Thanks for creating for me or considering creating for me! This is a list of my likes, DNWs, and some thoughts on each of the specific ships I requested.
General Likes- All the awkwardly-shoved-together situations: forced proximity, huddling for warmth, magically bonded, on the run/stranded together, only one bed, snowed in
- Animals and nature - of all kinds (I really like birds and snakes in particular)
- Canon divergence
- Character studies
- Codas
- Espionage and intrigue
- Explorations of power/class/culture/gender dynamics
- Hurt/comfort
- Identity porn
- In historical canons specifically, where lgbtq pairings and characters are concerned: internalized homophobia and period-typical homophobia (and similar -ias and -isms). It does not have to be a major focus by any means, but I like when it's more realistic about who would be supportive or understanding, and the hangups some characters would have about their own feelings. Racism is a bit more of an outright no in any instance though.
- Mishaps leading to tropeyness with something like a magic spell, an invention, etc., depending on the canon, as a driver of the plot
- Non-human, magical, and otherwise powered characters being general oddities, with a focus on their abilities
- Nuanced dynamics and shades of grey in characters, their beliefs, and their actions
- On the run
- Other sides to people, such as a typically nice character having an edge of cruelty, or a villainous character showing a vulnerable side
- Physical affection, both romantic and nonromantic
- "Relationship structure happens before the relationship itself" tropes: accidental marriage, fake marriage, fake relationship
- Seasonal themes (for the northern hemisphere)
- Somebody lives/not everyone dies
- Strong platonic relationships
- Telepathy and mental connections
- Time travel and dimension travel shenanigans: time travel fix-it, time loops, multiple selves running around
- Traumatized people bonding with each other
- Weird, humanizing quirks
- Worldbuilding
NSFW Likes- Banter during sex, laughter during sex
- Biting, bruising, marking - particularly scratching up someone's arms or back
- Body worship
- Fighting as foreplay
- Fingering
- First time, together or in general
- Forced but by an outside party: bad guys made them do it, fuck or die, sex pollen
- Frottage
- Hair play (lightly messing with or pulling)
- Light blindfolds and restraints
- Lingerie and other skimpy clothing
- Magic/power/other ability use during sex
- Manhandling
- Oral sex: blowjobs, cunnilingus, face-fucking, face-sitting, cockwarming, nipple licking, etc
- Orgasm delay/denial
- Word preference: clit, cock, come (spelling preferred for both noun and verb), cunt, entrance, hole
General DNWs- Amnesia
- Animal abuse (eating meat is fine, though)
- Breakup then makeup
- Cannibalism
- Character bashing
- Eating disorders
- Excessive gore (I'm not against there being violence or blood, but as soon as it gets to viscera I'm a bit picky)
- Found family groups being boxed into nuclear family roles (this essentially means don't call someone the group mom or dad)
- Genderbends
- Hanahaki
- Infidelity
- Jealousy as a major plot point
- Major character death (unless exempted in signup)
- Mundane and setting change AUs
- Non-canon nicknames
- Omegaverse
- Pregnancy
- Self-harm specifically by cutting or burning one's own body
- Soulmates
- Therapy and therapy-speak
NSFW DNWs- Age play
- Anything to do with cervixes or urethras
- Breeding kink
- Fisting
- Loud sex where others can hear them
- Mommy/daddy kink
- Object insertion (beyond a strap or dildo, which is fine)
- Oviposition
- Piss/scat/emetophilia
- The phrases "good boy/girl" or "you're mine"
- Rape/noncon
- Spanking
- Spitting in mouths (spit as lube is fine)
- Structured BDSM (basically anything more than informal d/s) - biologically, explicitly designated roles, 24/7, at a club, stoplight system
- The term "intersex" used to describe fantasy dualsex anatomy, i.e. there is a separate vulva and penis and all of it is functioning, though I generally only like this anatomy on non-human characters anyway
- Underage sex below 16
Fandom-Specific RequestsBelow are some of my thoughts on each ship I requested, or else some potential prompts and jumping-off points, if you feel inclined to use them.
Persephone - SongNarrator/PersephoneI was going through my music for songs to nominate and settled on this one, which was particular earworm for a while. The snapshot of story we get is enough to leave you wanting more - who is the narrator running from (husband, boyfriend, dad?), and will they ever stay with Persephone? For this one, some homage to the Montreal setting would be cool, though not at all required. I'd also be okay with an experimental style. On the other hand, as I mentioned in the signup, I DNW direct mythological Persephone allegories, since that's a bit of a notp for me.
Star Wars Original TrilogyDNW:
any romantic ships for these characters, beyond past Anakin/Padmé; narrative Jedi bashing; random Mandalorian culture; sequel trilogy compliance/tie-ins; Tatooine slave culture fanon
Leia & Luke, Luke & Vader, Leia & Vader, Leia & Luke & VaderFor this one, I'm always down for OT-era Skywalker family drama (even though yes, Leia doesn't consider herself one), whether that's digging into Luke and Leia's connection, Luke and Vader's push-and-pull between love and anger, Leia and Vader's mutual hatred of each other despite some bare-bones personality similarities, or all of them mixed up into one. I'm especially into various takes on them finding out they're related to each other, and the "forced into a room (or even mental headspace) together" type of thing.
