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Lovely author, here is my theory about letters: how much detail people want in a letter is HIGHLY variable. Some people (such as myself) prefer if their recip gives LOTS of guidance on their wishes. Some prefer as little as possible so they can be free as a bird. Most are somewhere in between. So! Here's everything including the kitchen sink if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am just not inspired that way."
I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for over a decade and am very rarely disappointed with my gifts. I write long and detailed Dear Author letters because I find such things helpful when I'm writing for other people; if you are like me, here you go! If your style is different and a detailed letter makes you feel hemmed-in, feel free to do what works for you.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks just don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
One thing: I do have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
Please no incest.
The Goblin Emperor
Arranged Marriage, Arranged Royal Marriage, Sedoretu, Class Conflict in Marriage, Getting Married To Avert A War, Interspecies wedding rituals, Marriage As Political Tool, Marriage Contracts, Marriage Contract Negotiations, Marriage for politics, Marrying to secure an heir, Marriage in Order to Produce Heir, Marrying to save your kingdom, Morganatic marriage (the children can't inherit because one spouse is too low-born), Royal Court Reaction to Marriage, Wedding tradition, Worldbuilding through Marriage Ceremony, Arranged Marriage, Marrying to save someone from an arranged political marriage
There's so much depth and richness to this story. I love how hopepunk it is: yes, terrible things have happened, and yes, there are genuinely evil people, and yes, there are people who aren't evil but are nonetheless really awful. And yet, despite it all, good people win. There are people who can be trusted to be good, and kind, and loyal. I love how three-dimensional everyone is, not just the heroes but the villains, too. I love elaborate court politics and AUs that explore what might have happened. I love worldbuilding, particularly stuff that brings in new depth to the characters or the setting.
DDNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
For a sedoretu, you can bring in other characters for the pairings that don't have enough.
Star Wars - Thrawn Trilogy
Couple Getting Married Is Scandalous to Polite Society, happy marriage / domestic, Morganatic marriage (the children can't inherit because one spouse is too low-born), Sedoretu, Have to get married to bring balance to the Force, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, Wedding kicks off massive intrigue with accidental baby acquisition
The thing I love about the Thrawn trilogy is how smart everyone is, and how they never pass around the idiot ball. I love Mara, how she's a bit messed up from the Emperor but even at her worst she's loyal and practical and ethical and competent, and how she's committed to growing and becoming a better person, but she's gonna do it in her own way. I love Lando because he is a deeply pragmatic and principled man (who was right to put the welfare of his citizens above that of a couple of old friends he hadn't seen in years), who will do the right thing even if it's hard, but who does his bit for the Grand Cause when necessary and then goes back to real life. And I love Luke because he is an idealist, because he always sees the good in people, and because he is kind but not stupid or bland. Winter had so much potential as Leia's oldest surviving friend, and it mostly got buried with her as a background character. Han and Leia are awesome, of course, and I'm interested to see how Lando would change their dynamic, and I'm also interested in Han and Lando's history. Do Leia and Lando work together on political negotiations/shenanigans while Han plays house-husband and swoops in with the Falcon when they need backup? Do Han and Lando go off and make shady business deals and come home to Leia with intelligence she can use politically? What's Lando been up to after the Empire was defeated? Did he go back to Cloud City and liberate it? Did he start over and drift back into semi-legal exploits? Did he get a job in the New Republic, in whatever department handles business regulation and the like? You could do curtainfic, or business shenanigans, or Dire Imperial Threat to the New Republic, or Lando and Mara providing much-needed pragmatism and outside perspectives on Luke setting up his Jedi training.
