Rare Pair Fest Letter to Author
To my author:
Four apologies:
First, I must apologize for the repetition in my requests. I’ve never done one of these before, so I didn’t know if you would be seeing all my requests, or just the fandoms we were matched up on, so I figured saying the same exact thing three times was a good idea. Yeah.
Second, another apology for terrible spelling. I swear I’m usually better than this, but I was on a deadline, and then I was like ‘I can edit later!’ and never did. So.
Third, this is a long-ass letter. I don’t know which of these ships you’re planning on writing for, but I may have stalled out my own brain with plot-bunnies writing this. I’m just really sorry if it, like, crashes your computer trying to load.
Fourth: the point of this letter. I realized that, while I addressed most of my ship requests, I basically did one story prompt for each, and that can be kinda limiting. So I’m redoing it, hopefully in a way that leaves more room to maneuver.
I’m pedantic, so I’m going to repeat everything I wrote previously as well as adding stuff, just so that it’ll all be in one place. Final sorry.
General Stuff:
I don't mind fluff, but I prefer emotional stories, whatever the emotion. This is inclusive of love, angst, anger, anything. I don't have many squicks; I do ask that if there's non-con or some other big H, there be C as well. I also love happy endings, but it's not a deal-breaker.
I love Tropes! Any sort of AU is a total go! Genderbenders rock. Coming out stories or first time fic are great. Wedding scenes are awesome (and in-laws can be fun) as long as there aren’t drawn-out, schmoopy vows. I don’t mind deathfics, although I do like happy endings, so Coming Back From The Dead is coolio. Lastly, if the story ends with everyone having sex, I’ll probably call it a utopia story.
And actually, just add Jack Harkness to anything. Any fandom, any ship, crackily or not. He just rocks.
Doctor Who:
For any of my Doctor Who ships, please feel absolutely free to add any characters or pairings. If you think Nine/Jack/Rose came together because Jack slept with Donna and the others got jealous, that’s fantastic! If Eleven invites Martha to join a ploy relationship with him and River (and Amy and Rory and the Tardis), go for it. If Jake ends up in Mickey’s first universe with him and they join Torchwood and shag Jack and Ianto, that totally works for me. Jack especially can fit into pretty much anything and will make me weep tears of joy.
Ninth Doctor/Jack Harkness/Rose Tyler: I particularly like either intense emotional stories or light-hearted stories for this ship; and by that I mean that canon stomped on my OT3 enough that I don’t really want a depressing fic or a sad ending. I have a wicked soft spot for stories where Jack feels hurt or excluded or vulnerable, with bonus points if it ends in hot or emotional (and hot) sex. Sick!fic is nice, and I also like mind-bonding or telepathy stuff. Also, I’ve never seen this, but if you want to write a fluffy/funny/lovey fic where Jack gets pregnant- doesn’t matter whose, doesn’t matter how- that would be sweet.
Tenth Doctor/Martha Jones and Eleventh Doctor/Martha Jones: I feel like Martha got the short end of the stick. I think she’s a wonderful woman who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time, and never got full recognition for her total bad-assery in the Utopia sequence or for being a really nice person in general. I would love for either of these Doctors (or even Nine, sorry, I could only nominate five, but totally feel free to use him too!) to see what a total catch she is. This could include apologies, praise and/or thank-you or forgive-me adventures. I’ve got a secret weakness for imagining Eleven making excuses and/or apologies for Ten being a meanie (if you mention/include Jack in these I will love you forever). Also feel free to add Jack to any ship with Martha, with otptional callbacks to a Rose/Jack/Doctor ship.
Martha Jones/Mickey Smith: At first glance, this seems like pair the spares, but I think there’s more to it. Did the get married before or after they started adventuring? Is Tom Milligan a part of their relationship (I do enjoy triad fics)? Were he and Martha broken up before Mickey came back to this universe, or did she cheat on him with Mickey (I don’t have got an infidelity squick)? Or maybe Mickey and Tom got together first. What I love most about this ship is that we have very little canon and so many ways it can be worked!
Jake Simmonds/Mickey Smith: Another example of very little canon- only a single deleted scene that even bring into question the possibility of anything beyond friendship- and so there’s a lot of room to work with. I would love to see a story looking at the process of Mickey and Jake becoming friends and then boyfriends, rather than something that looks at them during these stages, if that makes sense. I’d also like to see them just being bad-asses together, because you know they went around tearing up Cyberjerks like rock stars. Alternately, a story about Mickey back in the canon universe and reminiscing or flashing back or missing Jake is nice as well. And as I mentioned, adding Jack or Janto to this ship would rock.
