Dear Mistletoe Exchange 2021 Author

[sultrybutdamaged]

Thank you so much in advance for my gift! I am really looking forward to what you write.


My general likes and dislikes:

Likes:

• Platonic relationships, including family (especially siblings), found family and friendships. I like these as much as romantic relationships, and in romantic stories I still like to see the characters’ other relationships be treated as important


• Tropes! My favorites are friends to lovers, rivals/enemies to lovers, Only One Bed, and Fake Dating, but I like all of them. Same with AUs, I like canon but I also like AUs


• Angst with a happy ending. I love h/c, especially emotional h/c. I also like slice-of-life stories that balance the brighter and darker sides of the characters and worlds


• Queer character interpretations. Even for my m/f couples, I usually headcanon someone as some type of queer. If you are comfortable (but no pressure!) I especially like interpretations of characters on the ace/aro spectrums, non-sexual intimacy and queerplatonic relationships. I really like stories where characters figure out relationships that work for them, whether or not those fit social (and fandom) expectations of what a “ship” should look like. I like polyamorous relationships or open relationships, again only if you are comfortable with that


• I am comfortable with fics rated up to M, and if you do go with something spicier, I like exploring power dynamics in sexual situations, especially if the character who is more powerful in other situations is the more submissive one in sexual situations

Dislikes:

• Jealousy/Cheating. I really, really dislike plot beats that depend on jealousy or any kind of cheating, including emotional cheating. I don’t like stories where a character leaves Person A to immediately get together with Person B. Obviously I am not counting consensual polyamory here, since I love that


• Character/Ship Bashing. I usually like most of the characters in my fandoms, even if I have favorites, and I am a multi-shipper. So please no using one character or ship to bash another more than might happen in canon. There are a couple of exceptions that I list below


• Any sexual situations with characters under sixteen or "on-screen" sex with characters under eighteen


• Cynical endings. I would like hope, if not happiness, at the end of the story


• Permanent character deaths (unless they are canon, and even then there is one exception below)


• Mpreg or omegaverse

Okay, now for specific fandoms. Anything listed here should be considered just suggestions.

Smallville
Ships are Clark/Oliver, Lana/Tess, Lois/Tess
Likes: Post-season six or AU, secret identities/conflict between superhero and civilian identities, reporters Clark and Lois, heroic Tess, heroic Lana, Lana's superpowers, Justice League
Dislikes:Anything nice being said about Jor-El, at all
Background ships: Chloe/Bart, Lana/Lex, Lana/Chloe, Clark & Chloe, Lois & Chloe, Clark & Kara, any other canon ships

Shadow and Bone
Ships are Alina/Inej, Alina/Genya
Likes: Women supporting women, power/class dynamics, Inej's religious beliefs, Alina using her position to help others
Background relationships: Alina & Mal, Inej & Jesper, Crows friendship

Merlin
Ships are Arthur/Elyan, Gwen/Morgana
Likes: AU or early seasons setting, non-evil Morgana, Morgana's visions, good leader Arthur
Dislikes: Good Uther, a lot of angst over magic users hiding their magic
Background relationships: Morgana & Arthur, Gwen & Elyan, Merlin & anyone

MCU
Ships are Valkyrie/Heimdall, Bucky/Sarah, Pepper/Natasha
Likes: characters moving into healthy relationships after a lot of trauma, realistic handling of past trauma, surrogate dad Bucky (to Sarah's kids), surrogate aunt Nat (to Clint's kids or to Morgan), surrogate dad-figure Heimdall (to Thor and Loki)
Background relationships: Tony/Bruce, Clint/Laura, Sam/Steve, any past canon relationships, any platonic relationships but especially Bucky & Steve, Sarah & Sam, Bucky & Sam, Natasha & Steve, Natasha & Clint

Game of Thrones
Ships are Robb Stark/Myrcella Baratheon and Tyrion Lannister/Sansa Stark
Likes: Canon divergence, post-canon, modern AU, historical AU, Queen in the North Sansa, politically savvy Sansa
Dislikes: Abelist slurs being used for Tyrion
Background relationships: Stark siblings, Myrcella & Jaime, Tyrion & Jaimie, any background romantic relationships

Arrowverse
Ships are Alex/Sara, Kara/Lena, Nyssa/Sara, Nyssa/Thea, Sara/Felicity
Likes: Alex/Sara friends-with-benefits, time travel, superhero identities
Dislikes: Angst over Kara not telling Lena she's Supergirl
Background relationships: any background relationships, romantic or platonic, especially sibling relationships. Any references to past relationships from canon.

Downton Abbey
Ships are Barrow/Courtney, Tom/Sybil
Likes: Post-war canon divergence, modern AU, (different period) historical AU, Thomas being a little bit mean
Dislikes: Sybil and/or Courtney dying (near-deaths are fine)
Background relationships: Barrow & Sybil, Sybil & her sisters

The Old Guard:
Ships are Andy/Quynh, Nicky/Joe
Likes: any point in canon, canon-divergence, future fic, found family
Dislikes: AUs where they were never immortal
Background relationships: Nicky & Nile, Andy & Nile

Harry Potter
Ships are Hermione/Ginny, Hermione/Pansy, Luna/Ginny, Luna/Harry, Harry/Pansy
Likes: Order of the Phoenix or later, AUs, unexpected relationships, book Ginny, sympathetic takes on Harry
Dislikes: everyone ending up with who they dated as a teenager
Background relationships: Ron/Pansy, Harry/Draco, Ginny/Dean, Ginny/Neville, Luna/Neville, Harry & Hermione, any canon relationships as friendly exes

DCEU
Ships are Clark/Bruce, Diana/Bruce, Diana/Lois
Likes:Secret identities/conflict between civilian and superhero identities, lonely characters finding people who understand them, either version of Justice League, comics elements
Dislikes: Dark Superman
Background relationships: Clark/Arthur, Diana/Arthur, Clark/Lois, Arthur/Mera