Femslashex 2015
Sep. 2nd, 2015 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miramiraHi! This should be fun; it's been a while since I did a pairing-focused exchange, and even longer since I did one where I got to pick the pairings.
Normally this is the part where I'd encourage you to take a look at my other letters for likes and dislikes, but most of those lead off with "gen is awesome!" So I figured I'd try something a little different this time:
General Likes:
- Plot. Can be introspective or elaborate, just as long as something changes for the characters by the end of the story.
- Dialogue, particularly in the form of banter.
- Humor, whether it's a main focus or there to liven up an otherwise serious situation.
- Situations and decisions where there isn't a clear right or wrong answer or course of action.
- Worldbuilding and minor characters.
Shipping-Specific Likes:
- How they got (back) together stories. And if it's not an established or at least strongly implied pairing in canon, I'd appreciate at least a little of that context woven into the background somewhere.
- Couples who have each other's backs in the heat of battle.
- Couples teaching each other new things, romantically or otherwise.
- Sex scenes - if they're there at all, which they certainly don't have to be - that help advance the plot, or show new facets of the characters, or even just add a bit of comic relief.
- Respectful treatment of exes, and some acknowledgement of past canon relationships, even if it's only a sentence.
Dislikes:
- Love triangles involving two-dimensional love interests who exist only to demonstrate how awesome the story's main pairing is by comparison.
- Infidelity without consequences. I don't think any of the below scenarios particularly lend themselves to cheating, but if you're going to go there, make it messy for everyone involved.
- Mundane AUs, unless they are so cracky and over-the-top that they circle right back around to pure fantasy. If you decide to have the characters run a coffee shop, that coffee had better be capable of knocking Auditors, darkspawn, Dementors, Jasper, and Jones for a loop, dammit. (Crossovers and fusions, incidentally, are just fine, as are canon-divergent AUs.)
Do Not Wants:
- Graphic torture.
- Non-con.
- Bodily fluids not typically associated with sex.
- F-preg, a/b/o, and other biological improbabilities.
- Underage characters in sexual situations.
Okay, that out of the way, on to specific fandoms and ships. Please don't take relative length or number of prompts as a sign of how much I want a particular pairing: if it's here, I promise I'm eager to read about it. Good luck, and I really, really hope I haven't made this too overwhelming. The important thing for me is that you have a good time writing.
Discworld
General Canon Notes: I don't think it should be an issue with these characters, but I haven't read any of the Tiffany Aching books, so please keep that in mind if you're going to drop references. Also, cameos from Death and/or his associates are always a plus.
Maladict/Polly
Missing moments from canon are nice, but I'm particularly interested in what happened after the book ended. Show me how they handle the new "little lambs," or send them off on their own adventure. Maybe they wind up meeting Vimes again, or paying a visit (voluntarily or otherwise) to Mal's extended family in Uberwald. Bonus points if Igorina shows up for that.
If you want to write Mal as genderqueer, that's fine, but I'm equally fine with her just really wanting to avoid the Morticia Addams look.
Tonker/Lofty
This is one case where it might be best to gloss over the "how they met" portion of things or past "relationships." But I wouldn't mind hearing about some adventure(s) before Tonker and Lofty met up with the army - and of course, I'm very interested in what happened to them after. Maybe they find their way to Ankh-Morpork and carve out their own version of a respectable life for themselves. Or maybe they find Lofty's baby, and the three of them make a go at family life in their own particular way?
Similar to above, you can write Tonker (or even Lofty) as either cis or genderqueer, depending on your own headcanon.
Dragon Age
General Canon Notes: My playthroughs tend to be with mages or mage-sympathetic heroes who want to do the right thing, even if they can get snarky about it. But I'm fine with any Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor interpretation and worldstate, as long as it's not the absolute worst-case version where the companions ran screaming for their lives.
Bethany Hawke/Isabela
Bethany's clearly fascinated by Isabela's life, and while Isabela gets less joy out of the idea of destroying her innocence than one might expect, I doubt she'd try to resist too hard if Bethany pushed that curiosity a bit further - maybe while preparing for the Deep Roads expedition, and deciding she's not going to leave behind any regrets or unanswered questions in case something bad happens. It'd also be interesting to see Isabela trying to reconcile those memories with the Grey Warden version of Bethany who's seen and experienced things even she hasn't, although I think there's also a lot to be gotten out of a post-game and post-Circle Bethany having to toughen up under Isabela's tutelage.