White Collar
If one of Neal’s ex-boyfriends shows up, for any ship, even if it’s just Diana complaining about it to Christie and laughing their asses off, I will be so psyched.
Neal Caffrey/Clinton Jones: This is truly an odd ship for me, because I have trouble figuring out how it would come about, so anything that convincingly explores that would be great. Theirs is the closest to a ‘normal’ friendship I can see on the show, so maybe it would be interesting to see how Neal would handle a ‘normal’, non-thieving, non-manipulative relationship without any power struggles. Also- and I know this wasn’t an option (because I found the com two days after nominations closed and couldn’t suggest it)- but I have a total kink for Neal/Diana. Yes, I know she’s a lesbian, and in a relationship, and they’ve got a whole kitty-scratch banter thing. But I have this weird image of Neal and Clinton and Diana in a relationship while Peter turns a magnanimous blind eye, so maybe this is an AU Diana who likes guys too. Or they’re genderbent or something.
Near Caffrey/Mozzie: I love this relationship because there’s a lot of respect, and there’s a lot of trust, which is unusual for people in their line of work. I would love to see something set during the show, canon or somewhat canon, where their relationship isn't hidden, per se, but it's private. Where they care for each other, but their friendship and professional partnership are still valued. Alternately, the story of some time one or both of them had the opportunity or the temptation to betray the other and didn’t. Anything exploring the relationship would be fine, though, including outsider perspectives.
Diana Barrigan/Christie: Another example of very little canon making for lots of story possibilities. I'd love to see just a slice of life for Diana and Christie. Diana's a tough-ass at work, how is she at home? How much do they discuss their work? Does Diana's or Christie's job impact their relationship more? Or maybe Christie gets involved with a case or something or their jobs colliding at the hospital. Lastly- these are two very beautiful ladies. If you want to get high-rated or kinky, I will be firmly in my bunk.
Merlin:
For this fandom, Gwaine’s ships probably wouldn’t be allowed to occur in the canon era; anything about being with a man in Camelot, or hierarchal problems, would be interesting. Intellectual is just as good as emotional! Magic spells causing stuff is cool, too.
Gwaine/Merlin: I love this ship because it’s like a perfect storm. With most of the character we see, both Gwaine and Merlin have to hide; Merlin hiding his magic from most everyone, Gwaine stuck being a Knight Of The Realm with the guys and a Flirt with the women and pretending not to be a noble. But with each other, they can relax and just be friends, knowing the other would accept them if they chose to tell their secrets. I feel like they have something special that’s separate from the others. If you choose to play on that, that’s fine, otherwise I’d enjoy something with angst before they get together or something that shows just how important they are to Camelot. Any poly ship or other pairings is fine- have Merlin date Leon while Gwaine angsts (just as long as it’s not over-done)! Or have Gwaine sleep with everyone except Merlin, because he’s too important for that! I have a soft spot for this ship which means that over-used stuff like this is okay :) I just got a random idea for a story where Gwaine’s practically given up on Merlin noticing his crush, and then Merlin gets magicked in love with him for some angst, and then when the spell is lifted he finds that he’s still got feelings for Gwaine! Really though, I love this ship and Gwaine in particular, you can’t really go wrong.
Gwaine/Arthur: The thing I like best about Gwaine is that he’s attractive and clever and competent, but he doesn‘t let it go to his head. He’ll let Arthur take command, but he’s a great fighter in his own right and there’s a definite sense that he’s professionally deferential, but privately he’s self-confident enough that it would be a relationship of equals. What I’d love most is something sexy or romantic in which Gwaine is neither ‘the experienced one (aka unredeemed slut)’ nor does he become a lapdog to not-yet-requited love. Have one of them try to court the other despite the established hierarchy, have Gwaine disagree with a field decision and see how this impacts their private relationship, put them head-to-head for some reason- there’s lots of power-play stuff for this ship with our canon, and I don’t mean in the bedroom.
Guinevere/Merlin: These two have a really strong friendship- it was a flirtation at the start of the series, and I feel like it would be interesting to see where that would have led to if Arthur/Gwen hadn’t become a thing, or even if it had! Show Gwen getting hit on by Arthur, Lance, Morgana, Gwaine, Leon for all I care, but hiding her relationship with Merlin because… I don’t know, servants can’t marry because it would forment rebellion, or something. When Gwen is kidnapped Arthur can’t understand why Merlin’s so eager to rescue her until he finds out that they used to be more than friends. Witty banter much appreciated, pregnancy fic would actually be nice.
So, author, I hope I haven’t scared you away, and that some of this helps! I also hope you get this, since I’m posting kind of late. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write, so thanks in advance for giving me an awesome story!
~Meatball42