Fandom 5K Exchange Letter

[sombregods]

Hello! I'm sombregods here, on tumblr, and on AO3. Thank you for writing for me; I hope we'll both have fun!

DNWs: infidelity, extreme underage, love triangles, permanent character death unless otherwise indicated.

Narrative Likes: 

• loyalty kink!!! blind shows of devotion, oath-swearing, boot-kissing, kneeling, self-sacrifices, abnegation, apparent betrayals.
• friends to lovers, the more codependent the better. I love it when the relationship isn't quite healthy, if at all. Pairings where they mean the world to each other and would die for each other are amazing.
• mutual pining: with good reason within the given world (the world/era they live in might look down on their being together due to religion/homophobia/racism/classism, etc).
• second chances! exes reuniting, forced to work together, now enemies in a conflict ... lingering resentment, unspoken feelings, casual cruelty, difficult but well-earned reconciliations are a plus.
• soulbonds that connect the characters emotionally and physically. I love synaesthetic metaphors, so feel free to go for a strong, sensory, emotional, sensual connection.
• enemies to lovers — I love it best when they have a heavy history between them: they used to be friends/lovers, they are from generations-old rival families, they have some profound disagreement that separates them inexorably. Best tropes: forced proximity/forced to work together, really hot hatesex, "can't live with them, can't live without them", inexplicable protectiveness ...
• competence kink: characters being scarily good at what they do, whether what they do is brute shows of force, keen engineering skills, astute political machinations, or scholarly ambitions.
• floggings, whippings, corporal punishments in general, especially if they're endured stoically and/or administrated by a friend (who may or may not be forced into it).
• "I thought you were dead!" angst. Seriously, I love this trope. Give me every variation of it.
• forced intimacy: sharing a bed/bath/room/train compartment/prison cell, etc. Even better if the characters are enemies, or pining.
• corruption to the dark side, falls from grace, becoming evil/a murderer, ethical concerns becoming less and less important ...
• hurt/comfort, especially in the fevers/wounds category. I love a good bedside vigil. Ditto feverish confessions and hallucinations, and gentle care for very dangerous illnesses or injuries.
• mortal/divinity interactions. They may be two different characters, but it can also be a divine being made mortal, or a mortal made divine. I love it when there are strong sensory and/or mystical components to this dynamic. Prophecies, prophetic dreams, visions, hearing voices, death gods, mundane godliness ... but also wounding god, killing god, eating god.
• villains in love, "I would burn the world down for love of you"-style.
• stoicism in the face of suffering and/or arousal.
• possessiveness and obsession.
• worlds or societies in which being oneself (gender, sexuality, race, religion, social status) is repressed by the powers that be, and all the internalized shame, entanglements, and complications that result from that oppression. 
• revolts, revolutions, rebellions, uprisings.
• social etiquette respected to the letter but concealing subtler messages.
• costume porn! food porn! art galleries! musical concertos!
• heavy responsibilities resting on the shoulders of one or few people, and the toll these responsibilities take on their mental health/social life.
• strong worldbuilding; I love worlds full of small, intricate, sensory-heavy details.

Kink Likes

• tenderness & violence intermingled. 
• kissing! kissing too desperately to stop, interrupting sex to make out, kissing inner thighs/inside of the wrist/collarbones/bared throats...
• frottage.
• intercrural.
• public claimings.
• dirtybadwrong slavery scenarios in which the slave is as humiliated and horrified by their status as such as they are guiltily aroused by it — I'm not much into pure humiliation or outright noncon but "I shouldn't want this but I do/I hate this and I love it" = yes yes please.
• religion kink, heresy, sacrilege; sex with divinity. 
• markings, branding, tattoos.
• dubious consent across the board. 
• identity porn, especially with respect to the last point.
• vore — even more so in magical realism.
• under-negotiated kink, especially in historical or fantasy settings where the characters would not have, necessarily, the same understanding of consent and kink as they would in today's world. 
• body worship.
• in the same vein, bootlicking, bootkissing, boot-blacking.
• sex during a high fever, wounded sex, to the point that the ill/injured character may not remember everything afterwards.
• sex rituals related to monarchy or hierarchy — fucking a new slave to ensure obeisance, public consummation of a marriage, etc. 
• face-fucking.
• virginity as contrasted with experience, especially if the virginity is ritual, ie. a vow of chastity, a deliberately austere, repressed character, keeping oneself pure from earthly pleasures, etc. And what happens when they break those rituals.
• manhandling in general — pinning by the wrists, the hips, the throat — fighting during sex, slapping, violent sex. Preferably mutual.
• talking during sex; not necessarily dirty talk but regular conversations that continue or pick up when they're doing the do: political debates, personal convictions, strong disagreements, etc.