Female Hawke/Aveline, Female Hawke/Isabela, Isabela/Aveline
Donnic seems nice and all, but not being able to romance Aveline is easily one of the most frustrating parts of DA II. And as far as I'm concerned, that holds true whether Aveline respects what Hawke does even if she wishes it aligned with the Guard's methods more often, or whether she has no idea why she keeps letting herself get roped into these shenanigans. Similarly, for Hawke/Isabela, I'd be happy with either a mutually plotted caper gone awry somehow, or a Hawke who tells herself she's only spending so much time with Isabela to make sure she can't get up to any mischief. The latter scenario in both cases, of course, holds doubly true for Isabela/Aveline. Or maybe Hawke takes up with one of them, and the other finds herself jealous. (And while I realize it might be cheating on the pairings limit, if you want to resolve that particular scenario with an OT3, I'm certainly not going to complain.)
Female Warden/Female Warden
I'm envisioning this as a scenario where there are multiple Wardens (or where Duncan just never bothered to pick up Alistair) rather than two Heroes of Ferelden from different worldstates meeting. I'd also like to see a pair of Wardens with strongly contrasting backgrounds and outlooks, like a Tabris who cannot believe how sheltered Cousland has been up until now, or a Mahariel trying to show Aeducan that the surface isn't such a terrible place. Of course, you could probably get a similar effect with an Amell who is overjoyed to be out of the Circle and a Surana who will take any excuse to go back, so feel free to use whatever combination speaks to you.
Leliana/Josephine
I love how Josephine is the only person in Inquisition who can reliably bring out the cheerful, teasing Leliana from Origins. Not that it's in any way surprising, since Josephine has so many of those same qualities herself, and is such an adorkable romance option. So when and how exactly did they meet? Was Josephine still a bard at the time? And if they haven't been together all along (which I know BioWare's said they aren't, but I'm willing to ignore Word of the Maker on this one), what's stopping them and how do they get past it?
Gunnerkrigg Court
General Canon Notes: See below for my general thoughts on the Court vs. forest debate, but I love pretty much all the side characters and would be happy to have them featured...except Annie's dad. The less you deal with him directly, the better.
Antimony Carver/Kat Donlan
I think the Court and Coyote are both terrible in their own ways, and that eventually, their machinations are going to lead to a revolt by the students - spearheaded, naturally, by Annie and Kat as the embodiment of "magic and science can too work together if you'd just quit making it difficult, ugh." Of course, that's a lot to ask for a thousand word fic, so you could just give me a representative example of that co-operation, or tell me what Annie and Kat's life is like after they graduate and grow up. Especially if they decide they want a family - fortunately, Annie wouldn't have to risk what happened with Surma, but how would they make it happen?
Also, this probably goes without stipulating, but everything I said in general likes and dislikes about no ex-bashing? That goes triple for Paz. In fact, at least part of the reason I'm suggesting future fic is that it gives her plenty of time to get past the breakup and be friends with Kat again. Though if you think it would be a mutual decision, by all means, feel free to compress the timeline.
Gamma/Zimmy
As adorable as they are together, I'm still curious what draws Gamma to Zimmy. Is it just that she likes to feel needed? Does being around Zimmy somehow make her feel more connected to to the real world herself, or more capable of communicating with others? Can they literally not exist without each other? Or is there some hidden darkness in Gamma that Zimmy somehow manages to keep at bay?
Of course, if you'd rather show one of those too-brief moments where Zimmy's feeling okay and they can just be a normal couple - well, normal for them, anyway - that'd be nice, too.
Harry Potter
General Canon Notes: While I am very much on the Order's side, I'm not a huge fan of the Marauders and have complicated feelings about Dumbledore (particularly his reluctance to delegate in a way that would require him to tell people things). So if you're writing a First War fic, please treat this as a chance to give less-frequently featured characters the spotlight.
Amelia Bones/Minerva McGonagall
If you've volunteered to write this, hopefully I don't need to explain why these are the two most badass women in the entire Potterverse. Of course, I imagine that would sometimes lead to friction rather than passion, particularly with Amelia apparently never having been part of the Order. Were they able to overlook any political differences of opinion for love's sake, or did Amelia die never knowing that Minerva still had feelings?
I should probably also note that if you want to ignore Pottermore when it comes to McGonagall's background, I am completely fine with that - although I am kind of partial to the idea of her marriage to Elphinstone having been a mutually beneficial, platonic arrangement between two people who enjoyed each other's company but were not each other's type.
Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes
Ah, First War romance. The intrigue, the thrilling battles, the tragic canon-mandated end. I have this vague idea in my head that Marlene was the adventurous idealist and Dorcas either got swept up by her enthusiasm or just wanted to keep her safe, but we know absolutely nothing about them besides their names, so feel free to take it in a totally different direction.
