Just Married Exchange letter
May. 23rd, 2020 08:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustDear Just Married Writer,
Thank you so much for offering to write a story for me! I love all these fandoms, and the tropes I've nominated, and I'm really keen to see what you do in them! I've also provided some extra prompts in case you're looking for inspiration, but I'd also love to see whatever other ideas capture your imagination.
For me, it's about the characters and their interactions. I'm not a stickler about researching canon details, as long as the spirit of the characters and the flavour of their world is there. I want to see adventures that might have been, or missing moments from between scenes, or a slice of their daily lives, or where the future might take them.
LIKES: Some of the things I enjoy in stories are: undying loyalty, personal bravery, risking self to protect others, displaying cool competence, big damn hero moments, special everyday moments, banter, hijinks, confessions exposing emotional vulnerability, conversations loaded with unspoken meaning, tough people showing a soft side, and soft people showing a tough side. Some of my favourite tropes and genres are: amnesia, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, arranged marriage, bodyswap, cosmic horror, curtainfic, five things fic, getting together, hurt/comfort, mutual requited pining, mystery solving, road trips, sex pollen, slice of life, stranded together, and time travel.
DISLIKES: I generally prefer optimistic stories in exchanges, so I'm not keen on anything that is brutally violent or hopelessly bleak. However, I don't mind darkness during the story, as long as there is a glimmer of light at the end. Endings that are bittersweet or ambiguous are also fine.
DO NOT WANT: Noncon or dubcon, underage, bleak endings, crossovers, setting change AUs like high school, coffee shop, or omegaverse (but canon divergence AUs are fine).
RATING: I'm fine with explicit sex, but it's usually not the most important part of the story for me.
STYLE: I'm fine with first, second, or third person. I'm fine with past or present tense. I'm fine with stories of any length, including stories that start in media res or consist of a scene that implies a larger plot.
INTERACTIVE FICTION: I like interactive fiction and would welcome it.
I've listed more details under each individual request.
I hope this helps. Have fun writing!
Yours sincerely,
meteordust
(AO3 name Serenade)
***
Request 1: Fall of Ile-Rien - Martha Wells - fanfic
Relationships: Tremaine/Ilias/Giliead
What I love: I love this series, I love the characters, and I just want to spend more time hanging out in the world with them. I love how the relationship between Tremaine and Ilias develops, through the stages of trust, respect, friendship, admiration, and love. I love that Ilias and Giliead are each other's Most Important Person, whatever the exact form of their love. I love that Ilias thinks Tremaine and Giliead are similar in many ways. I'm open to triangular or V-shaped relationships between these three. I love exploring the cultural differences between Ile-Rien and Cineth, and seeing people bridge the divide with goodwill and kindness.
Freeform tags:
* Accidentally Included Unwitting Third Party In Marriage
I love that when the council insists on a marriage to seal the alliance, Tremaine calls their bluff and agrees to marry Ilias. What if some tradition or law means that Giliead is unexpectedly looped into the marriage too? Maybe because they are both from Andrien House? Maybe because of the role of the Chosen Vessel?
* Getting Married to Extend Legal Rights/Protections to Partner
I love learning about Cineth's matriarchal society, where women are the landowners and can take more than one husband. When it looks like Giliead might lose his position in the community, Ilias suggests to Tremaine that she could marry Giliead too, to put him under her protection. What if they actually went through with it?
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: Ilias was adopted into the same family as Giliead, when his own cast him out. I am open to their relationship being platonic or romantic, but if the latter, I don't want emphasis on it being forbidden or transgressive. Maybe it's not a big taboo, or maybe they're just discreet. Either way, I'd like them to have the same kind of easy affection as in canon.
***
Request 2: Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny - fanfic
Relationships: Merlin/Luke
What I love: The classic frenemies ship of the Amber books! I love how they know they should be enemies, but can't help liking and protecting and trusting each other. (To a certain extent, anyway...) I love how they have different attitudes and perspectives from the older generation, even while forced to deal with the baggage of their dysfunctional families. I'm fine with their various canon ships being mentioned (ie the complicated love polygon in the books).