My theory of SW canon is like my theory of comics canon: pick and choose what you like and ignore the rest. You can bring in ST details if you want to, but please no Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, and please don't destroy the New Republic. From the Legends EU, please no Yuuzhan Vong, and I hated the whole "oh, of COURSE Mara couldn't ever really have been with Lando, she doesn't even LIKE him, it was ALL JUST A JOB FROM KARRDE" retcon for like a hundred different reasons.. Any PT or Clone Wars details are fine to include, if you want.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Bail/Breha
Arranged Marriage, Arranged Royal Marriage, betrothed as children, happy marriage / domestic, Political marriage to enemy that turns to love, Marriage As Political Tool, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons
I love what we see of Bail Organa: a deeply principled man, devoted to democracy, who doesn't see the Republic's fall soon enough but dedicates himself to overthrowing the Empire immediately and takes action when everyone else is hesitating. I wish we saw more of Queen Breha, because I imagine she must be a remarkable woman to match Bail and to raise Leia with him so that she turns out to be the incredible person we know and love. I want to see Bail and Breha as a power couple, working together. They can be in love or just really good friends, as long as they're working together to protect Alderaan and save the galaxy.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Black Panther, Nakia/T'Challa
Wedding traditions, Wakandan Wedding Traditions, Visions of Alternate Timeline Where Impossible Marriage Happens/Works Out, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Spouses Awkwardly Reunited After Fraught Separation, Sedoretu, Royal Court Reaction to Marriage, Marriage As Political Tool
I love these two, and I want more of them. They love one another, but they also both have goals and duties that they take very seriously. I love Wakanda, and would be thrilled to see more of it and more worldbuilding about what it's like. Also, I don't like the main Avengers/Cap/Iron Man storyline from Age of Ultron onward, so feel free to either ignore it or retcon it or fix it through time travel.
For a sedoretu AU, you can bring in other characters.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Crossover Pairings, Curzon Dax/Nyota Uhura
Did you know that, between the time of the TOS movies and the beginning of TNG, Nyota Uhura became the head of Starfleet Intelligence? I think that's awesome. If that makes it into the story, great. If not, I think Curzon was probably a character who had a lot of fun, and I think Nyota deserves a lot of fun, too. It's interesting, we think of Curzon as an "old man", but Nyota was older than he was.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Battlestar Galactica
William Adama/Laura Roslin, Tory Foster/Galen Tyrol, Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders/Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Karl "Helo" Agathon/Sharon "Athena" Agathon, Caprica Six/Saul Tigh
Sedoretu, Getting Married to Extend Legal Rights/Protections to Partner, Group Marriage, Mismatched Expectations of Marriage, War marriage, Slice of Married Life During Wartime, Unplanned Pregnancy Triggers Marriage Proposal, Wedding kicks off massive intrigue with accidental baby acquisition, Marriage for politics, Marriage As Political Tool, Amnesia Makes Person Forget Their Marriage
I love this show, but boy howdy do I want people to learn to deal with their shit. They all need so much therapy. If you want to deal with the various traumas, PTSD, anxieties, and other mental health issues most of them have, I would love it, but if that's not your thing that's fine too. Also, I like the shenanigans over Cylon/Human hybrid children, and my headcanon is that the reasons Cylons couldn't procreate biologically is because the Ones were lacing the water supply on Cylon ships with birth control.