Fandoms

 

Hannibal

 

 

Group: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter

Tags: Darkfic, Getting Together, Fix-It Fic, Established Relationship, Horror, AU — Canon Divergence, Mystery/Procedural, Interpersonal Drama, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Smut, Angst

Prompts: The darker the better, when it comes to Will/Hannibal. The fucked-upness makes the ship for me, and Will's fall from grace is one of my favourite character arcs in ... well, ever. 

• post-canon era: I'd love to see them honeymoon (hah), perhaps in Europe — Will adjusting to this new life, Hannibal still reeling from the vulnerability of Will's final confession; but I wouldn't imagine they'd talk about it easily. Play with that: the setting of boundaries, how far either one of them can go controlling the other, and how much bigger the dark tension between them can get. (Foodporn not obligatory but much much appreciated!)
• several years into the future: I'd also love to see some outsider POV of them once they've actually settled down. Could be Jack or Alana, or just an OC: but I wonder how other people, whether they knew them as Will and Hannibal or not, would see this strange, extremely polite couple who throw expensive dinner parties and never stay in one place very long.
• canon divergences: so many opportunities here! the quintessential Will-runs-away-with-Hannibal-and-Abigail scenario would be wonderful, but also Will catching up to Hannibal faster in early S3, or Abigail actually surviving the S2 finale, or some different ending to the show, minus the Red Dragon storyline. Or rewrite it a different way!
• don't hesitate to go for character death for this pairing. Abuse, mind control, manipulation, forced vore, fucked-up seductions, unhealthy codependence, brutal murders ... it's par for the course.
• smut! I would love something with a focus on sensory experience. Will's is exceptional, of course, and I wonder how he deals with sex. Hannibal's is refined and powerful, and I would imagine he'd want to make the experience as unique as he knows how ;)

Discworld

Group: Brutha & Om, Moist Von Lipwig/Adora Belle Dearheart, Sam Vimes & Ankh-Morpork, Polly "Ozzer" Perks and Maladicta

Tags: Darkfic, AU — Canon Divergence, AU — Genre Shift, Getting Together, Interpersonal Drama, Worldbuilding, Angst, Mystery/Procedural, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Smut

Prompts: One of the greatest things about Discworld is that it hits almost every possible genre. It makes fic harder to write imo, but all the more rewarding.

• I love, love, love Brutha and Om's relationship. It would be great to see what happens to them post-canon: Om dealing with his returned divinity, Brutha propelled into responsibility and authority, and still the two of them as individuals, who trust each other, who love each other, but who also tell it like it is and check each other's powers. A slice-of-life retelling of Brutha's life up till his death would be wonderful. And Om's relationship with his own godhood, especially after he's been made so, so human.
• Vimes/Ankh-Morpork is honestly one of the best, most beautiful relationships in the whole series. "Listen, if anyone's going to burn down this city, it's going to be me." BEST. It would be nice to see some worldbuilding here: pre-series Sam, of whom we caught such a brief glimpse, but also the ways in which his behaviour has evolved, and how other people are seeing it happen (think outsider POV here!), perhaps even from Ankh-Morpork's point of view? I love characters who feel so intensely, powerfully connected to a place, and Vimes' entire character is so connected to AM, its politics, its trivial pursuits, its populace, its conflicts and its joys. Lean into that and I'll love you forever.
• I'll confess that I really, really want smut for Polly/Mal. I just — the power dynamics! the loyalty! forced proximity, by virtue of their profession! Stubborn Badass Normal and her VERY VERY scary vampire girlfriend! Seriously, the sex would be so, so hot. And if you want to include some blood-sucking (or at least biting, idk) in there, I won't turn it down. Otherwise, I'd love to have them in Ankh-Morpork somehow, mingling with the Watch/Industrial characters. Maybe Mal is a relative of Otto's? Maybe Polly decides to visit William de Worde? Maybe there are Important Political Treaties to ratify and they're sent as escorts/military support?
• Moist/Adora: ... again I would love some smut! They are so lovely together. Post-canon victory sex, maybe? But I'd also love to see a canon-divergence AU for these two: Moist doesn't confess, and Adora figures it out on her own; or they come in contact pre-canon and that informs their later dynamics; or the gods actually answer Moist's call, because they're bored and why the fuck not, so he's got some actually Godly Intervention to deal with — honestly, with Moist von Lipwig, the sky's the limit. 

Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Group: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson

Tags: Getting Together, AU — Genre Shift, AU — Canon Divergence, Darkfic, Angst, Mystery/Procedural, Interpersonal Drama, Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff

Prompts: ACD Holmes/Watson is the equivalent of comfort food for me. The 221B drawing-room with the fire crackling, a tray Mrs Hudson brought up with tea and crumpets, Holmes engaged in chemical experiments, Watson reading medical journals, and the rain falling heavily outside ... bliss. 

• I would love an AU that's almost, but not quite, like the canon verse. I'm a sucker for the "pretending to be dead" trope — in fact, I can trace my love for it right back to H/W — and I've always enjoyed variations on that theme: Holmes forced to come back earlier because his Watson is in danger, Watson recognizing him in the street in his old man garb, the two of them meeting unexpectedly during Holmes' travels, perhaps somewhere in Southern France? 
• likewise: genre shifting! Horror! Urban fantasy! Sentinel/Guide! Master criminals! so long as it still takes place in a recognizably 19th century-ish setting, I will love it.
• and yet I still adore a good casefic, especially in the Getting Together category. H/W fics are amazing at bringing in all the pining and the internalized shame historical canons are full of, and the two of them solving a case + dealing with Feelings = absolute joy forever.
• smut! :D a friends-with-benefits who don't dare speak their ~true feelings is cliché as hell, but I eat it up with a spoon.

The Penumbra Podcast

Groups: Juno Steel/Peter Nureyev, Vespa/Buddy Aurinko, Vespa & Buddy Aurinko & Jet Siquliak

Tags: Getting Together, Fix-It Fic, Interpersonal Drama, Character Development, Darkfic, AU — Canon Divergence, Angst, Sci-fi/fantasy, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Mystery/Procedural, Smut

Prompts: SPACE PIRATES Y'ALL

• much as I adore the S2 finale (and, uh, all of S2, really, they stepped it up big time), I'm still enjoying different takes on Juno and Peter's reunion. Casefics are ideal for this setting, but you could also go for the good ol' "oh no, he's been taken prisoner, I must save him" narrative (leaving to your discretion who's doing the kidnapped and who's doing the rescuing).
• second chances!! exes forced to reunite and work together and Deal with all those lingering emotions and attraction between them! I want every variation on that theme. What's great about the reunion as it stands is that, so far, we have very very little idea what Nureyev is thinking (I mean, he sounds pretty cold, but maybe that's just me), which means he can be anything: cold and distant, or glib and outwardly Over Juno Steel, or unfailingly polite, or genuinely glad to see him again, or or or or. I mean, I'm in favour of a) pining and b) angst, so I'm navigating more easily towards the more painful type of behaviour, but I'm open to anything.
• I want all the post-TGB Vespa/Buddy please ;_____; that reunion scene in the lighthouse was everything, even from Juno's narration: the two of them as something legendary, something larger than life, and yet ... they haven't seen each other for fifteen years. Both the sheer relief and joy of finding each other again, mingled with the pain of lost time and the awareness that they're no longer who they used to be, and who they used to love. Show me the complicated feelings, the rehabituation to a shared life, the cons they pull together before they come back to Mars. + Nureyev interactions!

Original Works

Groups: Arrogant Empress-in-Exile/No-Nonsense Female Mercenary She's Hired To Protect Her, Idealistic Emotional Prince/His More Practical Male Adviser and Childhood Friend, Deposed Prince Sold Into Slavery/Male Friend Who Betrayed Him, Blind Crown Prince/Prince's Guard | Bastard Prince From An Overthrown Dynasty, Male Supervillain Who Was Pardoned Of All Crimes/Male Superhero Who's Still Mad About It, Newly-Crowned Emperor/Foreign Prince He's Marrying But Has Never Met, Crown Prince/Forbidden Male Knight Lover, Female Detective/Female Con Artist Innocent of Plot She's Investigating, Warrior Queen Who Rose Up And Defeated an Emperor/Foreign Royal Bride Legitimizing Her Rule

Tags: Darkfic, Angst, Interpersonal Drama, Smut, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Slice of Life, sci-fi/fantasy