Freeform tags:
* Friends/Family/Fans/Foes React To Unexpected Or Contentious Marriage
Who is horrified that their impetuous relative is marrying a sworn enemy? Who is happy for them? Who supports them just to spite someone else? Who is worried about two power players joining forces? Feel free to bring back dead or missing characters to put their two cents in as well.
* Wedding Night Reveals That New Spouse Has Tentacles
Merlin does his best to blend as an Amberite, so I'm fascinated whenever we get to see his Chaosian side. His shapeshifting ability is something Luke is still unaware of, and I'm curious what his reaction would be. Especially if it involves tentacles. Is he shocked? Intrigued? Aroused? Sex scene optional, but if so, consentacles please.
***
Request 3: Seafort Saga - David Feintuch - fanfic
Relationships: Nicholas Seafort/Edgar Tolliver
What I love: Nick and Edgar being loyal and sacrificing! Stoic suffering, angsty feelings, and cathartic comfort. I also love their deep affection and fond exasperation. I love how Nick inspires Edgar, and how Edgar understands Nick. Edgar followed Nick into exile! They canonically bicker like a married couple!
Freeform tags:
* Mistaken For Married
I love the idea of Nick and Edgar moving into a new neighbourhood, or joining a new social circle, or travelling somewhere on holiday, and getting mistaken for a married couple. Either because of their close intimacy, or because of some other misunderstanding. Do they go along with it, for diplomatic reasons? Maybe this is what finally gets them to admit their feelings for each other?
* Old Married Couple
I love the idea of Nick and Edgar growing old together. Celebrating their wedding anniversary? Or getting married late in life? What does a retired Nick Seafort even do? Are Nick and Edgar the terror of their local bingo hall or homeowner association? What does a day of quiet happiness look like for them? Are they still ready to leap into action during some dire crisis?
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want infidelity. For their canon relationships, I'd be happy with any of the following: after it ends, alternate universe where it never happened, or just not mentioned.
***
Thank you so much for offering to write a story for me! I love all these fandoms, and the tropes I've nominated, and I'm really keen to see what you do in them! I've also provided some extra prompts in case you're looking for inspiration, but I'd also love to see whatever other ideas capture your imagination.
For me, it's about the characters and their interactions. I'm not a stickler about researching canon details, as long as the spirit of the characters and the flavour of their world is there. I want to see adventures that might have been, or missing moments from between scenes, or a slice of their daily lives, or where the future might take them.
LIKES: Some of the things I enjoy in stories are: undying loyalty, personal bravery, risking self to protect others, displaying cool competence, big damn hero moments, special everyday moments, banter, hijinks, confessions exposing emotional vulnerability, conversations loaded with unspoken meaning, tough people showing a soft side, and soft people showing a tough side. Some of my favourite tropes and genres are: amnesia, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, arranged marriage, bodyswap, cosmic horror, curtainfic, five things fic, getting together, hurt/comfort, mutual requited pining, mystery solving, road trips, sex pollen, slice of life, stranded together, and time travel.
DISLIKES: I generally prefer optimistic stories in exchanges, so I'm not keen on anything that is brutally violent or hopelessly bleak. However, I don't mind darkness during the story, as long as there is a glimmer of light at the end. Endings that are bittersweet or ambiguous are also fine.
DO NOT WANT: Noncon or dubcon, underage, bleak endings, crossovers, setting change AUs like high school, coffee shop, or omegaverse (but canon divergence AUs are fine).
RATING: I'm fine with explicit sex, but it's usually not the most important part of the story for me.
STYLE: I'm fine with first, second, or third person. I'm fine with past or present tense. I'm fine with stories of any length, including stories that start in media res or consist of a scene that implies a larger plot.
INTERACTIVE FICTION: I like interactive fiction and would welcome it.
I've listed more details under each individual request.
I hope this helps. Have fun writing!