When I watched Caprica, and saw that the Colonies had polygamy, I was even more disgusted with the adultery/angst of the Lee/Kara/Sam/Dee foursome. Why didn't they just all get married instead of angsting over who loved who? Of course, a poly marriage requires even more communication than a mono marriage, and they all suck at communication ... if you go that route, some angst is fine but please not too much, and don't let Kara hog the spotlight. (My two favorites in that foursome are Dee and Sam.) You could do interesting stuff on New Caprica with two on the surface and two in orbit, or you could do "dealing with the revelation that half the spouses are cylons," or you could do "how did they negotiate the arrangement to begin with" or any number of other ideas. I love Laura/Bill, how well they work together and how deeply they love one another and how, on the surface, they look like she's the emotional one and he's the stoic one, but when you get right down to it he's the one driven by emotion and she's the one who is able to set her emotions aside and think things through. I think the revelation that Tory and Galen used to be married is incredible, and wish they'd had more time to explore that either what they were like before their memories were wiped and they were dumped in the Colonies, or give them a chance to deal with all the shit after they learn the truth. (An AU where Tory didn't kill Cally would be great--what does Cally think of all this?--and/or an AU where Nicky really is Galen's and thus half-Cylon, but feel free to go with canon if you prefer.) Helo and Sharon are wonderful together, and I love their rock-solid devotion to each other and to Hera and to doing the right thing. Caprica/Tigh was so deliciously fucked up, and yet I was rooting for them to get it together and figure out what to do with each other and with a kid.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Babylon 5
Marcus Cole/Stephen Franklin, Londo Mollari/Timov, Delenn/Neroon, Delenn/Lennier/John Sheridan, Delenn/John Sheridan, Catherine Sakai/Jeffrey Sinclair
Elaborate Courtship - Strange Alien/Supernatural Courtship Rituals, Alien Marriage Traditions, Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Arranged Marriag, Cross-Species Marriage, Formal Courtship and Proposal, established marriage, Getting Married Helps You Advance in Your Caree, War marriage, Getting Married To Avert A War, Marriage for purposes of political diplomacy, Getting Married To Avoid A Diplomatic Incident, Interspecies wedding rituals, Second marriage, Slice of Married Life During Wartime, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Switching places with Alternate Universe Married Counterparts, Couple finds out they're married in an alternate universe, Worldbuilding through Marriage Ceremony, Undercover as Married
I love the worldbuilding, especially Minbari culture. I love the lighthearted teasing and genuine affection between Marcus and Stephen, and how the joke when they went undercover-as-married wasn't "lol gay" but "lol they'd drive each other nuts." (If you write Marcus/Stephen you can do "more of their undercover shenanigans" or you can do an actual marriage between them, either would be awesome.) Timov is my favorite Centauri character, and I deeply regret we didn't see more of her. I consider "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" canon and firmly believe that when Sinclair went into the past and became Valen, he found Catherine again after she was lost in time. And Sheridan doesn't deserve Delenn, but he knows it and she loves him anyway.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Trek DS9
Original Vulcan Character/Original Vulcan Character, Original Vulcan Character/Original Human Character, Kira Nerys/Odo, Jadzia Dax/Worf, Jadzia Dax/Benjamin Sisko, Kira Nerys/Benjamin Sisko
Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Alien Marriage Traditions, Ritual marriage as part of partnership within a religious organization, Desiring a Religious Wedding, Cross-Species Marriage, Interspecies wedding rituals, Marriage As Political Tool, Marriage for politics, Marriage for purposes of political diplomacy, Mismatched Expectations of Marriagr, War marriage, Slice of Married Life During Wartime, Wedding traditions, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Wedding Will Save Dying Character, Xenobiology requires marriage to protect spouse from death/illness
Worldbuilding is my jam, and I love exploring cultural differences, and all of these pairings would give a lot of scope for such things if you're into that. I love Vulcan characters and exploring Vulcan culture, and if that's what we matched on, you don't have to bring in DS9 any more than just having it set in the general era. Or you could have characters serving on that Vulcan ship the DS9 characters played baseball with. Or you could have Vulcan characters where one or both spouses are serving in Starfleet during the Dominion war. I love Pon Farr, but mostly dealing with the implications of it (both before and after) and not the sex part.