Stranger ThingsFor all of these, I'm interested in post-canon and fill-in-the-blanks for season 5, as well as s4-5 time skip "quarantine" fic, but I'm also interested in larger-scale canon divergence: what if the apocalyptic rift in s4 was actually as bad as it seemed, and it spread far and wide? What if the Mind Flayer isn't truly dead, given the mist that leaves the kids at the end? And other
DNW: El/Mike, (requited) Will/Mike, Steve/Eddie, Eddie in general
Eleven "Jane" Hopper & Kali PrasadThe only acceptable ending for me is where El and Kali both made it out. These two abused girls who had to "die" to escape the endless cycle of abuse, but did (in my mind). How do they pick up the pieces? Or, if things are worse, how do they hold on to their hope in a dire situation?
Eleven "Jane" Hopper/Maxine "Max" MayfieldWhile I love Lucas/Max, I'm happy with what we got in canon for them, while my El/Max heart was disappointed by their overall lack of interaction relative to seasons 3 and 4. Some ideas: the two of them having a mental link in the time skip period - whether El is able to reach Max and it becomes canon divergence, or El just acts as a lifeline for her; Max post-canon looking for El; El doesn't have to fake her death and they head to college together, plus or minus some extradimensional horrors.
Eleven "Jane" Hopper & Will ByersThey consider each other siblings, or at least good friends, by the end of it, but they never actually had all that much solo interaction together. But there's so much to work with: the elephant in the room about Mike, Henry influencing their childhood trauma, the powers (which I don't really buy were all Henry/Mind Flayer caused, or that one or both of them would lose post-canon).
Henry Creel | One | Vecna & Will ByersFascinated by the connection between them on every level, really. Similar in some ways, different in others, unwillingly connected on Will's end. Henry does this whole gaslighting thing trying to convince Will he's weak, but he's not, and there was a reason he chose him...so why? I particularly like when Will gets to do more with this connection and his powers than he did in canon, and if he has powers that are a bit more expanded than explicitly because of Henry.
Holly Wheeler & Maxine "Max" MayfieldOnce I got over Holly's aging-up, I really enjoyed her as a character and her relationship with Max. While not everything in fandom has to be a familial relationship, I enjoyed the way Max seemed to like taking care of her and watching out for her like a big sister would. While she only had Billy, who terrified her, she got to be a comforting presence for Holly, and Holly gained some real self-confidence with Max's help. More of this dynamic - whether in-canon or post-canon - would be great.
Nancy Wheeler/Robin BuckleyForever obsessed with them, no matter what. I was pleasantly surprised that Nancy ended up with neither Steve nor Jonathan, and they are all amicable with each other, because it's the perfect setup for these two. Alternately, I would enjoy Nancy and Robin getting together in the season 4-5 time skip and how that happens.
TrigunLegato Bluesummers/Millions KnivesThey are just so fucked up, and I think they would be great being fucked up together. I like when there's an (admittedly ooc) smidge of requitedness on Knives' end, without making them any less messy than they canonically are. They both have twisted - but understandable, from their perspectives - ideas about morality, relationships and presumably sex, and their own roles in the world. Mostly, it's so compelling to me because Knives' whole thing with Legato seems to be purely vibes and whims-based in a way he isn’t with others, even when he hurts him and is abusive to him.
Meryl Stryfe/Milly ThompsonThe insurance girls! I love them together, but want them as more than a background ship to enjoy them. They can both hold their own in their messed-up world, they're a kind of hilarious representation of bureaucracy, they're headstrong and loveable.
Millions Knives & Vash the StampedeObsessed with how complex they are. Knives is the definition of "great point, still murder though" because he's not exactly
wrong about Plant exploitation, but still made the situation worse and continues to make it worse. Vash is such a good depiction of a pacifist but ends up having to break that, and not even because of Knives. They both hate and love each other and I am always invested in those kinds of relationships, where nothing will ever be like it was again but they both might secretly wish it was. Some ideas: post-canon but Knives doesn't die, and this then creates the issue of what the two of them can even do; mental communication over the years; there's an outside/third threat that forces them to work together temporarily.
Crossover Fandom
Dana Scully/Nancy WheelerBased on their canonical birth dates, Scully is only a few years older than Nancy. For this one, I imagine Nancy still hunting monsters of all varieties into the 90s, which is when she stumbles upon Scully (and Mulder, maybe, but Scully is the important part). As I said in the overall ST request, I am fine with general divergence from the show's ending to keep some Upside Down elements into the next decade; meanwhile, the lighter on the X-Files lore it is, the better, given its inconsistency.
Jason Grace/Will ByersThis was an extremely random nomination on my part, but the general logic was: Will reminds me somewhat of Nico in storyline -> I like Jason's friendship with Nico and how he was supportive of him -> still in denial about Jason's death -> Jason could be crossover-portaled to Stranger Things universe when he dies, especially given there are now canonical wormholes to other dimensions -> I'm always entertaining Will pairings and I think there's something to bond with re: traumatized kids, iffy to outright bad dads, and powers, but also they're different enough in personality to not feel like the same people from different canons meshed together.
Luke Skywalker & Vash the StampedeTwo of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy protagonists tied to loose cannon murderous family members who they both love and hate. Also blonds (well, Luke only arguably) who get dismembered by said loose cannon family members. They're similar
enough, but their philosophies are not the same, and I want them to meet and see how that goes.
Nico di Angelo & Piranesi | Matthew Rose SorensonI loved the one fic of them that exists, which is where I got the idea for this nomination - but don't want an exact replica, of course. In particular, I like tying the House's labyrinth to the mythological labyrinth, given Nico's experience with it. The statues as representations of concepts is also something that stuck with me.