Yours sincerely,
meteordust(AO3 name Serenade)
***
Request 1: Fall of Ile-Rien - Martha Wells - fanfic
Relationships: Tremaine/Ilias/Giliead
What I love: I love this series, I love the characters, and I just want to spend more time hanging out in the world with them. I love how the relationship between Tremaine and Ilias develops, through the stages of trust, respect, friendship, admiration, and love. I love that Ilias and Giliead are each other's Most Important Person, whatever the exact form of their love. I love that Ilias thinks Tremaine and Giliead are similar in many ways. I'm open to triangular or V-shaped relationships between these three. I love exploring the cultural differences between Ile-Rien and Cineth, and seeing people bridge the divide with goodwill and kindness.
Freeform tags:
* Accidentally Included Unwitting Third Party In Marriage
I love that when the council insists on a marriage to seal the alliance, Tremaine calls their bluff and agrees to marry Ilias. What if some tradition or law means that Giliead is unexpectedly looped into the marriage too? Maybe because they are both from Andrien House? Maybe because of the role of the Chosen Vessel?
* Getting Married to Extend Legal Rights/Protections to Partner
I love learning about Cineth's matriarchal society, where women are the landowners and can take more than one husband. When it looks like Giliead might lose his position in the community, Ilias suggests to Tremaine that she could marry Giliead too, to put him under her protection. What if they actually went through with it?
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: Ilias was adopted into the same family as Giliead, when his own cast him out. I am open to their relationship being platonic or romantic, but if the latter, I don't want emphasis on it being forbidden or transgressive. Maybe it's not a big taboo, or maybe they're just discreet. Either way, I'd like them to have the same kind of easy affection as in canon.
***
Request 2: Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny - fanfic
Relationships: Merlin/Luke
What I love: The classic frenemies ship of the Amber books! I love how they know they should be enemies, but can't help liking and protecting and trusting each other. (To a certain extent, anyway...) I love how they have different attitudes and perspectives from the older generation, even while forced to deal with the baggage of their dysfunctional families. I'm fine with their various canon ships being mentioned (ie the complicated love polygon in the books).
Freeform tags:
* Friends/Family/Fans/Foes React To Unexpected Or Contentious Marriage
Who is horrified that their impetuous relative is marrying a sworn enemy? Who is happy for them? Who supports them just to spite someone else? Who is worried about two power players joining forces? Feel free to bring back dead or missing characters to put their two cents in as well.
* Wedding Night Reveals That New Spouse Has Tentacles
Merlin does his best to blend as an Amberite, so I'm fascinated whenever we get to see his Chaosian side. His shapeshifting ability is something Luke is still unaware of, and I'm curious what his reaction would be. Especially if it involves tentacles. Is he shocked? Intrigued? Aroused? Sex scene optional, but if so, consentacles please.
***
Request 3: Seafort Saga - David Feintuch - fanfic
Relationships: Nicholas Seafort/Edgar Tolliver
What I love: Nick and Edgar being loyal and sacrificing! Stoic suffering, angsty feelings, and cathartic comfort. I also love their deep affection and fond exasperation. I love how Nick inspires Edgar, and how Edgar understands Nick. Edgar followed Nick into exile! They canonically bicker like a married couple!
Freeform tags:
* Mistaken For Married
I love the idea of Nick and Edgar moving into a new neighbourhood, or joining a new social circle, or travelling somewhere on holiday, and getting mistaken for a married couple. Either because of their close intimacy, or because of some other misunderstanding. Do they go along with it, for diplomatic reasons? Maybe this is what finally gets them to admit their feelings for each other?
* Old Married Couple
I love the idea of Nick and Edgar growing old together. Celebrating their wedding anniversary? Or getting married late in life? What does a retired Nick Seafort even do? Are Nick and Edgar the terror of their local bingo hall or homeowner association? What does a day of quiet happiness look like for them? Are they still ready to leap into action during some dire crisis?
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want infidelity. For their canon relationships, I'd be happy with any of the following: after it ends, alternate universe where it never happened, or just not mentioned.
***