For Kira/Odo, I love them both so much together or apart and just want them to be happy together in the end. For Kira/Sisko, I would imagine some really awkward thing because he's the Emissary and needs to marry a Bajoran for some reason, but if you want to go with them falling in love and it causing problems because he's the Emissary, that might be interesting too. Jadzia and Worf are such an interesting odd couple, very different and yet very deeply in love, and I always appreciated seeing them mutually adapt to one another. Jadzia and Benjamin, well, they've always been close, it would be interesting to see them close in a different way.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Trek TNG
Worf/Tasha Yar, Geordi La Forge/Tasha Yar, Ro Laren/William Riker, Ro Laren/Jean-Luc Picard, Guinan/Jean-Luc Picard, Deanna Troi/Worf, Data/Geordi La Forge
Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Aliens Make Them Get Married, Alien Marriage Traditions, Cross-Species Marriage, Interspecies wedding rituals, Later in life marriage, Marrying Late in Life, Mismatched Expectations of Marriage, Puzzling Out the Legality of Time-Travel Marriage. Time travel - trying to get younger self to see future spouse's virtues, Visions of Alternate Timeline Where Impossible Marriage Happens/Works Out, First Time Living Together/Moving In Together After Wedding, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, Time travel - meeting spouse's younger self, Robotic Spouse, Switching places with Alternate Universe Married Counterparts, Couple finds out they're married in an alternate universe, Accidental Travel to an Alternate Universe With an Unexpected Spouse, Undercover as Married
I think Worf and Tasha could have had a really interesting relationship if either of them had had ANY character development in the first few seasons when Tasha was on the show. I think Worf's struggle with his heritage makes it really interesting to think about him in a relationship, because there are always cultural things to negotiate. I think Geordi was another one who didn't get much character development, but he was a great guy who would make a great spouse. I absolutely LOVE Ro Laren, she's such a contrast to the rest of them. Guinan is wonderful, but alas didn't get much chance to move beyond the Magical Negro stereotype. Any or all of these are interesting relationships that could be really fun ways to dive deeper into who these characters are.
As for plot ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious and show them falling in love in between missions, go for it. But if you want to lean into the wacky tropes Star Trek was known for, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want with the time travel and travel to alternate universes and weird missions.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Trek: TOS, Spock/Uhura
Aliens Make Them Get Married, Marriage Allows Character to Keep Spouse Alive, Undercover as Married Couple on Alien Planet While Mutually Pining Openly and Aggressively, Alien Marriage Traditions, Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Interspecies wedding rituals, Cross-Species Marriage, Avoiding arranged marriage by marrying someone else, Character A Proposes Marriage to Save Character B's Life, Marriage as an act of rebellion, marrying to survive, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, Time travel - meeting spouse's younger self, Switching places with Alternate Universe Married Counterparts, Couple finds out they're married in an alternate universe, Accidental Travel to an Alternate Universe With an Unexpected Spouse, Trying to Escape Arranged Engagement
I love alien culture worldbuilding. I love boldly going and exploring and wacky science hijinks and time travel and alternate universe shenanigans. I love the hopeful attitude that we can become better than we are. I love cross-cultural romance (especially when it deals realistically with having to figure out what compromises each is going to make on what they expect out of a relationship--love is not all you need, you also need a lot of hard work and communication). My headcanons about Vulcans were shaped by 80s Trek novels (especially Spock's World and the Rihannsu books by Diane Duane, but also the Vulcan Academy Murders and the IDIC Epidemic by Jean Lorrah). If you know those books, great; if not, don't worry about it. (My meta about Vulcans--and some fics I've written--can be found here, you can incorporate it if you want or go a completely different direction and I will be happy either way. One thing I will point out, though, is that while there are a lot of things about Vulcan culture that seem/are sexist, the most powerful Vulcans we see throughout the series are elderly women. Discuss.) I love both Sarek and Amanda, but Sarek in particular is a terrible Dad and I'd like to know more about Amanda. I love Pon Farr, but mostly dealing with the implications of it (both before and after) and not the sex part.
As for plot ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious and show them falling in love in between missions, go for it. If you want to AU Amok Time, or have Spock going through another Pon Farr later, go for it. And if you want to lean into the wacky tropes Star Trek was known for, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want with the time travel and travel to alternate universes and weird missions.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for over a decade and am very rarely disappointed with my gifts. I write long and detailed Dear Author letters because I find such things helpful when I'm writing for other people; if you are like me, here you go! If your style is different and a detailed letter makes you feel hemmed-in, feel free to do what works for you.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks just don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
One thing: I do have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
Please no incest.
Here are some other things to keep in mind (not all of which will apply to all fandoms): I don't like it when characters of color are pushed aside so that white characters can take center stage. I love the acknowledgment that female strength comes in many forms, of which the kinds put forward by modern western feminism are only a few--and women can be compelling and interesting without being "strong". I like cultural diversity, and to know that culture matters to people, and to see how different cultures interact and where the clashes are. I like quirky characters. I like unreliable narrators. I like acknowledgment that different people can have different points of view without either of them being wrong. I like stories that engage with problematic aspects of the source, and which deal with privilege in one way or another.
