doing.
Lemon Breeland/Zoe Hart - One of my favorite parts of the series was their relationship moving gradually from disdain to grudging respect to supportive friendship, so I am absolutely here for extending that slow burn into a romantic partnership as well. I'd especially love to see them reminisce about their less-than-flattering first impressions of each other from a place of current deep affection. Stressing out so much about making their first time together perfect that it turns out tense and uncomfortable and bad; they freak out about it together, and the second time is waaay better.
Zoe Hart/Wade Kinsella - I'd especially love future-fic about these two: their first year as parents, visiting New York as tourists, being totally weirded-out to find themselves as the settled adults giving the benefit of their experiences to the kooky new kids in town. I was also really into the parts of their relationship when they tried - and failed spectacularly - to be casual about each other.
Annabeth Nass/Joel Stephens - These two are great: good friends to the people they care about, unlucky in love but not too bitter to keep trying. Clearly they didn't share much screentime in canon, so feel free to fill in those blanks: how did they become friends? How scary is it to make the jump to being something more, especially given their track records? (And how well that risk pays off for them this time!)
[MCU]Maya Hansen/Pepper Potts - An expansion of their hotel scene in the movie, bittersweet because we - and Maya - know what's coming, would be lovely. I'd also love anything set in a fix-it AU in which they come together while a surviving Maya goes about trying to wash the blood off her hands and earn this second chance and Pepper deals with the lingering effects of her own Extremis experience.
Maya Hansen/Pepper Potts/Tony Stark - All the Maya-lives AUs, please! They all three have baggage (guilt, trauma, shame, fear, etc.) following on from the events of the movie, and I'd love to see them helping each other through that even as they fight their own demons. I'd especially like for Maya/Pepper and Maya/Tony to be significant in their own right rather than just an adjunct to the established Pepper/Tony. Awkward-but-ultimately-good first-time sex?
Maya Hansen/Natasha Romanov - Yet again, all the Maya-lives AUs! The two of them working side-by-side to clear the red in their ledgers? Also lovely would be something in which their paths cross before the events of the Iron Man movies, an undercover assignment bringing the Black Widow into Maya's lab and/or life? The two of them touching each other in ways that continue to echo through their futures.
Riley/Sam Wilson - We know this one ends in pain, right? I'd enjoy something set prior to Riley's death, whether they're already together or just on the cusp of beginning something or Sam is doing a little pining. Something about Sam's grief and the loss of what might have been would also be lovely; sadness is a given here, but I'd prefer that fic set after Riley's death find Sam at least beginning to heal rather than being entirely bleak.
Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson - Natasha is - has had to be to survive - good at being what/who other people want her to be; Sam wants her to be herself, which I imagine is simultaneously comforting and scary. Sam has been through some shit himself and knows how important it can be to have a soft place to land, and wants to be that for her/them to be that for each other. Sam sets a challenge for himself to make her laugh every day, and after a few false starts, it works; he's more surprised than he should be when she does the same for him. Post-mission comfort sex? Undercover-as-a-couple?
Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson - More of the time during the second movie when Steve and Natasha are on the run and hiding out at Sam's, or when they're planning/carrying out the Falcon-suit heist, or some fruitless mission to trail the Winter Soldier in the space between movies or any other situation that provides opportunities for danger/near-escapes, us-against-the-world, or moments of holy-shit-you're-brave/clever/strong/etc. to set off sparks between the three of them. Any pair of them in an established relationship, realizing that they both want the third to join them as an equal partner (though I'm cool if it starts out as a casual sex thing that unexpectedly grows feelings).
Maria Hill/Sam Wilson - I like to believe that their interaction during the events of CA:TWS spun out into a deep and easy friendship - and that that's something neither of them have a lot of - so I'd especially like to see them fumbling around a little in making that transition from friends-to-lovers. Alternatively, what begins as occasional casual sex for comfort or to blow off steam after stressful days becoming something heavier so gradually that they don't notice until they're both in deep. Playful, sneaky sex in Maria's office at SI?
James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Sam Wilson - I feel like they would have a lot in common - their career backgrounds, flight, being pretty grounded even when their close friends are all larger-than-life in some ways, and, relatedly, being a source of emotional stability for those variously-traumatized friends - and probably hit it off pretty easily. At first, I imagine a generally comfortable, lighthearted, low-drama (about the relationship itself; obviously drama from the rest of their lives would continue to happen around them) kind of feel from these two; feel free to set fic before or ignore the events of Civil War to keep that tone, or to pull in some angst from the events of/fallout from the movie while they try to decide whether/how to try to salvage things between them. Playful sparring turns into playful fucking? Post-CW, figuring out new ways to make their sex life work.
