straightforwardly | Original Works Exchange 2018 Letter

Dear Writer,

I’m very excited for this exchange, and I hope you are too! In this letter, I’ve tried to give a clear overview of my likes, dislikes, and general wishes. Hopefully there’s something here that inspires you! Feel free to take anything and run with it, whether it’s one of the likes off of my list, one of my prompts, or something inspired by but not directly related to my letter—I’m pretty easy to please overall.

A general note: I stuck with the “General Audiences” rating on all of my requests because I’m usually not much interested in PWPs and wanted to avoid a clash of interests, but I do want to note here that I would still be up for the inclusion of smut! I just wouldn’t want that to be the entirety of what I receive.

AO3: straightforwardly

General Likes

exploring the relationships between characters.
characters in a ship treating one another as equals.
quiet / subtle / low-key romances.
hand-holding, casual touching, any focus on hands.
dysfunctional or otherwise complicated relationships, especially if the people involved genuinely care about one another.
worldbuilding.
emotional hurt/comfort.
trapped together / huddling for warmth scenarios.
winter/autumn settings and atmosphere.
enemies (reluctantly/forced to/willingly) working together, enemies becoming friends, enemies becoming lovers.
any time-related shenanigans: time travel, time loops, peggy sue, etc.
castles, shrines, abandoned ruins, dark forests, places with a deep sense of atmosphere and/or history.
unusual formats (e.g., epistolary, interactive fiction, non-linear storytelling, etc.)

Do Not Wants

eye injuries.
zombies / any of the rotting undead.
hopeless endings / unrequested permanent character death (of the requested characters).
detailed descriptions of/focus on pregnancy, childbirth, non-political weddings, and non-political marriages.
kid!fic / anything to do with the next generation.
cannibalism / anything being eaten alive
characters being walked in on/discovered while having sex.

Queen Sister/Brother Who Put Her On The Throne
Additional Tags: Fantasy

I was ridiculously excited when I opened up the tagset and saw that someone actually nominated this one before me!

I requested art for this pairing during the last round of Chocolate Box, and although I’m mainly looking for fic for this exchange, I think the prompts I gave for them back then do give a good picture of what I’d be interested in for these two: I’d also really be into loyalty kink for Queen Sister/Brother Who Put Her On The Throne. The brother kneeling to her, hand-kissing, returning to her blood-splattered and victorious, crowning her (with a blood-stained crown)—again, anything along those lines would be excellent.

How does the Brother Who Put Her On The Throne manage it? My first thought was militarily/by force, as the above prompts might suggest, but maybe he goes the diplomatic/manipulative route? Is the Queen Sister the rightful heir or were there people he had to get out of the way first? Did he have his own claim to the throne that he waived away? Is his dedication to her cause something that’s normal and expected—maybe all rulers are supposed to have someone who champions their claim?—or is it something completely out of the ordinary and no one can quite understand why he fights so hard on her behalf? Maybe they’re a part of a horde of siblings or a family that has a long history of treachery and backstabbing—which makes their ironclad loyalty to one another all the more unexpected.

King Brother/Co-Ruler in All But Name Sister
Additional Tags: Fantasy

Anything with a codependent and/or us-against-the-world vibe, however you might define that, would delight me. Also, competency! Competent incestuous royals who are loyal to one another is something that I am eternally weak for. ♥

Maybe someone at court underestimates the Co-Ruler In All But Name Sister and only realizes their mistake when it’s too late to save themselves? Any outsider POV on their relationship from people who don’t know—members of the court, diplomats, etc.—would be a delight, especially if they get things wrong!

For something more focused on the King Brother and Co-Ruler In All But Name Sister themselves, maybe something about failed assassination attempts and the aftermath? Or something about the two of them working together using each of their particular skillsets to take down their enemies? Fantasy politics are always, always appreciated. As is sex on a throne.

Vampire Sister/Vampire Hunter Brother // Vampire Brother/Vampire Hunter Sister
Additional Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Getting Together, Regency

I’m putting these under the same heading because I mostly want the same things for them both. Which is: loving siblings turned enemies-who-still-care-about-each-other-despite-themselves! Maybe they were two halves of a vampire-hunting pair, before the Vampire Sibling was turned? Though I’m up for other backstories for them as well! The only thing I don’t want to see in that regard is the Vampire Siblings having been turned as a part of someone’s revenge against the Vampire Hunter Sibling—especially if you’re writing the Vampire Sister/Vampire Hunter Brother.

Maybe they’re caught up in a cat-and-mouse game where they keep hunting each other down and fight, but neither of them can bring themselves to actually kill each other. Maybe the Vampire Hunter Sibling has a lot of guilt about how they should kill their sibling/how their inability to kill their siblings is costing lives. I am also always, always up for blood kink! Especially if it’s the Vampire Hunter Brother who’s uncomfortably/guiltily getting off to the sight of his Vampire Sister drinking from her victims/her mouth smeared with blood.

Or maybe they end up stranded / trapped together somewhere and have to rely on one another like they used to to get out of there? Maybe the Vampire Sibling needs blood for some reason and the Vampire Hunter Sibling lets them feed on them? Anything about them teaming up against a common enemy and all the complicated feelings working together might bring would also be amazing.

I’d also love to see settings other than the modern day for this one, if you’re up for it! I’m particularly fond of fantasy universes, historical settings (I’d like any pre-World War One settings, though I’m especially fond of the 19th century—Russia, France, Japan, anywhere that isn’t North America, really—and the 13th/14th/15th centuries in non-European regions) and post-apocalyptic settings. Please don’t write me anything set in outer space, though. I also like my vampires to be of the literal blood-sucking variety—please no energy vampires or anything along those lines. When it comes to vampires, I’m here for the blood, biting, and necks.

Heian-Era Noble Brother/Heian-Era Noble Sister
Additional Tags: Getting Together

This request was 100% inspired by my reading Ivan Morris’ The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan, and, specifically, by this section where he’s talking about something from The Tale of Genji:

Prince Niou, for instance, has never been allowed to converse with his own sister, the Princess of the First Order, except through curtains or from behind a screen; he desperately wishes that he could have a proper look at the girl—and indeed the forced separation makes him regard her with something more than brotherly interest.

—Which, of course, immediately made me start craving incest. (And also made me want to read the Tale of Genji, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet.) Just: Two siblings who have never seen one another, but are mutually fascinated by one another. A lifetime of missed connections, and then—they finally meet. There’s so much delicious potential there.

I’m very fond of the Heian-era—the rituals, the poetry, the clothing, the focus on nature, all of it—and would love to see some or any of those elements included in the story. I’m also always up for supernatural elements being included, if your inspiration tends in that direction! I especially love ghosts and kitsune, but I’d be delighted with anything from Japanese folklore.