I like plotty, gen stories, and plotty stories in general, but I don't like explicit sex, particularly when it's just thrown in for teh porn. I'm asexual; a lot of the time I don't even bother to read the sex scenes. Romance is awesome (as long as both are in character and the romantic plot doesn't hinge on one or both of them being an idiot).
I love outsider perspectives and academic takes on things. In-universe meta (newspaper articles, academic monographs--especially with the sort of snarky feuding common in actual real-world academia, social media feeds in current day or future worlds) is awesome.
I like plotty, gen stories, and plotty stories in general, but I don't like explicit sex, particularly when it's just thrown in for teh porn. I'm asexual; a lot of the time I don't even bother to read the sex scenes. Romance is awesome (as long as both are in character and the romantic plot doesn't hinge on one or both of them being an idiot).
I love outsider perspectives and academic takes on things. In-universe meta (newspaper articles, academic monographs--especially with the sort of snarky feuding common in actual real-world academia, social media feeds in current day or future worlds) is awesome.
The Goblin Emperor
Arranged Marriage, Arranged Royal Marriage, Sedoretu, Class Conflict in Marriage, Getting Married To Avert A War, Interspecies wedding rituals, Marriage As Political Tool, Marriage Contracts, Marriage Contract Negotiations, Marriage for politics, Marrying to secure an heir, Marriage in Order to Produce Heir, Marrying to save your kingdom, Morganatic marriage (the children can't inherit because one spouse is too low-born), Royal Court Reaction to Marriage, Wedding tradition, Worldbuilding through Marriage Ceremony, Arranged Marriage, Marrying to save someone from an arranged political marriage
There's so much depth and richness to this story. I love how hopepunk it is: yes, terrible things have happened, and yes, there are genuinely evil people, and yes, there are people who aren't evil but are nonetheless really awful. And yet, despite it all, good people win. There are people who can be trusted to be good, and kind, and loyal. I love how three-dimensional everyone is, not just the heroes but the villains, too. I love elaborate court politics and AUs that explore what might have happened. I love worldbuilding, particularly stuff that brings in new depth to the characters or the setting.
DDNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
For a sedoretu, you can bring in other characters for the pairings that don't have enough.
Star Wars - Thrawn Trilogy
Couple Getting Married Is Scandalous to Polite Society, happy marriage / domestic, Morganatic marriage (the children can't inherit because one spouse is too low-born), Sedoretu, Have to get married to bring balance to the Force, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, Wedding kicks off massive intrigue with accidental baby acquisition
The thing I love about the Thrawn trilogy is how smart everyone is, and how they never pass around the idiot ball. I love Mara, how she's a bit messed up from the Emperor but even at her worst she's loyal and practical and ethical and competent, and how she's committed to growing and becoming a better person, but she's gonna do it in her own way. I love Lando because he is a deeply pragmatic and principled man (who was right to put the welfare of his citizens above that of a couple of old friends he hadn't seen in years), who will do the right thing even if it's hard, but who does his bit for the Grand Cause when necessary and then goes back to real life. And I love Luke because he is an idealist, because he always sees the good in people, and because he is kind but not stupid or bland. Winter had so much potential as Leia's oldest surviving friend, and it mostly got buried with her as a background character. Han and Leia are awesome, of course, and I'm interested to see how Lando would change their dynamic, and I'm also interested in Han and Lando's history. Do Leia and Lando work together on political negotiations/shenanigans while Han plays house-husband and swoops in with the Falcon when they need backup? Do Han and Lando go off and make shady business deals and come home to Leia with intelligence she can use politically? What's Lando been up to after the Empire was defeated? Did he go back to Cloud City and liberate it? Did he start over and drift back into semi-legal exploits? Did he get a job in the New Republic, in whatever department handles business regulation and the like? You could do curtainfic, or business shenanigans, or Dire Imperial Threat to the New Republic, or Lando and Mara providing much-needed pragmatism and outside perspectives on Luke setting up his Jedi training.