Scott Lang/Sam Wilson - I'm here for both cheerful, chattery fun (bonding over the less-glamorous bits of vigilante superheroics and/or being the "normal" ones in their circles?) and picking each other up in more somber times (Sam dealing with lingering combat stress and/or grief? Scott afraid he's failing at being the dad his awsome kid deserves? etc.). Sam trusts Scott enough in Civil War to bring him in on their plans (and conversely, Scott trusts Sam enough to join in even though it'd be easier and safer to keep out of it); how'd that happen? Surely not out of a single fight? I'd love to see how their relationship would've grown through some missing scenes set during/between movies. H/C on the Raft? Affirming/adrenaline-fueled post-jailbreak sex?
[Veronica Mars]Leo D'Amato/Veronica Mars - Deputy Leo was always my favorite of Veronica's canon love interests, in part because - at least in the beginning - he came with comparatively little baggage. I'd love some more of that early, easy flirting, with Veronica feeling a little conflicted about using him (but still ultimately doing it). I'd also love to see them coming back together, sadder and wiser and sorting out their issues, a few years on: maybe he consults for her FBI team during the season 4 that never was? maybe in an AU from the end of the movie that finds her single, but still reestablishing in Neptune? First-time sex... possibly followed by mortifying (though ultimately warm) morning-after breakfast with Keith?
Wallace Fennel/Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie - We saw these two interact off and on throughout the series as parts of Veronica's support network, and by the time the movie rolls around, it's clear that they're pretty close outside their relationships with Veronica. I'm here for basically anything you want to show me about how that happened: what do they have in common besides that marshmallow Veronica Mars? What do they like about each other? When do they grow closer? Are they in fact already together during the movie? (And if so, how long does it take Veronica to notice?) If not, how does everything that happens in the movie lead one/both of them to making a move? Wallace being determined to learn how to give Mac her first orgasm (or at least the first with a partner) after her Cassidy-related trauma, and after some trial-and-error, succeeding!
[WWE/NXT]
One canon-specific Do-Not-Want here: I'd prefer your work not use the performers' real-life names or details of their personal lives or relationships that haven't already been incorporated into kayfabe.
Wesley Blake/Alexa Bliss/Buddy Murphy - I am legit distraught that these 3 have split up! I am equally here for something set during happier times, with them being good to each other and absolutely terrible to everyone else, or for a good wallow in the angst. The tension of their losing streak and feeling the thing they had slipping away without knowing how to reclaim it? Blake and Murphy floundering as they try to go back to what they were in the beginning after so long as Alexa's boys? Alexa missing them despite herself, and finding them harder to replace than she'd bargained for? Each working alone and being kind of miserable? Bittersweet reunions in the ring or out? Angsty 'you know this doesn't change anything' sex?
Bayley/Finn Balor - I'm here for all the fluff about sweethearts being sweet to each other while benevolently ruling over NXT, and/or also for things to be made a little darker or tenser by the presence of the Demon: just how separate is it from Finn himself? does Bayley essentially have a distinct relationship with each of them? If so, how does she feel about that? (how does Finn?) Shared frustration at being left behind by their peers/anxiety about being separated if they're called up at different points. Bayley's partners are always surprised to find that she's the kinkier and/or more experienced one; there's a lot of stuff she's excited to explore with Finn.
Bayley/Carmella - As with all Bayley ships, I'm here for all the fluff about sweethearts being sweet to each other, and also for some angst around call-ups - who'll get there first? how will they manage not being able to see and touch and hug each other whenever they want?, etc. Sharing candy and clothes. Former-hairdresser Carmella washing/trimming/styling/etc. her girl's hair (and/or Bayley doing the same for her so that Carmella gets to know how cared-for she makes everyone else feel). Friends-to-lovers with some pining and first kisses? Bittersweet goodbye (for a little while!) sex and/or emotional reunion sex?
Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch - Sasha tempting Becky to the heel-side at NXT. Riding and rooming together across Florida - and vehemently denying to themselves/each other/the world that Team BAE is anything more than a strategic partnership. (Also, repeating/echoing that dynamic on the main roster during their time as reluctant allies against Team BAD.) I ship them both individually and together with Charlotte, so feel free to have them use their relationships with her to rile each other up, or for her to bait them with unintended consequences. Taking out their frustrations on each other in the ring and/or in each other's beds.
Roman Reigns/Bray Wyatt - Roman, converted to the Wyatt Family; yes, please! Feel free to set this in an AU from previous times they've tangled in canon, or to speculate on what the future could look like for Roman, stripped of the title, feeling like a disappointment to family and fans alike, having wounded and lost Dean in ways he still doesn't understand - i.e. more isolated and vulnerable than he's ever been. What does Bray see in/plan for Roman? What - besides sinister bragging rights - does he get out of this? What takes him by surprise about Roman? How does Bray start to win him over? When does Roman realize how deep he's in? I am 100% the sap who would eat up Roman's being saved by his Shield brothers + the power of love (plus, perhaps a conflicted Luke Harper?), but I'd also be happy to end on an unsettling horror note or something more ambiguous.
