for my Ship Swap author or artist
Hi! I'm anythingbutblue at AO3. If you're reading this you're probably hoping to get ideas or find out more about what I like, so I'm just going to ramble for a while in an effort to get that across and try to give you some possibilities to work with. The sections for each pairing listed below aren't equal in length. This does not mean I won't be genuinely thrilled with whatever we've been matched on; I just feel like I have more to explain about what attracts me to the pairing when it's A) not remotely canon, or B) a rare crossover couple that doesn't even share a home planet. I promise that receiving any of these will make me very happy!
General things I crave in fic:
three-dimensional female characters
tight friendships, especially forged in unlikely circumstances
antiheroes
shades of gray
banter between friends and lovers
fic that maintains the general tone and rating of canon
slice-of-life fic
characters struggling to build trust but being nearly unshakeable once they've accomplished it
road trips (or similar shared adventures!)
General things I'm not looking for:
non-con
incest, unless it's canon
hardcore kink in graphic detail
lingering descriptions of gore
out-of-character character bashing
Notes
- Don't feel obligated to write sex scenes. I'm 100% okay with any that are logical steps in your story, but I've never complained about strategic fade-to-blacks.
- Don't feel as though you have to sand down a character's flaws to make them fit into a happy romantic mold. It's true that I'm requesting these pairings because I'm interested in seeing the characters hitting it off or falling in love or being stupidly attracted to each other, but I love them all for both their strengths and their weaknesses.
- I'm usually a sucker for fics that are missing moments and easily slip into canon, but that's not applicable for many of the pairings I've chosen. Still, I like AUs best when they have strong canon roots.
- If all else fails you can always take advantage of my huge weakness for the Groundhog Day loop.
Battlestar Galactica (2003) - fic
Galen Tyrol/Sharon "Boomer" Valerii - Plenty of Battlestar pairings are tragic, but the tragedy of Boomer/Chief is epic in scale. If this is the pairing you're here for, the best keyword I can give you is bittersweet. Show me how agonizing it was to share a cell in canon's early days, or tell me a story about delicious awkwardness between the two of them on New Caprica during the occupation, or give me a taste of their projections: maybe the tentative happiness as Boomer introduces Chief to hers, or perhaps Chief, no doubt very reluctantly, starts to create his own projections on Earth in his post-canon loneliness. If none of those possibilities do it for you, I would be just as happy with a story that fills in any of the blanks in their relationship.
Caprica Six/Sharon "Boomer" Valerii - Take these two heroes of the Cylons, these brave beautiful toasters, and show me how all their bonding over their missions and betrayals and lost human loves leads to something beyond friendship. I'm especially interested in what something romantic between them would've meant for the two of them immediately after New Caprica or immediately after the Eye of Jupiter storyline. How does their relationship help them get over their losses? Is Caprica capable of keeping Boomer from being overcome by bitterness and/or falling in with Cavil? I don't mind if they're not ultimately together for some happily ever after, but it would do my heart good to feel as though they're both better people (Cylons?) for having been together.
Lee Adama/Sonja - Arguably my most obscure same-canon pairing! A real part of the appeal for me is that it's technically possible post-canon. Sonja is a political representative for the Cylons and we can probably infer from her limited canon appearance that she's interested in the pursuit of justice. I always think of her as following in Natalie's footsteps as a leader seeking as peaceful a coexistence with the humans as possible. No doubt courting Lee post-Daybreak would be a challenge -- his romantic relationships haven't gone well and he's suffered great loss by then -- but I always think season four!Lee shows real growth. I'd love a story about Lee facing a fresh start at love and Sonja facing what may well be falling in love for the first time, all against the backdrop of their new Earth settlement.
Crossover Ships - fic
Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)/Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun) - It seems out there at first glance, I know, but I've had a soft spot for this ridiculous crossover pairing for years. I think they have such great potential to simultaneously attract and repel each other. She's a lot more colorful than most people you see on Gunsmoke, she's riddled with vice, she can't keep money in her pockets when there are better things she can do with it, and deep down inside that tough-as-nails exterior she craves camaraderie and acceptance and belonging. He's a priest raising money for orphaned kids, but he's also a deadly assassin who wouldn't find fault in her shoot-first-talk-later methods. With his suit and casual stance and smoking habit and assassin training, Wolfwood has traits in common with Spike, who I'd certainly argue Faye grows to have unrequited feelings for by the end of her canon, and if she can be lulled into feeling like she's making confession to Gren, who's so good to her on Callisto (until she takes a shot at him), imagine how she might eventually open up to an actual priest? Especially one who could wow her with a life-size cross full of firepower. Wolfwood can appear in the Bebop universe, trying to catch a bounty to raise money for his orphans, or Faye can stroll into a bar on Gunsmoke, looking to claim the big bounty on Vash. Whatever works best for you! I just want to read some form of growing attraction between these two, whether it's over one shared adventure or over a long term.