My theory of SW canon is like my theory of comics canon: pick and choose what you like and ignore the rest. You can bring in ST details if you want to, but please no Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, and please don't destroy the New Republic. From the Legends EU, please no Yuuzhan Vong, and I hated the whole "oh, of COURSE Mara couldn't ever really have been with Lando, she doesn't even LIKE him, it was ALL JUST A JOB FROM KARRDE" retcon for like a hundred different reasons.. Any PT or Clone Wars details are fine to include, if you want.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Bail/Breha
Arranged Marriage, Arranged Royal Marriage, betrothed as children, happy marriage / domestic, Political marriage to enemy that turns to love, Marriage As Political Tool, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons
I love what we see of Bail Organa: a deeply principled man, devoted to democracy, who doesn't see the Republic's fall soon enough but dedicates himself to overthrowing the Empire immediately and takes action when everyone else is hesitating. I wish we saw more of Queen Breha, because I imagine she must be a remarkable woman to match Bail and to raise Leia with him so that she turns out to be the incredible person we know and love. I want to see Bail and Breha as a power couple, working together. They can be in love or just really good friends, as long as they're working together to protect Alderaan and save the galaxy.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Black Panther, Nakia/T'Challa
Wedding traditions, Wakandan Wedding Traditions, Visions of Alternate Timeline Where Impossible Marriage Happens/Works Out, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Spouses Awkwardly Reunited After Fraught Separation, Sedoretu, Royal Court Reaction to Marriage, Marriage As Political Tool
I love these two, and I want more of them. They love one another, but they also both have goals and duties that they take very seriously. I love Wakanda, and would be thrilled to see more of it and more worldbuilding about what it's like. Also, I don't like the main Avengers/Cap/Iron Man storyline from Age of Ultron onward, so feel free to either ignore it or retcon it or fix it through time travel.
For a sedoretu AU, you can bring in other characters.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Crossover Pairings, Curzon Dax/Nyota Uhura
Did you know that, between the time of the TOS movies and the beginning of TNG, Nyota Uhura became the head of Starfleet Intelligence? I think that's awesome. If that makes it into the story, great. If not, I think Curzon was probably a character who had a lot of fun, and I think Nyota deserves a lot of fun, too. It's interesting, we think of Curzon as an "old man", but Nyota was older than he was.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Battlestar Galactica
William Adama/Laura Roslin, Tory Foster/Galen Tyrol, Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders/Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Karl "Helo" Agathon/Sharon "Athena" Agathon, Caprica Six/Saul Tigh
Sedoretu, Getting Married to Extend Legal Rights/Protections to Partner, Group Marriage, Mismatched Expectations of Marriage, War marriage, Slice of Married Life During Wartime, Unplanned Pregnancy Triggers Marriage Proposal, Wedding kicks off massive intrigue with accidental baby acquisition, Marriage for politics, Marriage As Political Tool, Amnesia Makes Person Forget Their Marriage
I love this show, but boy howdy do I want people to learn to deal with their shit. They all need so much therapy. If you want to deal with the various traumas, PTSD, anxieties, and other mental health issues most of them have, I would love it, but if that's not your thing that's fine too. Also, I like the shenanigans over Cylon/Human hybrid children, and my headcanon is that the reasons Cylons couldn't procreate biologically is because the Ones were lacing the water supply on Cylon ships with birth control.
