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Feb. 1st, 2012 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonislandDear Rare Women Fic Exchange writer,
First, everything in this letter is optional! If you already have something very clearly in mind, you can skip reading it and I'm sure it'll be fine; I didn't request anyone I don't want to read about. This got kind of long because I have a tendency to ramble and I've never done a fic exchange before, so I erred on the side of overinforming and I didn't have any other letters to point to, but please don't feel you have to read this. I started with general likes and dislikes, and then have thoughts about each of the fandoms in sections with bold headers, so you can skim if you'd rather.
Second, I'd like to mention that as far as ships I like go, I am absolutely okay with close friendship instead of a romantic relationship for any of them, so if you would really rather not, please don't force yourself to write the ship.
I'm okay with gen, het, femslash, or poly relationships--I tend to prefer fic with romance (especially first-time/beginning relationship) to fic without, but I do enjoy genfic as well. (Also, if you'd like to include background slash, that's also completely fine with me.) I prefer happy fic to sad fic, although I'm all right with the characters having to work hard to get to that happiness. Any rating is fine, although for this exchange I'd prefer plot or at least context for porn. I've given prompts for canon-based settings, but I have a definite fondness for AUs of all flavors (fairy-tale/fantasy! steampunk! high school/university! science fiction! etc.), so if you get an idea for one of those that is completely fine. I'm also fond of most other fannish clichés.
Other things I like, if you'd like to include them: pining/UST that gets resolved! banter! fic told partly or entirely through letters/e-mails/etc! a sense that the story is taking place in a larger world! people having friendships and interests totally unrelated to their romantic relationships! people appreciating other people's awesomeness (either in a "wow, you're awesome" way or a "you're awesome and that's really hot" way)! family-by-choice! ridiculously fluffy fic about birthdays/holidays/etc.!
I would very strongly prefer not to have my fic include any of the following: non-con; characters under the age of 18 having sex (mentions of it are okay, but I would prefer it not be shown); -isms and other institutionalized prejudices as a focal point (they might be difficult to avoid entirely if you're writing Sif or Peggy Carter, and probably would be difficult to avoid entirely if you're writing Irene Adler and/or Mary Morstan Watson, though please don't take "might" and "probably would" as requirements on my part--if you'd like to write a story about any of those women without -isms etc. cropping up then I'd like to read it); abusive relationships, especially emotionally-abusive relationships; character bashing (characters disliking other characters is okay, but I'd prefer it to be clearly their own dislike and not the narrative's).
The only triggers I'm aware of having are focus on the fact that a sympathetic character is helpless against the system (e.g. doesn't have legal rights because of gender/age/race/etc., or would not be believed when explaining a problem because they are/are perceived to be unimportant or unreliable or because the person they're accusing of whatever is too powerful/well-respected--sorry if that's still unclear, if you're worried about hitting this for any reason you can ask![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_ragnell and she'll probably be able to help explain in more detail) and involuntary commitment to mental institutions. I don't really expect either of these to come up, especially the latter, but I wanted to mention them just in case. Obviously if it’s at all possible for you to avoid these, please please do.
Requested Fandom #1: Avengers filmverse:
Although I'd especially like fic about Darcy or Natasha (or Darcy and Natasha), anything about any of the women I requested (or any of the others) would be totally fine with me. I should probably note that I haven't actually been able to see Captain America: the First Avenger yet, but I've read detailed summaries and a lot of fic and can say with some confidence that Peggy Carter sounds pretty excellent and I will therefore love anything you want to write about her despite my own ignorance.
I would love to read fic exploring Natasha-as-SHIELD-agent instead of/as well as Natasha-as-Avenger, either before or after IM2. (Obviously if it's before/during IM2 Natasha-as-Avenger wouldn't be relevant.) If you'd like to incorporate some of her comics backstory, relationships, or adventures, that would be marvelous; if you'd rather make backstory, relationships, and/or adventures up (or you're not familiar with the comics), that would also be completely okay. (I've only very recently gotten into Marvel, so please don't feel that you have to include comics references, as I'm not guaranteed to get them (still wandering through fifty-odd years of canon, here, and I keep getting distracted by cameos and hunting down entirely different titles) and I certainly won't judge you for not including them.) I ship her pretty hard with Pepper, but am open to other pairings/3+somes as well.