Lavender Brown/Pansy Parkinson
I ship this because of a long-ago crack RP in which Lavender was a caricaturized raging feminist, so I'm not opposed to total silliness here. But I'd also be interested in a seventh year fic where an attraction somehow develops despite everything that's going on and how they deal with that, or a post-Hogwarts fic where a Lavender who's struggling with the aftermath of Fenrir's attack and a Pansy who's suddenly a social pariah have to figure out what their future is going to look like.
Steven Universe
General Canon Notes: I'm not going to say "no sex" for this fandom, but I'd prefer a focus on relationship dynamics or what fusion feels like if at all possible. Feel free to throw in cameos from Steven, Greg, or Gems not mentioned below.
Connie/Pearl
Obviously Connie is going to have to be aged up for this, but I really like the student/mentor relationship they were developing in "Sworn to the Sword," and I'd be interested to see where that might potentially go in future. I also really, really like the idea of Pearl exploring a relationship between equals, or even where she's the one with more of the power and has to figure out how to handle that.
Jasper/Rose Quartz
Maybe Jasper wasn't telling Steven everything about how she came to respect Rose's tactics. Or maybe it was just admiration (whether mutual or one-sided obsession) from afar. Either way, I'd love to see how these two first encountered each other, or in action on the battlefield.
Lapis Lazuli/Pearl
As with Connie, I see this as a chance for Pearl to explore a relationship with someone on a more equal level. Of course, part of what they have in common is some deep emotional scarring, so hopefully they'll be able to work through that in a way that will leave them stronger. Hopefully. If you decided to take this pairing in a darker direction, I wouldn't be opposed, as long as it's mutually reinforced darkness and not just one corrupting the other.
Pearl/Rose Quartz
I believe Pearl when she says "Rose made me feel like I was everything." And I would love to see more of what inspired that devotion in the first place, along with Rose's take on it. Or maybe you could write about how Pearl dealt with Steven's birth, and having to say goodbye. I'll just go get a box of tissues ready. Whatever you write, I'm probably going to need them.
Ruby/Sapphire
I would definitely love the details on these two getting together, particularly since fusion seems to be regarded very differently on Homeworld. I'm also sure that looking ahead, there will be plenty of potential opportunities for them to confront Homeworld Gems about that attitude. But it would also be neat to get their take on some other things that have happened in canon, or just to see them celebrating a birthday with Steven.
Normally this is the part where I'd encourage you to take a look at my other letters for likes and dislikes, but most of those lead off with "gen is awesome!" So I figured I'd try something a little different this time:
General Likes:
- Plot. Can be introspective or elaborate, just as long as something changes for the characters by the end of the story.
- Dialogue, particularly in the form of banter.
- Humor, whether it's a main focus or there to liven up an otherwise serious situation.
- Situations and decisions where there isn't a clear right or wrong answer or course of action.
- Worldbuilding and minor characters.
Shipping-Specific Likes:
- How they got (back) together stories. And if it's not an established or at least strongly implied pairing in canon, I'd appreciate at least a little of that context woven into the background somewhere.
- Couples who have each other's backs in the heat of battle.
- Couples teaching each other new things, romantically or otherwise.
- Sex scenes - if they're there at all, which they certainly don't have to be - that help advance the plot, or show new facets of the characters, or even just add a bit of comic relief.
- Respectful treatment of exes, and some acknowledgement of past canon relationships, even if it's only a sentence.
Dislikes:
- Love triangles involving two-dimensional love interests who exist only to demonstrate how awesome the story's main pairing is by comparison.
- Infidelity without consequences. I don't think any of the below scenarios particularly lend themselves to cheating, but if you're going to go there, make it messy for everyone involved.
- Mundane AUs, unless they are so cracky and over-the-top that they circle right back around to pure fantasy. If you decide to have the characters run a coffee shop, that coffee had better be capable of knocking Auditors, darkspawn, Dementors, Jasper, and Jones for a loop, dammit. (Crossovers and fusions, incidentally, are just fine, as are canon-divergent AUs.)
Do Not Wants:
- Graphic torture.
- Non-con.
- Bodily fluids not typically associated with sex.
- F-preg, a/b/o, and other biological improbabilities.
- Underage characters in sexual situations.
Okay, that out of the way, on to specific fandoms and ships. Please don't take relative length or number of prompts as a sign of how much I want a particular pairing: if it's here, I promise I'm eager to read about it. Good luck, and I really, really hope I haven't made this too overwhelming. The important thing for me is that you have a good time writing.