When I watched Caprica, and saw that the Colonies had polygamy, I was even more disgusted with the adultery/angst of the Lee/Kara/Sam/Dee foursome. Why didn't they just all get married instead of angsting over who loved who? Of course, a poly marriage requires even more communication than a mono marriage, and they all suck at communication ... if you go that route, some angst is fine but please not too much, and don't let Kara hog the spotlight. (My two favorites in that foursome are Dee and Sam.) You could do interesting stuff on New Caprica with two on the surface and two in orbit, or you could do "dealing with the revelation that half the spouses are cylons," or you could do "how did they negotiate the arrangement to begin with" or any number of other ideas. I love Laura/Bill, how well they work together and how deeply they love one another and how, on the surface, they look like she's the emotional one and he's the stoic one, but when you get right down to it he's the one driven by emotion and she's the one who is able to set her emotions aside and think things through. I think the revelation that Tory and Galen used to be married is incredible, and wish they'd had more time to explore that either what they were like before their memories were wiped and they were dumped in the Colonies, or give them a chance to deal with all the shit after they learn the truth. (An AU where Tory didn't kill Cally would be great--what does Cally think of all this?--and/or an AU where Nicky really is Galen's and thus half-Cylon, but feel free to go with canon if you prefer.) Helo and Sharon are wonderful together, and I love their rock-solid devotion to each other and to Hera and to doing the right thing. Caprica/Tigh was so deliciously fucked up, and yet I was rooting for them to get it together and figure out what to do with each other and with a kid.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Babylon 5
Marcus Cole/Stephen Franklin, Londo Mollari/Timov, Delenn/Neroon, Delenn/Lennier/John Sheridan, Delenn/John Sheridan, Catherine Sakai/Jeffrey Sinclair
Elaborate Courtship - Strange Alien/Supernatural Courtship Rituals, Alien Marriage Traditions, Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Arranged Marriag, Cross-Species Marriage, Formal Courtship and Proposal, established marriage, Getting Married Helps You Advance in Your Caree, War marriage, Getting Married To Avert A War, Marriage for purposes of political diplomacy, Getting Married To Avoid A Diplomatic Incident, Interspecies wedding rituals, Second marriage, Slice of Married Life During Wartime, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Switching places with Alternate Universe Married Counterparts, Couple finds out they're married in an alternate universe, Worldbuilding through Marriage Ceremony, Undercover as Married
I love the worldbuilding, especially Minbari culture. I love the lighthearted teasing and genuine affection between Marcus and Stephen, and how the joke when they went undercover-as-married wasn't "lol gay" but "lol they'd drive each other nuts." (If you write Marcus/Stephen you can do "more of their undercover shenanigans" or you can do an actual marriage between them, either would be awesome.) Timov is my favorite Centauri character, and I deeply regret we didn't see more of her. I consider "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" canon and firmly believe that when Sinclair went into the past and became Valen, he found Catherine again after she was lost in time. And Sheridan doesn't deserve Delenn, but he knows it and she loves him anyway.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Trek DS9
Original Vulcan Character/Original Vulcan Character, Original Vulcan Character/Original Human Character, Kira Nerys/Odo, Jadzia Dax/Worf, Jadzia Dax/Benjamin Sisko, Kira Nerys/Benjamin Sisko
Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Alien Marriage Traditions, Ritual marriage as part of partnership within a religious organization, Desiring a Religious Wedding, Cross-Species Marriage, Interspecies wedding rituals, Marriage As Political Tool, Marriage for politics, Marriage for purposes of political diplomacy, Mismatched Expectations of Marriagr, War marriage, Slice of Married Life During Wartime, Wedding traditions, spouses who are frequently apart for reasons, Wedding Will Save Dying Character, Xenobiology requires marriage to protect spouse from death/illness
Worldbuilding is my jam, and I love exploring cultural differences, and all of these pairings would give a lot of scope for such things if you're into that. I love Vulcan characters and exploring Vulcan culture, and if that's what we matched on, you don't have to bring in DS9 any more than just having it set in the general era. Or you could have characters serving on that Vulcan ship the DS9 characters played baseball with. Or you could have Vulcan characters where one or both spouses are serving in Starfleet during the Dominion war. I love Pon Farr, but mostly dealing with the implications of it (both before and after) and not the sex part.