Kate Austen (Lost)/Sam Anders (BSG) - Probably my most obscure crossover pairing! There's no real reason for them to make sense, but if they were thrust together somewhere I could see them appealing to each other. Sam's a physical guy, professional athlete that he is, and he's charismatic, a good leader, loyal. He's a genuinely good guy, steady, sure of what he wants, and at a certain point in canon he carries a life-changing secret that throws his whole identity into question. Kate's also pretty physical, outdoorsy, a tree-climber with a hell of a swing (she'd probably have a great arm for pyramid!). She's also (usually) easy to get along with, and they'd be friendly in no time. In love Sam is capable of being a constant, not just someone I could see her missing when she runs away but someone who'd love hard enough to welcome her back with open arms. He'd be capable of calling her out on things without being cruel about it, and if he happens to be weighed down at the time by hiding what he really is she's very likely to feel empathy. Since Sam barely shows any interest in other women once he meets Kara canonically, it's possible that a romance for him is best set in pre-canon days, set during the time that Kara's thought dead, or simply broken off into an AU? I would enjoy a story about them in either of their canons or in some fusion of the two. Maybe Sam could discover Kate's got a great throw when he sees her playing some casual pyramid on Caprica (or even within the fleet), or maybe ball-player Sam was on flight 815 when it crashed.
Kara Thrace (BSG)/Dean Winchester (Supernatural) - Full disclosure: I'm pretty far from being an active fan of Supernatural and I'm not caught up on the past few seasons. That said, I always think Kara and Dean have the potential to be a spectacular train wreck under a sky full of fireworks. So much bravado, so much stubbornness, so much avoidance of emotions while they seek out booze and sex. They both have huge parent issues. They both like to call their Sams 'Sammy.' They both can't stand not being in the driver's seat. They're both constantly putting their lives on the line and have to assume their death is around every corner, but they'll be damned if they don't fight the good fight until the very end. I'd enjoy seeing them hit it off over some kind of life-threatening adventure. I'm cool with either of them getting inserted into the other's canon; I can probably imagine Kara finding herself on Dean's Earth better than I can imagine Dean as a Viper pilot, but whatever setting inspires you most is what'll be best.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - fic or art
Tifa Lockhart/Vincent Valentine - I'm happily surprised to see this already on the sign-up summary! I nominated Advent Children because it's the part of the FVII Compilation timeline where these two starting to feel romantic toward each other makes the most sense to me, but feel free to borrow from the rest as much or as little as you'd like. I'm charmed by the idea of reserved and emotionally damaged Vincent warming to friendly, competent, loyal Tifa. I see a number of common threads shared by Vincent and Cloud, both of them feeling out of touch with their humanity and carrying around so much guilt over things they didn't actually have that much power over, and that helps me find it easy to imagine Tifa's feelings for Vincent kind of springboarding off her feelings for Cloud, especially if Vincent is spending time with her while Cloud is isolating himself from everyone. I'm not interested in character bashing, but I am interested in the complications their histories kind of demand there: the inevitable inner conflict and self-doubt for Tifa, Vincent's equally inevitable reluctance to fall in love again, etc. I'm as interested in the initial awkwardness of their mutual attraction as I am in the fun they could have together once they accept it. And if you're here to create art instead of fic I have a few suggestions to throw out for that too! The mental image of Vincent helping Tifa wash dishes at the bar always charms the socks off me. Also, Vincent indulging Tifa by trying a new cocktail she's made (probably named after him, because I always imagine her making up a line of drinks named after her friends). Or the two of them having each other's backs in a fight (whether they're taking on something ten times their size or just breaking up a bar brawl), or even playing in the snow with Marlene. It's hard to think of a scenario that I wouldn't enjoy seeing as fan art.
Lost - fic
Kate Austen/Sayid Jarrah - I've always felt more or less like I get the attraction and complications on both the Sawyer and Jack sides of the notorious Lost triangle, but oh, how I would've loved a relationship between Kate and Sayid. I love how easily they get along, how respectful they usually are toward each other, and how well they can work together. I love that they both try to distance themselves from their pasts but find it so much harder than they'd like. I'm really into the idea of these two getting involved sometime after they make it off the island in the season four finale. Maybe Kate doesn't even return to the states, hitching a ride elsewhere on Penny's boat and running across Sayid at a later time? Or they travel the world together? Or Kate does return to the states but she and Sayid keep in touch, bond strengthened by being the only survivors without loved ones waiting to hug them within an inch of their lives when they arrive? (I love Nadia, so I'd prefer not to see her trashed if she's mentioned!) If off-island doesn't work for you, I'd be just as happy to get a story about romance flaring up between them while they're still on the island. Maybe Sayid leaves the camp at the end of Confidence Man Kate feels compelled to go with him and watch his back? I guess I should note that the first four seasons are my favorites, and I'm not really interested in fics that deal with season six's flash forwards.
Thank you for working on something for me! I can't wait to see what you come up with.
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