Discworld
General Canon Notes: I don't think it should be an issue with these characters, but I haven't read any of the Tiffany Aching books, so please keep that in mind if you're going to drop references. Also, cameos from Death and/or his associates are always a plus.
Maladict/Polly
Missing moments from canon are nice, but I'm particularly interested in what happened after the book ended. Show me how they handle the new "little lambs," or send them off on their own adventure. Maybe they wind up meeting Vimes again, or paying a visit (voluntarily or otherwise) to Mal's extended family in Uberwald. Bonus points if Igorina shows up for that.
If you want to write Mal as genderqueer, that's fine, but I'm equally fine with her just really wanting to avoid the Morticia Addams look.
Tonker/Lofty
This is one case where it might be best to gloss over the "how they met" portion of things or past "relationships." But I wouldn't mind hearing about some adventure(s) before Tonker and Lofty met up with the army - and of course, I'm very interested in what happened to them after. Maybe they find their way to Ankh-Morpork and carve out their own version of a respectable life for themselves. Or maybe they find Lofty's baby, and the three of them make a go at family life in their own particular way?
Similar to above, you can write Tonker (or even Lofty) as either cis or genderqueer, depending on your own headcanon.
Dragon Age
General Canon Notes: My playthroughs tend to be with mages or mage-sympathetic heroes who want to do the right thing, even if they can get snarky about it. But I'm fine with any Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor interpretation and worldstate, as long as it's not the absolute worst-case version where the companions ran screaming for their lives.
Bethany Hawke/Isabela
Bethany's clearly fascinated by Isabela's life, and while Isabela gets less joy out of the idea of destroying her innocence than one might expect, I doubt she'd try to resist too hard if Bethany pushed that curiosity a bit further - maybe while preparing for the Deep Roads expedition, and deciding she's not going to leave behind any regrets or unanswered questions in case something bad happens. It'd also be interesting to see Isabela trying to reconcile those memories with the Grey Warden version of Bethany who's seen and experienced things even she hasn't, although I think there's also a lot to be gotten out of a post-game and post-Circle Bethany having to toughen up under Isabela's tutelage.
Female Hawke/Aveline, Female Hawke/Isabela, Isabela/Aveline
Donnic seems nice and all, but not being able to romance Aveline is easily one of the most frustrating parts of DA II. And as far as I'm concerned, that holds true whether Aveline respects what Hawke does even if she wishes it aligned with the Guard's methods more often, or whether she has no idea why she keeps letting herself get roped into these shenanigans. Similarly, for Hawke/Isabela, I'd be happy with either a mutually plotted caper gone awry somehow, or a Hawke who tells herself she's only spending so much time with Isabela to make sure she can't get up to any mischief. The latter scenario in both cases, of course, holds doubly true for Isabela/Aveline. Or maybe Hawke takes up with one of them, and the other finds herself jealous. (And while I realize it might be cheating on the pairings limit, if you want to resolve that particular scenario with an OT3, I'm certainly not going to complain.)
Female Warden/Female Warden
I'm envisioning this as a scenario where there are multiple Wardens (or where Duncan just never bothered to pick up Alistair) rather than two Heroes of Ferelden from different worldstates meeting. I'd also like to see a pair of Wardens with strongly contrasting backgrounds and outlooks, like a Tabris who cannot believe how sheltered Cousland has been up until now, or a Mahariel trying to show Aeducan that the surface isn't such a terrible place. Of course, you could probably get a similar effect with an Amell who is overjoyed to be out of the Circle and a Surana who will take any excuse to go back, so feel free to use whatever combination speaks to you.
Leliana/Josephine
I love how Josephine is the only person in Inquisition who can reliably bring out the cheerful, teasing Leliana from Origins. Not that it's in any way surprising, since Josephine has so many of those same qualities herself, and is such an adorkable romance option. So when and how exactly did they meet? Was Josephine still a bard at the time? And if they haven't been together all along (which I know BioWare's said they aren't, but I'm willing to ignore Word of the Maker on this one), what's stopping them and how do they get past it?
Gunnerkrigg Court
General Canon Notes: See below for my general thoughts on the Court vs. forest debate, but I love pretty much all the side characters and would be happy to have them featured...except Annie's dad. The less you deal with him directly, the better.
Antimony Carver/Kat Donlan
I think the Court and Coyote are both terrible in their own ways, and that eventually, their machinations are going to lead to a revolt by the students - spearheaded, naturally, by Annie and Kat as the embodiment of "magic and science can too work together if you'd just quit making it difficult, ugh." Of course, that's a lot to ask for a thousand word fic, so you could just give me a representative example of that co-operation, or tell me what Annie and Kat's life is like after they graduate and grow up. Especially if they decide they want a family - fortunately, Annie wouldn't have to risk what happened with Surma, but how would they make it happen?