For Kira/Odo, I love them both so much together or apart and just want them to be happy together in the end. For Kira/Sisko, I would imagine some really awkward thing because he's the Emissary and needs to marry a Bajoran for some reason, but if you want to go with them falling in love and it causing problems because he's the Emissary, that might be interesting too. Jadzia and Worf are such an interesting odd couple, very different and yet very deeply in love, and I always appreciated seeing them mutually adapt to one another. Jadzia and Benjamin, well, they've always been close, it would be interesting to see them close in a different way.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Trek TNG
Worf/Tasha Yar, Geordi La Forge/Tasha Yar, Ro Laren/William Riker, Ro Laren/Jean-Luc Picard, Guinan/Jean-Luc Picard, Deanna Troi/Worf, Data/Geordi La Forge
Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Aliens Make Them Get Married, Alien Marriage Traditions, Cross-Species Marriage, Interspecies wedding rituals, Later in life marriage, Marrying Late in Life, Mismatched Expectations of Marriage, Puzzling Out the Legality of Time-Travel Marriage. Time travel - trying to get younger self to see future spouse's virtues, Visions of Alternate Timeline Where Impossible Marriage Happens/Works Out, First Time Living Together/Moving In Together After Wedding, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, Time travel - meeting spouse's younger self, Robotic Spouse, Switching places with Alternate Universe Married Counterparts, Couple finds out they're married in an alternate universe, Accidental Travel to an Alternate Universe With an Unexpected Spouse, Undercover as Married
I think Worf and Tasha could have had a really interesting relationship if either of them had had ANY character development in the first few seasons when Tasha was on the show. I think Worf's struggle with his heritage makes it really interesting to think about him in a relationship, because there are always cultural things to negotiate. I think Geordi was another one who didn't get much character development, but he was a great guy who would make a great spouse. I absolutely LOVE Ro Laren, she's such a contrast to the rest of them. Guinan is wonderful, but alas didn't get much chance to move beyond the Magical Negro stereotype. Any or all of these are interesting relationships that could be really fun ways to dive deeper into who these characters are.
As for plot ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious and show them falling in love in between missions, go for it. But if you want to lean into the wacky tropes Star Trek was known for, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want with the time travel and travel to alternate universes and weird missions.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
Star Trek: TOS, Spock/Uhura
Aliens Make Them Get Married, Marriage Allows Character to Keep Spouse Alive, Undercover as Married Couple on Alien Planet While Mutually Pining Openly and Aggressively, Alien Marriage Traditions, Alien Cultural Differences Over Marriage, Interspecies wedding rituals, Cross-Species Marriage, Avoiding arranged marriage by marrying someone else, Character A Proposes Marriage to Save Character B's Life, Marriage as an act of rebellion, marrying to survive, Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married, Time travel - meeting spouse's younger self, Switching places with Alternate Universe Married Counterparts, Couple finds out they're married in an alternate universe, Accidental Travel to an Alternate Universe With an Unexpected Spouse, Trying to Escape Arranged Engagement
I love alien culture worldbuilding. I love boldly going and exploring and wacky science hijinks and time travel and alternate universe shenanigans. I love the hopeful attitude that we can become better than we are. I love cross-cultural romance (especially when it deals realistically with having to figure out what compromises each is going to make on what they expect out of a relationship--love is not all you need, you also need a lot of hard work and communication). My headcanons about Vulcans were shaped by 80s Trek novels (especially Spock's World and the Rihannsu books by Diane Duane, but also the Vulcan Academy Murders and the IDIC Epidemic by Jean Lorrah). If you know those books, great; if not, don't worry about it. (My meta about Vulcans--and some fics I've written--can be found here, you can incorporate it if you want or go a completely different direction and I will be happy either way. One thing I will point out, though, is that while there are a lot of things about Vulcan culture that seem/are sexist, the most powerful Vulcans we see throughout the series are elderly women. Discuss.) I love both Sarek and Amanda, but Sarek in particular is a terrible Dad and I'd like to know more about Amanda. I love Pon Farr, but mostly dealing with the implications of it (both before and after) and not the sex part.
As for plot ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious and show them falling in love in between missions, go for it. If you want to AU Amok Time, or have Spock going through another Pon Farr later, go for it. And if you want to lean into the wacky tropes Star Trek was known for, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want with the time travel and travel to alternate universes and weird missions.
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrasment/humiliation, modern AUs, darkfic