Darcy! I'd particularly like to see either of the following: backstory/character study, especially something exploring how and why she--as a political science major--ended up as the only intern for a physicist; or fic about her trying to deal with the normal world post-movie (maybe trying to discuss her internship with her advisor without giving away classified information? struggling to deal with the last semester(s) of school before she can go do Awesome Stuff?). That said, fic about Darcy and the Avengers (and/or the Asgardians) is also completely welcome. As far as relationships go: I really like the idea of her having a crush on Jane, but that's optional; exploring her potential interactions with Phil Coulson, either in a mentor-y/friendshippy way or a shippy way, would be great (they both like tasers! and are completely unfazed by Weird Things Happening!); Darcy/Sif is definitely something I'd like to see more of, although the internet has also sold me on Darcy/Clint and I'm open to Darcy/pretty much anyone; and I have a particular soft spot for Darcy&Steve friendship. Or Darcy& or /Loki, if you'd rather go a crackier route (or non-cracky, if you feel like it).
Miscellaneous prompts for the other ladies: I think it's been at least strongly implied that the writers intend to introduce Peggy's…great-niece?…Sharon to the filmverse; post-movie fic about Peggy and her family is something I definitely feel there can always be more of (this'd be Peggy/Steve, obviously, but Peggy/someone else after he "died" is something I'd very much like as well: I don't want her to have lost The Only Person She'd Ever Love). Something exploring Jane and why she ended up falling for Thor when a lot of women probably would have been, um, alarmed by his archaic behavior--especially since, as a woman in a male-dominated field, Jane has probably had a lot of issues caused by old-fashioned guys. Sif having Awesome Adventures, either in other realms or on Earth (open to pretty much any Sif ships except Sif/Thor).
Requested Fandom #2: Sherlock Holmes [2009]:
Really, I particularly want Irene/Mary and Excellent Adventures. Irene having Adventures on her own is also acceptable but less what I want. I haven't gotten around to seeing Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows yet (you may be noticing a trend here related to me and recent films) so if you'd like to ignore it completely that's fine with me, if not, there is one particular thing I'd like addressed (which is a spoiler, so highlight to read or click here to skip). I strongly disapprove of Irene being killed and would welcome fic where she managed not to be (either she deliberately faked her death, or the poison wasn't as effective as intended).
I'm quite fond of the idea that Mary's reason for turning to Adventures In Crime (or not in crime) with Irene is related to the fact that Watson drops everything for Holmes on a minute's notice and by God Mary deserves to be the focus of someone's attention (and meanwhile--at least in the filmverse--Irene has unrequited feelings for Holmes, so there's sort of a nice parallel there). You don't have to start at the beginning, though; I'd be perfectly happy with established partnership and even though I prefer beginning romantic relationships you could (assuming you are writing femslash) do that as established as well.
I know very little about the Victorian and Edwardian eras--which is why this is the only fandom I've requested that I didn't also offer to write--so historical accuracy is not, um, strictly required even if you decide to keep it precisely settled in the canon world. (To be fair, I have heard the films weren't the world's most historically accurate things either.) Additionally, I'm from the US, so as long as you avoid blatant Americanisms I probably won't notice if you can't find someone to Britpick.
If there's anything specific you're wondering about with regards to the fic you're writing,lady_ragnell is a close friend of mine and is acquainted with a lot of my thoughts about fandom, ladies, fic tropes I like, etc. etc., and I have her permission to refer you to her. Please don't feel you have to check about anything; I'm just providing the reference because I know I tend to fret about these things myself. If you would rather ask me directly, and if that's permitted, I have anon comments enabled and I'd be happy to answer you.
(If none of these three fandoms/none of these women turns out to be what/who you want to write about after all, my sign-up form is here and I offered to write in nearly every source on there I'm fannish about, with the other exceptions of Suits and Stargate SG-1 (because I know nothing at all about legal practice/the US military); anything about any of the women in those sources+the two I mentioned here, whether or not I signed up for that particular woman--signups were based on my confidence in my ability to write them, not in how much I like them--, would also be fine with me!)
Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to reading whatever you write. ♥
First, everything in this letter is optional! If you already have something very clearly in mind, you can skip reading it and I'm sure it'll be fine; I didn't request anyone I don't want to read about. This got kind of long because I have a tendency to ramble and I've never done a fic exchange before, so I erred on the side of overinforming and I didn't have any other letters to point to, but please don't feel you have to read this. I started with general likes and dislikes, and then have thoughts about each of the fandoms in sections with bold headers, so you can skim if you'd rather.
Second, I'd like to mention that as far as ships I like go, I am absolutely okay with close friendship instead of a romantic relationship for any of them, so if you would really rather not, please don't force yourself to write the ship.
I'm okay with gen, het, femslash, or poly relationships--I tend to prefer fic with romance (especially first-time/beginning relationship) to fic without, but I do enjoy genfic as well. (Also, if you'd like to include background slash, that's also completely fine with me.) I prefer happy fic to sad fic, although I'm all right with the characters having to work hard to get to that happiness. Any rating is fine, although for this exchange I'd prefer plot or at least context for porn. I've given prompts for canon-based settings, but I have a definite fondness for AUs of all flavors (fairy-tale/fantasy! steampunk! high school/university! science fiction! etc.), so if you get an idea for one of those that is completely fine. I'm also fond of most other fannish clichés.
Other things I like, if you'd like to include them: pining/UST that gets resolved! banter! fic told partly or entirely through letters/e-mails/etc! a sense that the story is taking place in a larger world! people having friendships and interests totally unrelated to their romantic relationships! people appreciating other people's awesomeness (either in a "wow, you're awesome" way or a "you're awesome and that's really hot" way)! family-by-choice! ridiculously fluffy fic about birthdays/holidays/etc.!
I would very strongly prefer not to have my fic include any of the following: non-con; characters under the age of 18 having sex (mentions of it are okay, but I would prefer it not be shown); -isms and other institutionalized prejudices as a focal point (they might be difficult to avoid entirely if you're writing Sif or Peggy Carter, and probably would be difficult to avoid entirely if you're writing Irene Adler and/or Mary Morstan Watson, though please don't take "might" and "probably would" as requirements on my part--if you'd like to write a story about any of those women without -isms etc. cropping up then I'd like to read it); abusive relationships, especially emotionally-abusive relationships; character bashing (characters disliking other characters is okay, but I'd prefer it to be clearly their own dislike and not the narrative's).
The only triggers I'm aware of having are focus on the fact that a sympathetic character is helpless against the system (e.g. doesn't have legal rights because of gender/age/race/etc., or would not be believed when explaining a problem because they are/are perceived to be unimportant or unreliable or because the person they're accusing of whatever is too powerful/well-respected--sorry if that's still unclear, if you're worried about hitting this for any reason you can ask
lady_ragnell and she'll probably be able to help explain in more detail) and involuntary commitment to mental institutions. I don't really expect either of these to come up, especially the latter, but I wanted to mention them just in case. Obviously if it’s at all possible for you to avoid these, please please do.Requested Fandom #1: Avengers filmverse:
Although I'd especially like fic about Darcy or Natasha (or Darcy and Natasha), anything about any of the women I requested (or any of the others) would be totally fine with me. I should probably note that I haven't actually been able to see Captain America: the First Avenger yet, but I've read detailed summaries and a lot of fic and can say with some confidence that Peggy Carter sounds pretty excellent and I will therefore love anything you want to write about her despite my own ignorance.
I would love to read fic exploring Natasha-as-SHIELD-agent instead of/as well as Natasha-as-Avenger, either before or after IM2. (Obviously if it's before/during IM2 Natasha-as-Avenger wouldn't be relevant.) If you'd like to incorporate some of her comics backstory, relationships, or adventures, that would be marvelous; if you'd rather make backstory, relationships, and/or adventures up (or you're not familiar with the comics), that would also be completely okay. (I've only very recently gotten into Marvel, so please don't feel that you have to include comics references, as I'm not guaranteed to get them (still wandering through fifty-odd years of canon, here, and I keep getting distracted by cameos and hunting down entirely different titles) and I certainly won't judge you for not including them.) I ship her pretty hard with Pepper, but am open to other pairings/3+somes as well.
