Exchange generalities

Hello Creators!

I thought what with the way exchanges have been going lately, with the autoapp providing signup details and such, and the fact that I don't always have time these days to write detailed letters, that it would be a good idea to create a letter that discusses some of the general things I enjoy in exchange fanworks. So this is that - it will probably get revised over time. It might not always be perfectly applicable to every exchange, but hopefully it will still be helpful, and I'll revise as I think of useful stuff.

Starting with what's been my letter boilerplate more or less, for a while:

Generally speaking, I like fanworks that tell me a little bit more about the characters or the world they live in. I am a historian and an anthropology person, so I love to understand how things came to be - I like to ask questions. Sometimes canon gives you little crumbs to follow and you can play connect the dots and fill in the missing picture. Sometimes it doesn't, and it can be fun to take what is known about the canon world and invent whole cloth an explanation that fits those rules. Even canons that are very tight often leave questions hanging about their details, like 'hang on, who is making all these magical weapons' or 'who exactly is paying for this millennia old conflict?' I'm happy to have an exploration of a question that doesn't have a clear resolution.

For any of the ship requests, I'm really interested in the dynamics of relationships - what people are bringing to the table, what do they want to get, what do they want to give, and what happens where the needs and desires of two individuals meet. Do they compliment or conflict? Do they build up or tear down? How do they resolve? I think there are lots of ways of getting at these questions as well, from throwing them into wacky hijinks to see how they execute (or not) a particular caper, to throwing them in bed and seeing what they want when they're there. So, I'm not necessarily looking for any kind of introspection in a story, I just want to know a little more about what makes these people work (or not) as a unit. I know there are some really talented artists out there, as well as writers, and I'm interested to see how these can be conveyed visually as well as textually.

I like stories with plot - with adventure, intrigue, and wacky hijinks/crack. I also like stories that are more focused on character exploration – I don't need action if I have interesting introspection. I like both insider and outsider PoV stuff, and I feel like it is perfectly legit to write a story about a character that isn't from their perspective. I enjoy stories that are very emotionally intense, whether that means they are spilling over with ~feels~ or dark and unrelenting in tone – I enjoy horror, especially psychological horror, but also feel-good fluff and total cracky silliness. I am into both Crueltide and Yuleporn, so if those are your jam, please have at! I'm also open to other sub-challenges, if my requests fit the bill and you're inspired :) I am up for IF and other format shenanigans as well, including poetry.

I like porn, but I do not require it. If you have a preference for or against in whatever you wind up writing, knock yourself out, I will appreciate it. If you include porn, I prefer it to be somehow relevant to the story – either it develops character relationships, or is vital to some zany caper or what have you. I’m not a big fan of pwp, though I think porn can certainly *be* the main action, so to speak, as long as it is showing me something new about characters or their relationship. I'm really hard to squick, so don't be afraid to show me your kinks! More than anything, when it comes (heh) to porn I want to be able to believe that the sex I'm reading is in character for whoever I'm reading about – not necessarily that it is something they want, but that the reactions I'm reading are true to whoever is having them, if that makes any sense. I like power dynamics, negotiation, all levels of consent (enthusiastic consent, ambiguous consent, dubcon, noncon), all kinds of sex (vaginal, anal, oral, intercrural, frottage, clothed, semiclothed, public, whatever!) knifeplay, breathplay, bdsm, blood, loyalty, kissing...a million other things I'm probably not thinking of. Basically, this is me.

I'm okay with any rating for whatever reason they may be rated that way. I like things that are scary and creepy and straight up horrific, but I also like things that a cute or funny or fluffy. I don't need happy endings, but I do enjoy them. If you have different ideas though, lemme have 'em! I like character introspection, I like world building, I like plot. I like porn, but I prefer plot to go with it. Really, go wild! I'm pretty easy to please!

As far as art goes, I should also note that I am interested in a variety of body shapes/sizes/colours, and I am also interested in symbolic representation and stylized art as well as more representational perspectives, as long as the requested characters are in some way identifiable in the piece.

(NOTE this is not applicable to most exchanges but I'll put it here for those that are) If you are a podficer or a podfic team - I'm super excited! I think writing a story you know is destined for an aural medium is a cool challenge, and I know the recording of a podfic can be pretty challenging itself, so major props for offering! In this case, since the canon is also aural I think it is an especially interesting pairing! I am a big fan of podcasted/podficed short fiction, but I don't know if I can give any specific likes/dislikes /o\