Rare Pair Fest Dear Author Letter
Dear Author - Rare Pairs
Dear Author
First of all, thank you so much for being my writer! This is my first time taking part in this fest. I'll try not to screw anything up, but if I do, please let me know :) I'm going to ramble on a bit generally (probably a lot, actually), then try and write something about why I like these fandoms, and give some ideas I've had about possible stories, but feel free to ignore any or all of it if it's not helpful.
Truth in advertising - I've copied a lot of this section from my Yuletide 2014 letter!
The general stuff...
Likes
I really need happy endings. A little angst on the way there is fine, though.
I like characters to be friends (or at least frenemies!). I like to see the progression of a friendship between newly-met characters who grow to like and trust each other over time, and eventually would do just about anything for each other, especially when they don't like each other all that much at first and their friendship is somewhat unexpected. I really enjoy people in relationships that grow from friendship, particularly if that's unexpected too. How do established partners deal with daily life, how do they solve conflicts, how do they support and comfort each other when things don't go too well?
I'm particularly partial to humour, wit, sarcasm and silliness in my fic. I like characters with a shared sense of humour that tends towards the sarcastic, especially when used to express affection by people who aren't comfortable discussing 'feelings'. Awkward conversations that play out terribly, tonally incongruous humor, banter, bickering, friendly arguments, cutting commentary, subtle (or not so subtle) mockery, politeness or the pretense of it as veneer or weapon against the unaware are totally my bag. A story absolutely doesn’t have to be funny for me to like it, though: I like angst, arguments, seemingly unrequited longing, and heartache in small doses, as long as there’s a happy ending.
I love epistolary fic - not necessarily just in the form of actual letters; in a modern setting voicemail, emails, texts, blog posts, message board transcripts, Facebook or Twitter posts will work, in any combination. Diaries are good too.
I love women being terrific, good at what they do, and strong in a way that makes sense to them in the society in which they live, whether that’s physically, mentally or emotionally.
I enjoy plot-driven stories and character-driven stories that focus on relationships. Plots that show off character are perfect - the best of both worlds! I like stories that span an hour and stories that span years.
Any rating is fine with me. I love romance, slow-burn UST to RST, first-time stories, porn - see note at the end of the general section about porn.
Back story, missing scene fic, established relationships, prequels, sequels, the same scene from different perspectives, fix-its, canon divergence will be loved. I love ‘five things’ type fics that show off significant moments in characters' lives. I love short fics, long fics, and anything else that takes your fancy. I love forced bed sharing, arranged or accidental marriages, and 'pretend' boyfriends.
Feel free to include characters that I didn't specifically ask for if they fit your story, but I'd prefer my requested characters to be the focus of the story.
I love crossovers (both sneaky and overt) and fusions where one set of characters are transplanted to another canonical universe. As long as I know the other canon or canons, I will be delighted. Feel free to use any interest in my profile that takes your fancy (or even more than one - the more the merrier); there are plenty to choose from!
Swearing, crudity etc is not a problem, and in fact where it is a thing in canon I’d prefer it to be included.
Dislikes
One of my biggest squicks to the point of phobia is pregnancy (male or female), so even when a canon (such as the Austen ones) might be expected to make a big deal out of it, please don't go there.
As I said earlier, I really need a story with a happy ending. Some unhappy elements on the way are fine if the outcome is happy, but nothing extremely dark, please. Things I don't like include deathfic (excluding those canons involving canon conflict, though I would prefer OC death rather than canon character death), noncon, torture, abuse, infidelity or any other type of partner betrayal, character bashing, and certain kinks (see porn section for details). References to past hurts are fine, but please don't make that the focus of the fic
Not exactly dislikes, but...
I'm not really familiar with daemons, or the A/B/O set-up, so if you want to go with these you'll need to include a 'For Dummies' explanation :) Also, I tend to have a problem with AUs in that the further away an AU gets from canon, the more difficulty I have 'seeing' the characters in my mind's eye. This is especially true if the setting of the AU necessitates tinkering with the characters' names.
Porn:
As I said above, I'll read any rating from G to NC-17. If you're considering writing porn, that's wonderful. If you don't want to, that's fine too.
In general, I like romance, and first kisses, and virgins, and vanilla, and all that comes with that - visible nerves, awkwardness, neediness and emotions on high. I'm a sucker for first-time fics.
Kinkier stuff is more than ok, too. Favourite kinks include role play (not age play, though), dubcon (the sort where afterwards they think it was hot, even if consent was problematic at the time), dirty talk, poly, voyeurism, exhibitionism, cross-dressing and erotic spanking. I can also go for mild BDSM (not lifestyle; easily slipping into and out of it is fun, particularly with a humourous slant), light bondage/restraints, public sex/sex where there is a risk of being caught, wax play, figging and toys.
Squicks are scat, watersports, blood (in a sex context; blood in the course of a day's work is ok), humiliation, lifestyle D/s, age-play and bestiality.
Now the specific stuff (these requests are in no particular preference order, BTW):-
Request 1: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy
Fitzwilliam Darcy/Mr Bennett
Charles Bingley/Mr Bennett
(Fanfiction)
In the case of the pairings with Mr Bennet, I just want to know how it came about; they're fascinating pairings, but I can't imagine how either one of them might start. I can see the relationship between Mr Bennett and Charles being a mentor/mentee relationships, but I wonder what the dynamics between Mr Bennett and Darcy would be like - possibly he might do what Elizabeth would do for Darcy in canon, eg teaching him how to take teasing (If you want to have the three of them together, that would be wonderful too).
Request 2: Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
Colonel Brandon/Elinor Dashwood
(Fanfiction)
I think Elinor and Colonel Brandon would do very well together, to my mind better than Elinor and Edward (especially book-Edward). They become very good friends in canon, and I'd like to read about how this might develop into romantic love.
Request 3: MASH (TV)
Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce/Charles Emerson Winchester III
Sidney Freedman/Father Francis Mulcahy
Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce/Charles Emerson Winchester III/B.J. Hunnicutt
(Fanfiction)
Sidney/Mulcahy is the pairing that intrigues me the most here. The two of them are both involved in counseling/comforting others, albeit in different ways, but who can they turn to for support when they're the ones who need the counsel/comfort? I'd like to see the two of them turn to each other, with the relationship between them develop from professional, to friendship to lovers.
For the pairing/threesome involving Charles, it would be interesting to see how they move from adversaries to lovers.
Request 4: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Dudley Dursley/Harry Potter
(Fanfiction)
I really enjoy reading “Dudley Redeemed”-type fics, so I'd love anything along these lines.
Request 5: Night At the Museum (Movies)
Any relationship
(Fanfiction)
I'd like to see any of the pairings struggle to overcome the cultural differences between the (for instance, Octavius comes from a time and place where male/male relationships were accepted; Jedediah, not so much).
Request 6: Tango and Cash
Any relationship
(Fanfiction)
I'd love to see more about the relationship between Tango and Cash developing from an adversarial one born out of necessity, to frenemies, and then to lovers - basically missing scenes from the movie.
Well, I hope you found at least some of my rambling helpful! :) Feel free to ask any questions either here or via a Mod, especially in the fandoms where I haven't been too verbose.
Thank you again for writing for me. I hope you'll enjoy writing my fic as much as I know I’ll enjoy reading it, and I hope you get a wonderful fic yourself!
This entry was originally posted at http://rosied.dreamwidth.org/6592.html.