Darcy! I'd particularly like to see either of the following: backstory/character study, especially something exploring how and why she--as a political science major--ended up as the only intern for a physicist; or fic about her trying to deal with the normal world post-movie (maybe trying to discuss her internship with her advisor without giving away classified information? struggling to deal with the last semester(s) of school before she can go do Awesome Stuff?). That said, fic about Darcy and the Avengers (and/or the Asgardians) is also completely welcome. As far as relationships go: I really like the idea of her having a crush on Jane, but that's optional; exploring her potential interactions with Phil Coulson, either in a mentor-y/friendshippy way or a shippy way, would be great (they both like tasers! and are completely unfazed by Weird Things Happening!); Darcy/Sif is definitely something I'd like to see more of, although the internet has also sold me on Darcy/Clint and I'm open to Darcy/pretty much anyone; and I have a particular soft spot for Darcy&Steve friendship. Or Darcy& or /Loki, if you'd rather go a crackier route (or non-cracky, if you feel like it).
Miscellaneous prompts for the other ladies: I think it's been at least strongly implied that the writers intend to introduce Peggy's…great-niece?…Sharon to the filmverse; post-movie fic about Peggy and her family is something I definitely feel there can always be more of (this'd be Peggy/Steve, obviously, but Peggy/someone else after he "died" is something I'd very much like as well: I don't want her to have lost The Only Person She'd Ever Love). Something exploring Jane and why she ended up falling for Thor when a lot of women probably would have been, um, alarmed by his archaic behavior--especially since, as a woman in a male-dominated field, Jane has probably had a lot of issues caused by old-fashioned guys. Sif having Awesome Adventures, either in other realms or on Earth (open to pretty much any Sif ships except Sif/Thor).
Requested Fandom #2: Sherlock Holmes [2009]:
Really, I particularly want Irene/Mary and Excellent Adventures. Irene having Adventures on her own is also acceptable but less what I want. I haven't gotten around to seeing Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows yet (you may be noticing a trend here related to me and recent films) so if you'd like to ignore it completely that's fine with me, if not, there is one particular thing I'd like addressed (which is a spoiler, so highlight to read or click here to skip). I strongly disapprove of Irene being killed and would welcome fic where she managed not to be (either she deliberately faked her death, or the poison wasn't as effective as intended).
I'm quite fond of the idea that Mary's reason for turning to Adventures In Crime (or not in crime) with Irene is related to the fact that Watson drops everything for Holmes on a minute's notice and by God Mary deserves to be the focus of someone's attention (and meanwhile--at least in the filmverse--Irene has unrequited feelings for Holmes, so there's sort of a nice parallel there). You don't have to start at the beginning, though; I'd be perfectly happy with established partnership and even though I prefer beginning romantic relationships you could (assuming you are writing femslash) do that as established as well.
I know very little about the Victorian and Edwardian eras--which is why this is the only fandom I've requested that I didn't also offer to write--so historical accuracy is not, um, strictly required even if you decide to keep it precisely settled in the canon world. (To be fair, I have heard the films weren't the world's most historically accurate things either.) Additionally, I'm from the US, so as long as you avoid blatant Americanisms I probably won't notice if you can't find someone to Britpick.
If there's anything specific you're wondering about with regards to the fic you're writing,
lady_ragnell is a close friend of mine and is acquainted with a lot of my thoughts about fandom, ladies, fic tropes I like, etc. etc., and I have her permission to refer you to her. Please don't feel you have to check about anything; I'm just providing the reference because I know I tend to fret about these things myself. If you would rather ask me directly, and if that's permitted, I have anon comments enabled and I'd be happy to answer you.(If none of these three fandoms/none of these women turns out to be what/who you want to write about after all, my sign-up form is here and I offered to write in nearly every source on there I'm fannish about, with the other exceptions of Suits and Stargate SG-1 (because I know nothing at all about legal practice/the US military); anything about any of the women in those sources+the two I mentioned here, whether or not I signed up for that particular woman--signups were based on my confidence in my ability to write them, not in how much I like them--, would also be fine with me!)
Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to reading whatever you write. ♥