Also, this probably goes without stipulating, but everything I said in general likes and dislikes about no ex-bashing? That goes triple for Paz. In fact, at least part of the reason I'm suggesting future fic is that it gives her plenty of time to get past the breakup and be friends with Kat again. Though if you think it would be a mutual decision, by all means, feel free to compress the timeline.
Gamma/Zimmy
As adorable as they are together, I'm still curious what draws Gamma to Zimmy. Is it just that she likes to feel needed? Does being around Zimmy somehow make her feel more connected to to the real world herself, or more capable of communicating with others? Can they literally not exist without each other? Or is there some hidden darkness in Gamma that Zimmy somehow manages to keep at bay?
Of course, if you'd rather show one of those too-brief moments where Zimmy's feeling okay and they can just be a normal couple - well, normal for them, anyway - that'd be nice, too.
Harry Potter
General Canon Notes: While I am very much on the Order's side, I'm not a huge fan of the Marauders and have complicated feelings about Dumbledore (particularly his reluctance to delegate in a way that would require him to tell people things). So if you're writing a First War fic, please treat this as a chance to give less-frequently featured characters the spotlight.
Amelia Bones/Minerva McGonagall
If you've volunteered to write this, hopefully I don't need to explain why these are the two most badass women in the entire Potterverse. Of course, I imagine that would sometimes lead to friction rather than passion, particularly with Amelia apparently never having been part of the Order. Were they able to overlook any political differences of opinion for love's sake, or did Amelia die never knowing that Minerva still had feelings?
I should probably also note that if you want to ignore Pottermore when it comes to McGonagall's background, I am completely fine with that - although I am kind of partial to the idea of her marriage to Elphinstone having been a mutually beneficial, platonic arrangement between two people who enjoyed each other's company but were not each other's type.
Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes
Ah, First War romance. The intrigue, the thrilling battles, the tragic canon-mandated end. I have this vague idea in my head that Marlene was the adventurous idealist and Dorcas either got swept up by her enthusiasm or just wanted to keep her safe, but we know absolutely nothing about them besides their names, so feel free to take it in a totally different direction.
Lavender Brown/Pansy Parkinson
I ship this because of a long-ago crack RP in which Lavender was a caricaturized raging feminist, so I'm not opposed to total silliness here. But I'd also be interested in a seventh year fic where an attraction somehow develops despite everything that's going on and how they deal with that, or a post-Hogwarts fic where a Lavender who's struggling with the aftermath of Fenrir's attack and a Pansy who's suddenly a social pariah have to figure out what their future is going to look like.
Steven Universe
General Canon Notes: I'm not going to say "no sex" for this fandom, but I'd prefer a focus on relationship dynamics or what fusion feels like if at all possible. Feel free to throw in cameos from Steven, Greg, or Gems not mentioned below.
Connie/Pearl
Obviously Connie is going to have to be aged up for this, but I really like the student/mentor relationship they were developing in "Sworn to the Sword," and I'd be interested to see where that might potentially go in future. I also really, really like the idea of Pearl exploring a relationship between equals, or even where she's the one with more of the power and has to figure out how to handle that.
Jasper/Rose Quartz
Maybe Jasper wasn't telling Steven everything about how she came to respect Rose's tactics. Or maybe it was just admiration (whether mutual or one-sided obsession) from afar. Either way, I'd love to see how these two first encountered each other, or in action on the battlefield.
Lapis Lazuli/Pearl
As with Connie, I see this as a chance for Pearl to explore a relationship with someone on a more equal level. Of course, part of what they have in common is some deep emotional scarring, so hopefully they'll be able to work through that in a way that will leave them stronger. Hopefully. If you decided to take this pairing in a darker direction, I wouldn't be opposed, as long as it's mutually reinforced darkness and not just one corrupting the other.
Pearl/Rose Quartz
I believe Pearl when she says "Rose made me feel like I was everything." And I would love to see more of what inspired that devotion in the first place, along with Rose's take on it. Or maybe you could write about how Pearl dealt with Steven's birth, and having to say goodbye. I'll just go get a box of tissues ready. Whatever you write, I'm probably going to need them.
Ruby/Sapphire
I would definitely love the details on these two getting together, particularly since fusion seems to be regarded very differently on Homeworld. I'm also sure that looking ahead, there will be plenty of potential opportunities for them to confront Homeworld Gems about that attitude. But it would also be neat to get their take on some other things that have happened in canon, or just to see them celebrating a birthday with Steven.