Prompts: Feel free to mix and match! I love unexpected twists on the original pairings, and the settings can be anything from high fantasy to urban fantasy to historical settings. PWPs and smut are also greatly appreciated ;)

• Arrogant Empress-in-Exile/No-Nonsense Female Mercenary She's Hired To Protect Her: I imagine this in a sort of steampunk-ish setting, but anything from fantasy to historical can work! I would be curious to find out why the empress is in exile: was she a tyrant? did her people depose her unfairly? why are people trying to kill her? + lean in on the class difference between them! I love highkey/lowkey pairings, and there's some great potential for the pride of the empress to take a hit ... but also for the no-nonsense mercenary to be shaken out of her usual stoicism.
• Idealistic Emotional Prince/His More Practical Male Adviser and Childhood Friend: again with the highkey/lowkey. A slow descent into cynicism for the emotional prince would be amazing, but if you want to go the route of fervent idealism to the point of obsession, that'd be lovely, too. I'm mostly interested in the political dealings and machinations of this kingdom; does the adviser have to get his hands dirty just so that the prince can remain "pure"? Does one of them betray — or appear to betray — the other at some point? Does one of them fall ill?
• Deposed Prince Sold Into Slavery/Male Friend Who Betrayed Him: go full dirtybadwrong on this one! Spoils of war, public claiming, former feelings of affection that get twisted into intense possessiveness ... the prince might be gifted to his former friend as thanks for betrayal, or haggled over by the new courtesans. I'd love it if the prince was into it, despite himself, and the traitor knows this and takes advantage of it.
• Blind Crown Prince/Prince's Guard | Bastard Prince From An Overthrown Dynasty: this is such a great idea. I'm very much into the idea that the bastard prince habours (or haboured) feelings of resentment and/or hatred towards the crown prince, to the point, perhaps, that he may be the one who caused his blindness? How did he become a prince's guard; is he lying about his identity? Does the crown prince rely on him to protect him, is he very capable himself, or is he still struggling with his loss of sight? I'm all for codependence and protectiveness and bitterness for this pairing.
• Male Supervillain Who Was Pardoned Of All Crimes/Male Superhero Who's Still Mad About It: okay, the supervillain has to be a super charismatic, wealthy, handsome guy, right, who was able to feign remorse and got exonerated because he did one (1) good thing. And the superhero is this cynical asshole who wants to do good but not necessarily to be polite or kind about it. Or not! Give them the characterizations you prefer: but I would really love it if their personalities were way off-base from the expected. Forced proximity and having to work together would also be a plus.
• Newly-Crowned Emperor/Foreign Prince He's Marrying But Has Never Met: I adore marriages of convenience. In this particular case, is the emperor's ascension to the throne dependent on his marriage? Has he been badgered by his counselors to marry for months, or has he gone into the match with his eyes open? How happy is the prince to leave his country and marry a man he doesn't know? public consummations of the marriage are wonderful, and I'd love it if there was a certain amount of friction between them — their families have been enemies for years, maybe, or one of them harmed someone the other cared about.
• Crown Prince/Forbidden Male Knight Lover: this mainly interests me for two reasons: a) the class difference (does it bring friction between them?) b) the forbidden-love aspect. Is the prince expected to marry someone of his own station? is the knight from an outcast family? how did they meet — were they friends once, or did the knight seduce the prince for his own benefit before he caught feelings, or did they cross paths at a masked party, a la Romeo and Juliet? what is their relationship like, conflicted or the only easy thing in their lives? how much do the prince's royal responsibilities weigh with him?
• Female Detective/Female Con Artist Innocent of Plot She's Investigating: I would love a noir setting for this: the cynical, hard-drinking detective, and the femme fatale who is unexpectedly innocent ... this time. If they already know each other, give them something heavy in their pasts to reckon with; if they come in contact for the first time, do insist on the high level of attraction between them: something to overcome whatever scruples the detective may be feeling. 
• Warrior Queen Who Rose Up And Defeated an Emperor/Foreign Royal Bride Legitimizing Her Rule: I'm curious about how the "foreign" part may be legitimizing the queen's rule. Politics and machinations = a+. I would expect a warrior queen to be an older woman, so you can definitely bring in some age difference between the two. Do they already know each other? of each other? is the warrior queen a tyrant? (yes, please.) How do they feel about the marriage: is the bride pretty much a sacrifice in exchange for peace? dubcon, if you like! shady deals! assassination attempts!

Have fun ♥