Dear RarelyWritten Author

[calliatra]

Dear RarelyWritten Author,

Hi! It’s so nice to (virtually) meet you! Thank you so much for taking the time to write something for me. I hope you have fun!

I’ve written character/fandom-specific prompts for each of my requests, but please don’t feel constricted by them. They’re just there to offer you some inspiration, in case you need or want it. If there’s a different idea you’d like to write, by all means go for it – as long as you avoid my DNWs, I’m sure I’ll love it!

Some general things that didn’t quite fit into the Likes/DNWs dichotomy:

• I like first person POV. Not necessarily more than I like third person POV, but in case you like to write in first person and were hesitant because some people don’t enjoy that: Don’t worry, I do!
• I like AUs, too. So if that’s where your muse wants to go, you have my official permission to take the fic there. (Just no A/B/O ‘verse, please, and no fusions with other fandoms, unless you’re absolutely sure I’m familiar with them.)
• I prefer camaraderie among women to rivalry, but I don’t object to rivalry categorically, especially if there’s a good reason and/or a canon background for it.
• Reading my prompts, you’ll notice that there are a lot of “Five Times” ones. That’s not, in fact, because I’m completely obsessed with that style – so don’t feel you have to write a “Five Times” fic to make me happy! – but because I find it a very convenient format for simple, open-ended ideas. If you like one of the prompts, but not the “Five Times” part, feel free to disregard it!

Lastly, I’d like to offer a general prompt that you can interpret any way you wish and use for any character or fandom, if you feel like it: Lipstick.

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Do Not Want

These things really aren’t my kind of thing, and I’d rather they didn’t appear in any fic I’m reading. (Though that doesn’t mean I object to them on principle. I really don’t, with most of them.)

• character death
• unhappy endings
• excessive angst
• gore/graphic violence
• humiliation or serious embarrassment (seriously, I have such an embarrassment squick, please spare me)
• an imbalance of power in romantic relationships (anything from teacher/student to D/s)
• cheating (on a romantic partner)
• the concept of “one true love”
• PWP
• non-canon ships (unless you know definitely that I ship or at least don’t mind them)
• pure navel-gazing
• pregnancy and kidfic
• crack!fic
• quite a lot of kinks (I know that’s very unspecific, but I’m easily squicked, so you’re best off not including any kinks at all.)
• bashing female characters
• racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism (unless the narrative makes it clear that that’s not cool)

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Likes

• interactions between characters and closer looks at the dynamics of their relationship(s). Can be gen or shippy, I adore it either way, especially between characters who are at least to some degree fond of each other.
• subtlety. I love it when I have to read a fic twice to really understand everything that was going on and everything that was implied.
• atmosphere! Set up one that envelops me and transports me to the world and feel of the fic, and I’ll love you forever.
• humor, especially wordplay and language-based humor. It’s not that I want only comedy; I very much enjoy serious stories as well, but my favorite ones tend to have at least a dash of humor here and there.
• Getting Together/“First Time” fics. Possibly my favorite thing in the world. I just really love that moment when all that tension finally gets resolved, and all the various ways that can happen.
• friends-to-lovers/slow burn relationships. I tend to ship what I ship because the characters like each other a lot already, and I like the way they like each other. And want more of it. (As a result, I’m not a big fan of AUs where the characters skip from first meeting to romance almost immediately – erasing their original relationship pretty much takes away the thing I loved about them in the first place.)
• explorations of queer themes. I really love seeing queerness from the POV of different characters, in different times throughout history, and/or in other universes. (Though I have to say, I prefer these kinds of stories to be written by people who are queer themselves, so if you’re not, maybe go with something else.)
• a deliberate use of language. I have a definite weakness for a somewhat poetic style of writing (if it suits the theme and the characters of a story), but I also love the clear prose of more plotty, or subject-oriented fic. I just… language. <3

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Prompts

Agent Carter:

Peggy Carter:

• What was her work at the SSR like before the hunt for Howard Stark?
• Five Ways She Got Out of a Tight Spot

Angie Martinelli:

• A normal shift at the restaurant turns out slightly more eventful than usual.
• Five Auditions that Didn’t Work Out

If you’re inclined to write a fic about both of them, I’d love that! I adore both Peggy&Angie friendship and Peggy/Angie femslash. Some extra prompts:

• Five Times Angie Tried to Get Closer to Peggy
• Five Lies Peggy told Angie
• Lipstick (Yes, I’m repeating that prompt here because that’s how much I love Peggy’s lipstick, both her usual bright red and the knockout stuff.)
• Post-Season 1: So Peggy and Angie are living together now! How does that work out for them? 

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Cabin Pressure:

Carolyn Knapp-Shappey:

• How did her friendship with Douglas and/or Martin develop?
• Humorous hijinks occur! As they so often do at MJN/OJS. Only this time, Carolyn has the main role.
• Carolyn worked as a stewardess in the mid- to late Sixties. What experiences did she have?

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Community:

Vicki, Rachel, Carol:

• How did they experience the “big adventures” at Greendale, e.g. Paintball or The Floor Is Lava?
• What are their own adventures at Greendale? Small sub-prompts:            

               - English/Literature class
               - Paperwork
               - Gnomes

Britta:

• Something she consciously decides to do on her own.
• Britta/OFC: She never wanted to be a stereotype.
• Five Times She Really Knew What She Was Talking About

Shirley:

• Five Times Shirley Saved the Day
• Her high school days: What were they like? What was she like?
• Shirley bakes something. It has a deeper meaning. (Bonus points for including a real recipe!)

If you want to write about more than one of them, please do! Feel free to merge their stories, or just create a completely new one.

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Downton Abbey

Violet Crawley:

• Five Moments of Friendship with Isobel Crawley.
• Five Secret Kindnesses
• Five Things Modernity Has Brought That She Will/Won’t Admit to Liking

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MASH (TV)

Ginger Bayliss:

• How did she end up with the 4077?
• Five Times She Took Charge of a Situation
• Five Moments of Unexpected Joy in Korea

Margaret Houlihan:

• Margaret as a little girl
• Five Times She Realized She Was Loved (not necessarily romantically)
• Five Times She Proved Herself

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Star Trek: The Original Series

Nyota Uhura, Christine Chapel, Janice Rand:

• What does a workday look like from her/their POV? How does she approach her duties and her colleagues?
• Five Things That Weren’t in Her Job Description

If you want to write any or all of them interacting with each other, I’d love that! Friendship or femslash (especially Chapel/Uhura) are both fun. Some extra prompts:

• A (not-so-voluntary?) sleepover
• Five Times They Were There for Each Other
• Waiting for Someone Else to Save the Day (Gets Really Old After a While)