Cesaro/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns - [Please note that this section is significantly longer than others not because I prefer it to any of the other 30-odd ships I've requested, but because, in the spirit of the fest, I wanted to take some care to differentiate the polyship from the relative juggernaut of Dean/Roman.]
I'm here for any degree of romantic involvement between/among these three, from casual (if angsty) threesome sex to a polyamorous V with Roman and Cesaro each involved with Dean and figuring out what their relationship to each other is/what they want it to be (ideally? warm, even if it stays wholly platonic) to a full three-way romantic relationship. Cesaro having ridden with the Shield appreciates/is moved by the gravity of Dean/Roman inviting a third person back into their bed and/or life after Seth. Roman's shamefaced jealousy over Dean's going to Cesaro for what he needs (and Dean picking up/calling him on same) being the thing that finally catalyzes them to becoming something more than brothers-in-arms(; perhaps culminating in porn wherein Roman kisses over/presses into all the marks Cesaro just finished putting on Dean?) Dean instigating for a threesome, ostensibly because look at you two; you know it'd be hot, but also because he knows they'd be good for each other in some of the same ways they're each good for him, like: Cesaro is lonely and cut off from his family far away, and Roman would fold him into his massive clan without thinking twice; Roman still isn't sure where he fits/if he belongs after having gotten here by such a different route than many of the roster, and nothing's more reassuring on that score than acceptance from the consummate professional and King of Wrestling, etc.
Cesaro/Seth Rollins - Rehabbing from their surgeries at the same time, keeping each other from drowning in bitterness, frustration, fear, pain, etc. Meeting up backstage at 'Mania 32, while Seth is fleeing from the main event that he should be working, and Cesaro has been reminiscing about the Wrestlemania moments he had with Tyson (and Natty) last year. Very careful comfort sex. Appreciation for the changes in Seth's body from someone who's known him since he was a skinny, barely-legal kid in tiny trunks.
Cesaro/Dean Ambrose - On the surface, these two don't seem like they'd have much in common, but they come from the same places - bingo halls and armories and working in front of 30 people for figurative (and sometimes literal!) peanuts and not knowing for sure there's going to be grocery money coming in next week - and bring a lot of shared history. Lots of inside jokes and casual affection and just soaking up the unexpected goodness of finding themselves here, stable and secure and in good company. Alternatively, being there to prop each other up while circumstance and other people are breaking their hearts. Dean making excellent use of Cesaro's tear-away suits, and Cesaro failing to be as irritated as he should.
Cesaro/Sami Zayn - Immensely cultured, multi-lingual, cosmopolitan men, and also enormous fucking dorks; please feel free to play up either/both angles or the contrast between. My shipping of them began with the hug I will probably still be talking about on my deathbed, so I'd love a moment from during/shortly after that feud between justifiably arrogant shit-talker and actual human sunbeam. Or later, comparing notes/surgical scars on their bum shoulders (and making out very gingerly?). In the present, they've already established that mutual respect/rapport and appeared as friends on the main roster, but Sami's fixation on Kevin Owens keeps costing Cesaro matches, I'd like to see Sami surprised when Cesaro boils over with frustration at all the things Sami fails to register when he's got his eyes fixed on Kevin. (Author's choice on how/where this irritation manifests itself.)
Sami Zayn/Dean Ambrose - They each have a lot of baggage, but not with each other, and I really love the idea of them helping each other put all that bullshit/pain/frustration aside even if just for a little bit. Dean recognizes the effect his innuendo and tiny, fragile tanktops are having on Sami "it's too... sexual" Zayn, and proceeds to (good-naturedly!) torment him, leaving him constantly flushed and flustered (and perhaps ultimately leading to semi-public sex backstage?). Alternatively, the giant and obvious crush Dean's been nursing completely passes Sami by - seriously, how was he supposed to know?! Ambrose never even power-bombed him into anything or hid in the trunk of his rental! - until Roman (or Cesaro or Seth or anyone else they have in common!) is there, asking him (preferably in an appeal to Sami's bone-deep decency rather than as a shovel talk!) to be careful with Dean.
Dean and Sami are also the littlest, blackest dresses in my walk-in closet of wrestling ships, so feel free to mix and match with the other ships involving them in the tagset or to add other characters into the mix if you're so inclined (though I'd prefer John Cena and Jack Swagger not be invited to the party). An 'I Like Sami Zayn' orgy to welcome him to the main roster? Yes, please! Celebratory gangbang centered on World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose? Absolutely!
Thanks again for playing! I hope your fest goes excellently! ♥